Bowes-Lyon is a Scottish family descended from or related to George Bowes of Gibside and Streatlam Castle (1701-1760), a County Durham landowner and politician, through John Bowes, 9th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, chief of the Clan Lyon. Following the marriage in 1767 of the 9th Earl (John Lyon) to rich heiress Mary Eleanor Bowes, the family name was changed to Bowes by Act of Parliament. The 10th Earl changed the name to Lyon-Bowes and the 13th Earl, Claude, changed the order to Bowes-Lyon.
Notable members of the family include:
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, born Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, mother of Elizabeth II
Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, (1855–1944) was a landowner, and the father of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.
John Lyon, Lord of Glamis, (c. 1340–82), was Chamberlain of Scotland between 1377 and 1382.
Mary Bowes, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne (1749–1800), known as "The Unhappy Countess", was an 18th-century British heiress, notorious for her licentious lifestyle, who was married at one time to the 9th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne.
Michael Bowes-Lyon, 18th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne (1957–2016)
Patrick Bowes-Lyon (1863–1946), younger brother of the 14th Earl, winner of the 1887 Wimbledon doubles.
Princess Anne of Denmark, born Anne Ferelith Fenella Bowes-Lyon (1917–80), was the mother of royal photographer Patrick Anson, 5th Earl of Lichfield, and a first cousin of Elizabeth II.
