Lady Rosemary Muir | |
Birth Name: | Lady Rosemary Mildred Spencer-Churchill |
Birth Date: | 1929 7, df=yes |
Birth Place: | London, England |
Noble Family: | Spencer-Churchill |
Issue: | Alexander Pepys Muir Simon Huntly Muir Mary Arabella Muir |
Father: | John Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough |
Mother: | Alexandra Mary Cadogan |
Lady Rosemary Mildred Muir (née Spencer-Churchill; born 24 July 1929) is an English aristocrat who served as a maid of honour to Elizabeth II at her coronation in 1953.
Lady Rosemary Mildred Spencer-Churchill was born on 24 July 1929 in London to John Spencer-Churchill, Marquess of Blandford, and Alexandra Mary Cadogan.[1] [2] Her maternal grandfather was Henry Cadogan, Viscount Chelsea. Her paternal grandmother was Consuelo Vanderbilt. Her father inherited the Dukedom of Marlborough, becoming the tenth duke when Spencer-Churchill was five years old. She grew up at Blenheim Palace in West Oxfordshire. After her father's death in 1972 her brother, John, became the eleventh Duke of Marlborough.[3]
Spencer-Churchill served as a maid of honour to Queen Elizabeth II at her coronation in Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953.[4] [5] [6] She was the eldest and highest ranking maid of honour at Elizabeth II's coronation, as the only daughter of a duke.[7] Lady Rosemary, along with Lady Jane Vane-Tempest-Stewart rode in a carriage with Charles Tryon, 2nd Baron Tryon, the Keeper of the Privy Purse, during the procession while the other maids of honour waited at the abbey.[8] After the coronation, Spencer-Churchill returned to Blenheim to attend an outdoor party hosted by her mother, the Duchess of Marlborough, where they roasted an ox for villagers from Woodstock.[8]
Spencer-Churchill married Charles Robert Muir, a stockbroker, on 26 June 1953 at Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford.[5] Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and Princess Margaret were among the guests at the wedding.[9] [10] [11] Their first child, Alexander Pepys Muir, was born on 8 November 1954. Their second child, Simon Huntly Muir, was born on 3 July 1959. Their third child, Mary Arabella Muir, was born on 16 January 1962. Their son Alexander is a god-son of Princess Margaret. Her husband died on 24 March 1972. She resides at Orange Hill House in Binfield. [8] [12]
She has seven grandchildren, Jack, Rowley, Consuelo, Robin, Thomas, Caspar and Isabella.
In 2015 Spencer-Churchill was featured in the BBC Two documentary film The Last Dukes.[3] [13]