Name Margaret Rhodes | ||
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Full Name Margaret Elphinstone Born 9 June 1925 (age 98) ( 1925-06-09 ) London, England Books The Final Curtsey: A Royal Memoir by the Queen's Cousin Grandparents Cecilia Bowes-Lyon, Countess of Strath and Kinghorne Parents Sidney Buller-Fullerton-Elphinstone, 16th Lord Elphinstone, Mary Elphinstone, Lady Elphinstone Similar People Mary Elphinstone - Lady Elp, Cecilia Bowes‑Lyon - Countess, Claude Bowes‑Lyon - 14th Earl, Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth The Quee | ||
Continuity in a changing world 'key' to Queen's popularity
Queen is in mourning after her best friend and beloved cousin Margaret Rhodes dies aged 91.
Margaret Rhodes LVO (née Elphinstone; 9 June 1925 – 25 November 2016) was a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. From 1991 to 2002, she served as Woman of the Bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.
Contents
- Continuity in a changing world key to Queens popularity
- Queen is in mourning after her best friend and beloved cousin Margaret Rhodes dies aged 91
- Early life and education
- Career
- Personal life
- Ancestry
- References
Early life and education
Born Margaret Elphinstone in Westminster, London, Rhodes was the youngest daughter of the 16th Lord Elphinstone and his wife Lady Mary Bowes-Lyon, an elder sister of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. Less than a year older than the future queen, she was a frequent playmate of the young Princess Elizabeth. During the Second World War she lived at Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace, and took a secretarial course. On 20 November 1947, she was a bridesmaid to Princess Elizabeth.
Career
During World War II, she worked as a secretary for MI6. She was a Woman of the Bedchamber – a mix of lady-in-waiting and companion – to her aunt, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, from 1991 until the latter's death in 2002.
In the 2000 Birthday Honours Rhodes was appointed Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order (LVO). She lived in the Garden House, a grace and favour residence in Windsor Great Park. In the run-up to the Queen's 80th birthday in April 2006, Rhodes gave an interview to the BBC in which she stated her belief that the Queen would not abdicate.
Her autobiography, The Final Curtsey, was published in 2011. She was the "castaway" on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs on 3 June 2012.
On 27 November 2016, Buckingham Palace confirmed that Rhodes had died, aged 91, on 25 November following a short illness.
Personal life
On 31 July 1950, she married the writer Denys Gravenor Rhodes (1919–1981), with Princess Margaret as one of the bridesmaids. The couple had four children and one grandson:
Ancestry
Having been a first cousin to Elizabeth II, Rhodes shared half her ancestry with the Queen, including several notable peers.