Tuesday 23 August 2022

Edith, Marchioness of Londonderry

Lord Belmont in Northern Ireland © 2011
THE MOST HONOURABLE EDITH HELEN MARCHIONESS OF LONDONDERRY DBE (1878-1959)

Lady Londonderry, whose husband was the 7th Marquess, was the daughter of Henry, 1st Viscount Chaplin.

In the image above she wears the famed Londonderry Jewels, many of which are now on display in the Victoria and Albert Museum.

The insignia of a Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is worn. 

The photograph was taken in the drawing-room of Londonderry House, with, it is believed, the large portrait of Castlereagh behind her.

Lady Londonderry was preparing to leave for the 1948 State Opening of Parliament, the first full dress State Opening since the end of the 2nd World War. 

This was to be the last State Opening for Edith Londonderry, since her husband, the 7th Marquess, died several months later.

First published in November, 2011.  Charles Villiers, a grandson of the late Lady Mairi Bury and great-grandson of the 7th Marquess and Marchioness of Londonderry, has kindly provided this information from his archives.

2 comments :

Crawfordsburn Squire said...

Tim,

Fabulous photograph of Lady Edith.

I was down at Mount Stewart today for the official announcement of the £6m Conservation project which was attended by both the First and Deputy First Ministers of Northern Ireland !

Jonathan Kennedy said...

What a fabulous photograph of the grande dame. The jewels are a sight to behold at the V&A. For those interested, Lady Londonderry's DBE and other medals are on display in a cabinet to the left of the door inside the chapel at Mount Stewart.