The Queen Mother
The youngest daughter of the 14th Earl of Strathmore, Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon married the Duke of York and went on to become HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.
The Queen Mother
On 4th August 1900 Lady Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes Lyon, the youngest daughter of Lord and Lady Glamis was born. Her father, Claude, would go on to become the 14th Earl of Strathmore while Lady Elizabeth would one day marry a future King and be known around the world as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.
Elizabeth & David
Elizabeth was the ninth of ten children. Her younger brother, David was born when Elizabeth was two and, as the youngest members of the family, they were affectionately nicknamed ‘my two Benjamins’ by their mother – Benjamin being the name of the youngest son of Jacob in the Bible. With a larger age gap between the two and their older siblings, David and Elizabeth were inseparable as children and they did everything together as if they were twins.
Mischief makers
Full of mischief, Elizabeth and David were known to throw ‘boiling oil’, which was actually icy water, from the ramparts on arriving guests. Another prank they pulled was to place a football under the wheels of the family motorcar so that it would explode and frighten the chauffeur.
A golden memory
One of young Elizabeth’s earliest memories is of her grandparents’ (the 13th Earl & Countess) Golden Wedding celebrations in 1903, when she sat on her grandfather’s knee to watch the fireworks. When Elizabeth was four her grandfather died and her father inherited the Earldom, and with it, Glamis Castle. Lady Elizabeth and the family thereafter divided their time between Glamis, St. Paul’s Walden Bury and Streatlam Castle in County Durham.
Kindness in times of war
During the First World War Glamis Castle became a convalescent hospital where Lady Elizabeth cared for wounded soldiers. Lady Elizabeth’s kindness won her the hearts of many of the soldiers who passed through Glamis during the war years. In 1918 the armistice signalled the end of war and the end of an era. Once the last soldier had left Glamis in 1919 Lady Elizabeth was launched into the high society of the day at her coming out party.
Great presence of mind
On 16th September 1916 two soldiers discovered a fire in a room under the castle roof. As they ran to raise the alarm, the first person they came across was Lady Elizabeth who showed great presence of mind and immediately telephoned both the local and Dundee fire brigades. She then marshalled everyone to fight the fire, organising a chain to convey buckets of water from the river. Later, with the fire raging above them, she organised the removal of the valuables out onto the lawn.
Meeting a Prince
Whilst at a ball in London, Elizabeth caught the eye of Prince Albert (Bertie) the second son of King George V. ‘Bertie’ proposed to Elizabeth in the spring of 1921 when she was twenty and he was twenty-five. She refused him at first although they did continue to see each other. His second proposal was accepted. The court circular of 13th January 1923 announced, ‘It is with the greatest pleasure that the King and Queen announce the betrothal of their beloved son the Duke of York to the Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon’.
A royal wedding
The Royal Wedding took place in Westminster Abbey on 26th April 1923, the first to be held there since 1382. The royal couple spent some of their honeymoon at Glamis Castle. The Duchess soon settled into her new life and gave her husband the confidence and support he needed in the events which were soon to engulf them and bring him unexpectedly to the throne and she to the position of Queen Consort.
The Princesses
On 21st April 1926 the Duchess gave birth, in London, to their first child Princess Elizabeth. Then, on a stormy August night at Glamis in 1930, Princess Margaret was born – the first royal baby born in Scotland since the year 1600. The princesses enjoyed many happy times at Glamis during their childhood playing games and having picnics in the castle grounds and on the estate. Their love of horses was also nurtured on the idyllic setting of Glamis.
1996
A lifelong connection
After King George VI passed away in 1952, Queen Elizabeth became HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and was a support to her daughter, HM Queen Elizabeth II, for the rest of her life. The Queen Mother returned to Glamis many times including visiting to officially open the reconstructed ornamental bridge named The Earl Michael Bridge with the 18th Earl of Strathmore in 1996.
About Glamis Castle
With over 650 years of history to uncover, Glamis Castle will take you on a grand journey through Scottish history since the 14th Century.
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Timeline
Take a journey through time and discover the key moments in Glamis Castle’s history dating back to before today’s castle was built.
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The Family
Glamis has been the ancestral seat of the Earls of Strathmore and Kinghorne and their Lyon predecessors since 1372.
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The Archives
With records stretching back to the 12th century before the castle was built, Glamis Castle Archives offer an incredible insight into…
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