Old Photograph Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes Lyon Edinburgh Scotland

Old photograph of Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes Lyon and the Duke of York in Edinburgh, Scotland. Elizabeth, born 4 August 1900, died 30 March 2002, was the wife of King George VI and the mother of Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon. She was Queen consort of the United Kingdom and the Dominions from her husband's accession in 1936 until his death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter. She was the last Empress of India. Born into a family of British nobility as The Honourable Elizabeth Bowes Lyon, she became Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon when her father inherited the Scottish Earldom of Strathmore and Kinghorne in 1904. Prince Albert, Duke of York, was the second son of King George V. He initially proposed to Elizabeth in 1921, but she turned him down. When he declared he would marry no other, his mother, Queen Mary, visited Glamis Castle to see for herself the girl who had stolen her son's heart. She became convinced that Elizabeth was the one girl who could make him happy, but nevertheless refused to interfere. At the same time, Elizabeth was courted by James Stuart, Albert's equerry, until he left the Prince's service for a better-paid job in the American oil business. In February 1922, Elizabeth was a bridesmaid at the wedding of Albert's sister, Princess Mary, to Viscount Lascelles. The following month, Albert proposed again, but she refused him once more. Eventually, in January 1923, Elizabeth agreed to marry Albert, despite her misgivings about royal life. Albert's freedom in choosing Elizabeth, not a member of a royal family, though the daughter of a peer, was considered a gesture in favour of political modernisation; previously, princes were expected to marry princesses from other royal families. They selected a platinum engagement ring featuring a Kashmir sapphire with two diamonds adorning its sides. They married on 26 April 1923, at Westminster Abbey. Unexpectedly, Elizabeth laid her bouquet at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior on her way into the Abbey, in memory of her brother Fergus. Elizabeth became styled Her Royal Highness The Duchess of York. Following a wedding breakfast at Buckingham Palace prepared by chef Gabriel Tschumi, the new Duchess and her husband honeymooned at Polesden Lacey, a manor house in Surrey, and then went to Scotland. Blog post of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



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