Lady Dorothy Macmillan

"Dorothy Cavendish" redirects here. For the 18th-century woman of the same name, see Dorothy Bentinck, Duchess of Portland.

Lady Dorothy Macmillan GBE
Lady Dorothy Macmillan waving to crowds in Accra

Spouse of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
In office 10 January 1957 – 18 October 1963
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Preceded by	Clarissa Eden
Succeeded by	Elizabeth Douglas-Home
Personal details
Born	Dorothy Evelyn Cavendish (1900-07-28)28 July 1900
Died	21 May 1966(1966-05-21) (aged 65)
Spouse(s)	Harold Macmillan
Children	Maurice Macmillan Lady Caroline Faber Lady Catherine Amery Sarah Macmillan
Parents	Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire Evelyn Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire

Lady Dorothy Evelyn Macmillan GBE (née Cavendish; 28 July 1900 – 21 May 1966) was a daughter of Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire and Evelyn Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire and the wife of the British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan.

Family life

She spent her first eight years at Holker Hall, Lancashire, and Lismore Castle, Ireland.^[1] She became known as Lady Dorothy from the age of eight, when her father succeeded to the dukedom, and the family moved into Chatsworth House, Derbyshire, and the other ducal estates.^[2] She received lessons in French, German, riding and golf. From the age of sixteen she lived with the family at Rideau Hall, Ottawa, where her father served as Governor General of Canada.^[3]

Marriage

In 1920 she married the publisher and Conservative politician Harold Macmillan, who had been on her father's staff in Canada. Their lavish wedding, on 21 April at St. Margaret's, Westminster, was attended by royalty, aristocracy and leading literary figures, and was hailed as the social event of the London season.^[4]

Lady Dorothy was a dutiful political wife and the couple remained together (despite her long-lasting affair with the bisexual Conservative politician Robert Boothby) until her death from a heart attack at the Macmillan family estate at Birch Grove, East Sussex, in 1966. Her husband, who was created 1st Earl of Stockton in 1984, outlived her by 20 years.

She and Harold had four children:

Maurice Macmillan, Viscount Macmillan of Ovenden (1921–1984), a Conservative politician and publisher. Married The Honourable Katharine Ormsby-Gore, a daughter of the 4th Baron Harlech. His father outlived him by nearly three years.
Lady Caroline Macmillan (born 1923). Married Julian Faber; five children. Their last surviving child following the death of Lady Catherine Macmillan in 1991.
Lady Catherine Macmillan (1926–1991). Married Julian Amery, later Baron Amery of Lustleigh, a Conservative politician; four children.
Sarah Macmillan (1930–1970). She had an unhappy life, which was blighted by a drinking problem, and died aged only 40, her father outliving her by 16 years.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Lady Dorothy Macmillan

16. William Cavendish

8. William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire

17. Louisa O'Callaghan

4. Edward Cavendish

18. George Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle

9. Blanche Georgiana Howard

19. Georgiana Cavendish

2. Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire

20. Henry Lascelles, 2nd Earl of Harewood

10. William Lascelles

21. Henrietta Sebright

5. Emma Lascelles

22. George Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle (= 18)

11. Caroline Georgiana Howard

23. Georgiana Cavendish (= 19)

1. Dorothy Macmillan

24. Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne

12. Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 4th Marquess of Lansdowne

25. Louisa Fox-Strangways

6. Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne

26. Charles Joseph, comte de Flahaut

13. Emily Jane de Flahaut, 8th Lady Nairne

27. Margaret Mercer-Elphinstone, 7th Lady Nairne, 2nd Baroness Keith

3. Evelyn Petty-Fitzmaurice

28. James Hamilton, Viscount Hamilton

14. James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn

29. Harriet Douglas

7. Maud Evelyn Hamilton

30. John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford

15. Louisa Jane Russell

31. Georgina Gordon

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dorothy Macmillan.

↑ Charles Williams, Harold Macmillan (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2009), ISBN 978-0-297-85194-3, p. 53.
↑ Williams, Macmillan, pp. 53-54.
↑ Williams, Macmillan, p. 54
↑ Williams, Macmillan, p. 58

Honorary titles
Preceded by Clarissa Eden	Spouse of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1957-1963	Succeeded by Elizabeth Douglas-Home

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