Lady Dorothy Macmillan

Lady Dorothy Macmillan GBE
Lady Dorothy Macmillan waving to crowds in Accra
Spouse of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
In role 10 January 1957 – 18 October 1963
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Preceded by	Clarissa Eden
Succeeded by	Elizabeth Douglas-Home
Personal details
Born	Dorothy Evelyn Cavendish 28 July 1900
Died	21 May 1966 (aged 65)
Spouse(s)	Harold Macmillan
Children	Maurice Macmillan Lady Caroline Faber Lady Catherine Amery Sarah Macmillan
Parents	Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire Evelyn Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire

Lady Dorothy Evelyn Macmillan GBE (née Cavendish; 28 July 1900 – 21 May 1966) was a daughter of Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire and Evelyn Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire and the wife of the British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan.

Family life

She spent her first eight years at Holker Hall, Lancashire, and Lismore Castle, Ireland.^[1] She became known as Lady Dorothy from the age of eight, when her father succeeded to the dukedom, and the family moved into Chatsworth House, Derbyshire, and the other ducal estates.^[2] She received lessons in French, German, riding and golf. From the age of sixteen she lived with the family at Rideau Hall, Ottawa, where her father served as Governor General of Canada.^[3]

Marriage

In 1920 she married the publisher and Conservative politician Harold Macmillan, who had been on her father's staff in Canada. Their lavish wedding, on 21 April at St. Margaret's, Westminster, was attended by royalty, aristocracy and leading literary figures, and was hailed as the social event of the London season.^[4]

Lady Dorothy was a dutiful political wife and the couple remained together (despite her long-lasting affair with the bisexual Conservative politician Robert Boothby) until her death from a heart attack at the Macmillan family estate at Birch Grove, East Sussex, in 1966. Her husband, who was created 1st Earl of Stockton in 1984, outlived her by 20 years.

She and Harold had four children:

• Maurice Macmillan, Viscount Macmillan of Ovenden (1921–1984), a Conservative politician and publisher. Married The Honourable Katharine Ormsby-Gore, a daughter of the 4th Baron Harlech. His father outlived him by nearly three years.
• Lady Caroline Macmillan (1923–2016). Married Julian Faber; five children. Their last surviving child following the death of Lady Catherine Macmillan in 1991.
• Lady Catherine Macmillan (1926–1991). Married Julian Amery, later Baron Amery of Lustleigh, a Conservative politician; four children.
• Sarah Macmillan (1930–1970). She had an unhappy life, which was blighted by a drinking problem, and died aged only 40, her father outliving her by 16 years.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Lady Dorothy Macmillan

16. William Cavendish               8. William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire                       17. Louisa O'Callaghan               4. Edward Cavendish                             18. George Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle               9. Blanche Georgiana Howard                       19. Georgiana Cavendish               2. Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire                                   20. Henry Lascelles, 2nd Earl of Harewood               10. William Lascelles                       21. Henrietta Sebright               5. Emma Lascelles                             22. George Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle (= 18)               11. Caroline Georgiana Howard                       23. Georgiana Cavendish (= 19)               1. Dorothy Macmillan                                         24. Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne               12. Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 4th Marquess of Lansdowne                       25. Louisa Fox-Strangways               6. Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne                             26. Charles Joseph, comte de Flahaut               13. Emily Jane de Flahaut, 8th Lady Nairne                       27. Margaret Mercer-Elphinstone, 7th Lady Nairne, 2nd Baroness Keith               3. Evelyn Petty-Fitzmaurice                                   28. James Hamilton, Viscount Hamilton               14. James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn                       29. Harriet Douglas               7. Maud Evelyn Hamilton                             30. John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford               15. Louisa Jane Russell                       31. Georgina Gordon

References

1. Charles Williams, Harold Macmillan (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2009), ISBN 978-0-297-85194-3, p. 53.
2. Williams, Macmillan, pp. 53-54.
3. Williams, Macmillan, p. 54
4. Williams, Macmillan, p. 58