Rose Leveson-Gower, Countess Granville

Rose Constance Leveson-Gower, Countess Granville was the third daughter of the 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne by his wife, Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck. An elder sister of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, she was therefore a maternal aunt of Queen Elizabeth II.

Life and family

On 24 May 1916, Lady Rose Bowes-Lyon married The Hon. William Leveson-Gower, who succeeded to his childless brother's earldom on 21 July 1939. As a result, she was styled as Countess Granville. The couple had two children:

Lady Mary Cecilia Leveson-Gower, who married Sir Samuel Clayton on 7 July 1956 and had issue. Their daughter is polar adventurer Rosie Stancer.
Granville James Leveson-Gower, 5th Earl Granville, who married Doon Aileen Plunket on 9 October 1958 and had issue.

The Countess Granville stood godmother to her niece, Princess Margaret Rose of York, at the latter's christening on 3 October 1930. She was invested as a Dame Grand Cross of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem. She was also awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws by Queen's University Belfast. In 1953, she was invested as a Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order.
Lord Granville died on 25 June 1953, aged 72. Lady Granville outlived him by fourteen years when she died on 17 November 1967, aged 77. She was the last surviving sibling of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.