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Elizabeth of Glamis
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Glamis Castle in Angus, Scotland INSET: The then Duke and Duchess of York spent part of their honeymoon at Glamis, where Lady Elizabeth had grown up
Wordsby RODDY MARTINE
© IMAGEBROKER/ALAMY
As Queen consort and mother of Her Majesty the Queen, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon lived in many palaces, but perhaps none felt more like hers than her childhood home
On an overnight visit to Glamis Castle in the early 19th century, Sir Walter Scott wrote, “I began to consider myself as too far from the living and somewhat too near the dead.”
No such thoughts troubled the future bride of King George VI, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, for whom Glamis Castle with its bulky towers and turrets was her much beloved family home. In common with other scions of the old Scottish aristocracy, her parents also owned properties in England, notably in London and at St Paul’s Walden Bury in Hertfordshire, but it was amid the straths of the Angus countryside that the young Lady Elizabeth spent her happiest formative years.
While attending a charity garden party in the grounds at Glamis, an old woman informed her that when she grew up, she would become Queen of England. “In that case,” said the seven-year-old Elizabeth to her governess, “The laws of England will have to be changed!”. When war was declared against Germany on 4 August 1914, coincidentally the day of Elizabeth’s 14th birthday, the 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne decided to relocate his Countess and 10 children more permanently to Scotland. Soon after their arrival, Glamis Castle, in common with other great UK country houses, was requisitioned as a convalescent hospital for wounded soldiers. The family nevertheless remained in their private quarters but soon after, a serious re broke out. On seeing the smoke, it was the 16-year-old Elizabeth who raised the alarm and who is largely credited with securing the rescue of the castle’s contents.
© ADAM WOOLFITT/ROBERT HARDING
CLOCKWISE,
FROM BELOW: The Duke and Duchess of York (centre) surrounded by members of the Bowes-Lyon family, c.1923; the Dining Room; the vaulted Drawing Room, created by the 3rd Earl of Kinghorne
Those were difficult times for the close-knit Bowes-Lyon family. Four brothers enlisted in the army and Elizabeth’s eldest brother Fergus, an officer in the Black Watch, was killed at the Battle of Loos in 1915. Another brother, Michael, was reported missing, but later discovered to have been a prisoner-of-war.
However, amid the green rolling countryside and big skies of Scotland’s northeast coast, the troubles of the world were kept at a distance. Aside from volunteering as a nurse, Elizabeth was able to enjoy all of her favourite country pursuits, such as riding and fishing for trout and salmon, at which she excelled. The Italian Garden, with its raised terrace set between two small gazebos to the east of the castle, was laid out by her mother, Countess Cecilia, to designs by Arthur Castings. It was from this example that her daughter inherited a love of plants, which in later life she introduced at Clarence House, Birkhall and Castle of Mey.
And it was in Scotland that the young Elizabeth socialised with nearby landed families, notably the children of King George V when on holiday at Balmoral. In 1922, she was a bridesmaid at the wedding of Princess Mary.
Following their wedding in 1923, she and the then Duke of York chose Glamis Castle as one of their honeymoon locations, and it was here that their second daughter, HRH The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon was born in 1930, becoming the first royal baby in direct line to the throne of the United Kingdom to be born in Scotland for 300 years.
Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother clearly loved Glamis and at an official ceremony in 2008, her grandson, the Duke of Rothesay, officially named the specially designed wrought-iron entrance gates to the one-mile front drive, The Queen Mother Memorial Gates.
Show me a Scot who does not revere his or her ancestral
CLOCKWISE, FROM ABOVE:
The Queen Mother’s bedroom at Glamis; the Italian Garden was laid out by Countess Cecilia, the Queen Mother’s mother; the cosy sitting or family room roots. Descent from the royal line of Stewart was important to Elizabeth of Glamis, and throughout her long life she retained a deep emotional attachment to the land of her ancestors. Once, when approached at a reception by a South African who informed her that he detested the English, she replied. “Oh, I do so understand. You see I am Scottish.”
Long before it became a hunting lodge, Glamis had been a religious retreat for the Irish Christian missionary Saint Fergus. One thousand years ago it was among the territorial titles held by the much-maligned Macbeth, Mormaer of Moray, and she was well aware of that.
The de Lyons family from Upper Normandy, were originally followers of William the Conqueror when he invaded England in 1066. In a future generation, family members arrived in Scotland where they were given Charters of Land at Forteviot and Forgandenny in Perthshire. Succeeding generations prospered and in 1376, Glamis was a gift from King Robert II to Sir John Lyon of Forteviot, Lord Chancellor of Scotland, when he married the King’s daughter Princess Joanna.
Another royal connection followed when Sir John’s son married his cousin Lady Elizabeth Graham, a great granddaughter of King Robert.
Politics and power dominated medieval Scotland and in the 16th century, out of jealousy directed at the powerful Douglas family, King James V accused Janet Douglas, wife of the 6th Lord Glamis, of witchcraft. The estate of Glamis was confiscated by the Crown and the unfortunate Lady Glamis was burned at the stake on Castle Hill in Edinburgh in 1537. The King even took up residence in the castle until his death in 1542, after which the vandalised property was handed back to the family.
Such incidents linger long in the Scottish psyche, and it says a lot for the 7th Lord Glamis that he was prepared to serve under
the regents Morton and Lennox, and, like his ancestor, he too became Lord The gardens at Chancellor of Scotland. He even invited Mary, Queen of Scots to stay Glamis are beautifully at Glamis in August 1562. In 1603, the 9th Lord Glamis, maintained and include Captain of the Royal Guard to James ‘The Macbeth Trail’ VI, accompanied the King to London when James became King of England, and was created Earl of Kinghorne in 1606. His son unfortunately backed the wrong side during the religious wars and Glamis was occupied by Cromwell’s soldiers in 1650.
With debts of £40,000, the 3rd Earl of Kinghorne restored the situation and created the West Wing (to his own design) and turned the old hall into a spectacular vaulted Drawing Room. In 1677, he acquired a new patent for his peerage which enabled PLAN YOUR VISIT him to style himself Earl of Strathmore & Kinghorne.
The 4th Earl had seven sons. Four predeceased him and the surviving four brothers were each to succeed in turn. The 5th Just 12 miles north of Dundee, Earl supported the Jacobite Cause and was killed at the Battle 28 miles northeast of Perth and of Sheriffmuir in 1715; Charles, 6th Earl entertained the exiled 50 miles southwest of Aberdeen, Old Pretender and was subsequently killed in a local skirmish there are lots of travel options for in Forfar. visiting Glamis and there is even
Then came financial salvation in 1767 when the 9th Earl a direct bus service from Dundee married the 18-year-old Mary Eleanor Bowes, heiress to a to the castle. Guests can also stay substantial coal fortune in County Durham. To acknowledge in Glamis House, which sits on the this union, their son, the 10th Earl, hyphenated the Bowes estate and provides luxury selfsurname with that of Lyon and quartered the family arms. catering accommodation with
A five-acre walled garden was created in 1866 to provide four en-suite bedrooms and vegetables, fruit and flowers. The servants’ quarters beyond the one single bedroom. east wing were refaced and a Dutch garden created in front of glamis-castle.co.uk the castle. Further interior improvements were introduced by Mary, wife of the 17th Earl, when her husband inherited the estate from his cousin in 1972. A remarkable lady, her sense of style became apparent throughout. She confesses that when first married, the castle did not charm her at all, but afterwards her attitude completely changed and the Glamis which passed on to her son remains the much-loved family home it is today. Simon, 19th Earl, inherited the estate and titles from his father in 2016. By then, the castle’s popularity as a visitor destination and working estate was well established. There are 4,000 acres of arable and commercial cattle farming, and 100 domestic houses let out to residential tenants. The castle annually hosts exhibitions, large-scale events, concerts and theatrical performances. The gardens are beautifully maintained and include ‘The Macbeth Trail’, which sets out to explain the links with William Shakespeare’s iconic Scottish play of which there are several. Glamis had been one of the territorial titles held by the much-maligned Macbeth, Mormaer of Moray, while the battle of succession of Malcolm II’s three daughters after the king died at Glamis, was the inspiration behind the interplay of William Shakespeare’s highly partisan Scottish play, written in the 16th century. S
