Mary Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire

Mary Alice Cavendish Duchess of Devonshire
Born	25 July 1895(1895-07-25) Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Died	24 December 1988(1988-12-24) (aged 93) Westminster, London
Occupation	Mistress of the Robes, Chancellor of the University of Exeter
Title	Duchess of Devonshire, GCVO CBE, Hon. LLD (Exon)

Mary Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, GCVO, CBE (29 July 1895 Hatfield, Hertfordshire^[1] – 24 December 1988 Westminster, London ^[2]) was born Lady Mary Alice Gascoyne-Cecil, daughter of James Gascoyne-Cecil, 4th Marquess of Salisbury. She was married on 21 April 1917 to Edward Cavendish, Lord Hartington, who succeeded his father as 10th Duke of Devonshire in 1938, whereupon Mary became Duchess of Devonshire. She was Mistress of the Robes to Elizabeth II from 1953 to 1967 and Chancellor of the University of Exeter from 1955 to 1972. She was awarded Hon. LLD (Exon) in 1956.

Husband

On 26 November 1950, her husband Edward Cavendish, the 10th Duke of Devonshire had a heart attack and died while being attended by John Bodkin Adams, the suspected serial killer. In the process of transferring his assets to his son, the death of the Duke fell 10 weeks prior to a required 5-year period, and his estate was subjected to taxes of 80%^[3]. 13 days before his death, Edith Alice Morrell, another patient of Adams, had also died. Adams was tried in 1957 for her murder but acquitted. Home office pathologist Francis Camps, however, linked Adams to 163 suspicious deaths in total.^[4]

References

1. ^ GRO Register of Births: SEP 1895 3a 582 HATFIELD - Mary Alice Gascoyne-Cecil
2. ^ GRO Register of Deaths: DEC 1988 15 1567 WESTMINSTER - Mary Alice Devonshire aged 93 born Jul 1895
3. ^ Lowell, Mary., "The Sisters: Saga of the Mitford Family"
4. ^ Cullen, Pamela V., "A Stranger in Blood: The Case Files on Dr John Bodkin Adams", London, Elliott & Thompson, 2006, ISBN 1-904027-19-9

Court offices
Preceded by —	Mistress of the Robes to Queen Elizabeth II 1953–1967	Succeeded by The Duchess of Grafton
Academic offices
Preceded by —	Chancellor of the University of Exeter 1955–1972	Succeeded by The Viscount Amory

Persondata
Name	Cavendish, Mary Alice
Alternative names	Gascoyne-Cecil, Mary Alice
Short description	Duchess of Devonshire
Date of birth	1895-07-25
Place of birth	Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Date of death	1988-12-24
Place of death	Westminster, London