Lady Mary Russell, for “The Tatler and Bystander”, 1953 for the coronation of the Queen
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Recalling the Queen’s coronation, Lady Mary Russell said: ‘It was overwhelming and moving – especially during the anointing… It was an incredible moment, but all I could think about was how heavy the embroidery felt. Of all the girls our age in the country, we six girls were chosen to carry the Queen’s train and that meant a great deal.’
According to the Mail, a royal source said: ‘It’s very sad. Her Majesty kept in touch with all her former maids of honour.’ Lady Anne Glenconner, a fellow maid of honour, previously told the BBC that their fame went beyond being the Pippa Middletons of their day, they were more, ‘the Spice Girls of their time’.
Lady Mary is the second of the six maids of honour to die after Lady Moyra Campbell passed away in 2020, aged 90. Still alive today are Dowager Baroness Glenconner, Lady Jane Lacey, Baroness Willoughby de Eresby and Lady Rosemary Muir.
HM Queen Elizabeth II with her maids of honour, 1953
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