The Earl and Countess of Strathmore, Queen Elizabeth II’s Scottish Grandparents

The Earl and Countess of Strathmore and Kinghore (left) with the Duke of York and their daughter, Elizabeth, c1922. Image from Wikimedia Commons

Queen Elizabeth II’s maternal grandparents were the Earl and Countess of Strathmore. They were the parents of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, who was born in Scotland. The Strathmores could claim ancestry to the Scottish king Robert the Bruce and they were also Scotland’s largest landowners. They were a “sporting, military family, their politics were conservative and their style old-fashioned” family. It was customary among the wealthy those days to divide their time among their many homes and the Strathmores were not short of houses. They had Glamis for an official family seat, where late summers and early autumns were spent. The elegant Queen Anne mansion of St Paul’s Walden Bury in Hertforhshire would serve as their weekend retreat. This was also the home of Lord and Lady Glamis before Lord Glamis succeeded his father to the title. The social season meant that the family would decamp to London, where they owned a  huge townhouse in St. James’ Square.

Lord Glamis inherited the title and castles in 1904. The fourteenth Earl of Strathmore was described as a quiet, courteous man. He was a passionate cricketer. In fact, it was believed that he was too preoccupied with cricket and with shooting that he forgot  to register Elizabeth’s birth until six weeks after it had occurred and incurred a fine of lateness. 

 Portrait of Claude George Bowes Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne

He was also a bit eccentric. He used to “bowl” food at his wife down the length of the huge dining room table, which she skilfully pitched.  Quiet, courteous and conscientious of his responsibilities and position, he served as Lord Lieutenant of the County of Angus. Yet, his rank did not fill his ego. He was not stuffy and he would wear an old mackintosh, tied with a piece of twine. He spent many hours working on the grounds of his house that he would often be mistaken as one of his own workers. When times were hard, he would sell off land to make ends meet but never let a labourer end up jobless, he knew what it meant for one’s family.

The countess, Nina Cecilia, was a member of the aristocratic Cavendish Bentinck clan. He was “a much livelier figure: artistic, cheerful, interested in everything,” described Theo Aronson. These qualities were later inherited by her daughter, the future queen.

Of this musical ability, Don Coolican wrote: “The Countess of Strathmore was straightlaced lady interested in embroidery and music. She was so accomplished musically that she could attend a concert, return home, go straight to the piano and play the pieces from memory.”

Sarah Bradford would also write how energetic a lady she was and “she believed that culture and arts rather than academic qualifications were important for a girls education.” Bradford also “taught her daughter Elizabeth to read and gave her her first music, dancing and drawing lessons.” Her Christian values was evident, considering her father, the Reverend Charles Cavendish-Bentinck, was a clergyman. “Attendance at chapel, when the ladies of the household wore special crocheted lace caps, was an important part of life at Glamis,” Bradford explained.

As a society hostess, the countess’ social skills are impeccable and she found it a delight to welcome and entertain guests in her many homes and her guests included the former prime minister Lord Roseberry.

Portrait of Nina, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne

The couple were devoted to each other and, although these were Victorian times and this was a grand aristocratic family, the atmosphere was relaxed enough for the children to grow up feeling secure and loved and with a sense of mischief that would lasts their whole lives. She wanted her children to feel warmth of a home that even the cold and mysterious Glamis Castle was made into a comfortable, flower-filled home, which had drawn her daughter Elizabeth. 

When Elizabeth and her brothers and sisters where still young, they spent many happy days playing in Glamis’ extensive grounds. She was 16 when the castle was converted into a soldiers’ home who were recovering from their wounds during World War I. During this time, broke out in one of the towers, thanks to Elizabeth’s presence of mind, she called both the local fire brigade and the nearest city firefighters. She organized all the onlookers into a queue so buckets of water from the river could be passed along to extinguish the fire. While the cause was never discovered, the situation would have gotten worse without the future queen’s clear thinking. Shortly after she got married to the Duke of York in 1923, the young couple came here to spend her money. She also headed to Glamis she was about to give birth to her second daughter, Princess Margaret, in 1930.

The earl and countess of Strathmore made sure that their children would live normal lives, despite their stature as members of the nobility. As such, later in life, the Queen Mother recalled “I have nothing but wonderfully happy memories of childhood days at home, fun, kindness, and a marvelous sense of security.”