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Dame Flora MacLeod of MacLeod, DBE (3 February 1878 – 4 November 1976) was the 28th chief of Clan MacLeod. Dunvegan Castle in Skye is the 800-year-old MacLeod family seat.
Contents
Early years
Flora Louisa Cecilia MacLeod was born at 10 Downing Street, London, in 1878, the home of her grandfather Sir Stafford Northcote, who was then Chancellor of the Exchequer In 1901 she married Hubert Walter, a journalist at The Times, with whom she had two daughters. When her father, Sir Reginald MacLeod, became chief of the Clan MacLeod in 1929, she was elected President of the clan's society and went to live with her father at Dunvegan Castle in Skye, where she became a county councillor.
As the MacLeod clan chief
On the death of her father in 1935 Flora MacLeod inherited the estate and was recognised as 28th Clan Chief. Years later, to raise income, she opened Dunvegan Castle to tourists, turning it into a popular tourist attraction. Following World War II she travelled widely, establishing Clan MacLeod Societies throughout the British Commonwealth.
Death
She was created a DBE in 1953. She lived at Dunvegan Castle until 1973 before moving to Ythan Lodge in Aberdeenshire, where she died in 1976, aged 98. She is buried in the traditional Clan MacLeod burial ground near Dunvegan.
Successor
John MacLeod (born John Wolrige-Gordon, 10 August 1935 — died 12 February 2007, aged 71) succeeded Dame Flora, his grandmother.
Legacy
The Dame Flora MacLeod of MacLeod Trophy for Open Piobaireachd has been presented, since 1969, to the best bagpiper at the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games in North Carolina, USA.
Coat of arms
Her coat of arms are described thus: