Off The Record
Queen Elizabeth’s Cousin Dies At 92 — Family Honors A ‘Marvellous Role Model’
According to her relatives, Mary, Dowager Countess of Strathmore, the late Queen’s cousin, passed away at home at the age of 92.
The countess was born Mary Pamela McCorquodale in 1932 and married Fergus Bowes-Lyon, the Queen Mother’s nephew and a direct descendant of Queen Elizabeth II.
Her family reported that she passed away on Monday at her house in Melrose, which is located on the Scottish border.
She and her late husband, who in 1972 was made the 17th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, had previously resided in Glamis Castle, Angus.
Queen Elizabeth and other royal guests, such as the Queen Mother, Princess Margaret, and Prince Charles at the time, frequently paid her a call there.
According to a family statement published by The Courier, she was’much loved’ by her family and community and a’marvellous role model’ to everyone.
It read: “They lived in The White House, Glamis for some of their early married life and continued to visit frequently from East Lothian where they lived while Fergus worked as a stockbroker in Edinburgh.”
The family ‘throwing themselves into life on the estate and in the greater Angus community’ after renovating the Castle between 1972 and 1975, the statement continued.
The family recalled how important Mary had been in the community: A recent kind message sent to Mary just before she died read: “Speaking of the ‘best’ I would like to reinforce to you what a marvellous role model and figurehead you have been for Glamis over the years.”
“Your dedication to, and love of, Glamis has shone through at every level.”
“You are a very much loved and important figure in the history of Glamis, not just to the staff but to the wider community.”
Mary claimed that Queen Elizabeth had’many joyful recollections’ of Glamis and ‘much affection’ for it.
The Countess revealed that during the late monarch’s last visit, which took place in September 2022, they spent about an hour and a half touring the grounds in the golf buggy.
Speaking of her lifelong friend and cousin, she said she believed the Queen knew it was her “final visit” and had come to “say goodbye.”
On May 31, 1932, the Dowager Countess was born to her mother, Barbara, and father, Norman, at her grandparents’ home in London.
The family relocated from Edinburgh to Buckinghamshire in September 1939, and she studied French in Paris after the war before attending Oxford.
In 1955, she married Fergus, and the Queen, Queen Mother, and Princess Margaret attended their wedding the following April.
The Countess spent 60 years at Glamis after her marriage, where she was well-liked and revered by many.
She made sure Glamis became a well-liked tourist attraction for visitors travelling to Scotland, in addition to providing a home for their three children, Michael, Elizabeth, and Diane.
Because her husband died in 1987 and her son Michael died in 2016 at the age of 58, Mary had to deal with a lot of hardship in her life.
She was a fervent supporter of the arts in Scotland and found comfort in her dedication to philanthropic causes such as Age Concern, Cancer Relief, and the Multiple Sclerosis Society.
She also partnered with the Child Psychotherapy Trust, the Brittle Bone Society, the Nursing Benevolent Fund, and the Day Care Committee for the Elderly.
In 2008, she spearheaded a campaign to save the village post office, which the Queen Mother used while visiting at the adjacent Castle. She also worked closely with the local people.
Politicians, including former prime ministers John Major and Margaret Thatcher, also paid her a visit.
Through a unique partnership with NASA, she also hosted a number of American astronauts at the castle.
The Countess once shown her sense of humour when Air Force Colonel Alvin Drew had to leave a message on her answering machine after calling Glamis Castle.
The ‘only grandma’ who had ever gotten a call from space, she remarked at the time, was probably her.
Mary left behind eleven grandchildren and two children, Lady Diana Godfrey-Faussett and Lady Elizabeth Leeming.
On May 16, St. Fergus Kirk in Glamis is scheduled to host a Thanksgiving ceremony in her honour.
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