Lady Mary Russel took part in the Queen Elizabeth II's coronation on 2nd June 1953 as maid of honour.
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What is a maid of honour?
Queen Victoria, who became Queen at only 18 years of age, began the tradition of having maids of honour at coronations.
The girls who occupied the role needed to be aged between 17 and 23. They had to be the daughters of Dukes, Marquesses, or Earls. They were also required to be unmarried.
Their role in the coronation is to carry the 21-foot Robe of State as the monarch makes their way through Westminster Abbey.
The Queen's maids of honour
Queen Elizabeth had six maids of honour for her coronation in 1953. Lady Mary Russel was the youngest at 19 years of age.
Lady Mary was the daughter of the Earl and Countess of Haddington. Mail Online notes that Lady Mary's father was a childhood friend of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. He can be seen pictured at King George VI's coronation carrying the Sceptre of the Dove.
When recalling the coronation, Lady Mary said:
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.
However, one thing that stuck in Lady Mary's mind was the heaviness of the embroidery. According to Mail Online, it would have been impossible for Queen Elizabeth to move the Robe without the help of her maids of honour.
Lady Mary recalls that the Queen gifted them a diamond brooch of the Queen's initials for their participation.
The Royal Family mourns another loss
Hello!reports that the Obituary section of The Times relayedthe news of Lady Mary Russel's death. According to the publication, Lady Mary 'died peacefully at home with her family around her' on the eve of Queen Elizabeth's funeral.
Lady Mary Russel is the second of the late monarch's maids of honour to pass away. Lady Moyra Campbell died in 2020.
According to a royal source, the late Queen kept in touch with all her maids of honour.
Sources used:
- Mail Online: 'Queen's maid of honour died the night before Her Majesty's funeral'
- The Sun: 'The Queen's maid of honour Lady Mary Russell who carried her coronation train dies the night before state funeral'
- Hello!: 'Royal family mourns death of late Queen's maid of honour Lady Mary Russell'
- The Mirror: 'Queen's maid of honour for coronation dies the night before monarch's funeral'
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