The Right Honourable

The Lady Home of the Hirsel
As the Countess of Home in Holland, 1963
Born
Elizabeth Hester Alington

(1909-11-06)6 November 1909
Died3 September 1990(1990-09-03) (aged 80)
NationalityBritish
Known forSpouse of the prime minister of the United Kingdom (1963–64)
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1936)​
Children4, including David, 15th Earl of Home
Parent

Elizabeth Hester Douglas-Home, Baroness Home of the Hirsel (née Alington; 6 November 1909 – 3 September 1990) was the wife of British politician and prime minister Alec Douglas-Home.

Biography

She was born Elizabeth Hester Alington,[1] the second daughter of the Very Rev Cyril Alington[2]—headmaster of Shrewsbury School and Eton College successively, as well as chaplain to King George V[2]—and his wife, Hester Margaret Lyttelton, daughter of George Lyttelton, 4th Baron Lyttelton.[2] Elizabeth was the first woman to become a fellow (governor) of Eton.

She married Alec Douglas-Home on 3 October 1936.[1] Thanks to her husband acquiring and renouncing various titles, she had, according to The Guinness Book of Records, more names successively in her lifetime than any other once-married, British-only woman.[3]

The couple had four children:

  • Lady (Lavinia) Caroline Douglas-Home DL (b. 11 Oct 1937), who served as a Lady-in-Waiting to various members of the Royal Family
  • Lady Meriel Kathleen Douglas-Home (b. 27 Nov 1939), m. Adrian Darby, Bursar of Keble College, Oxford
  • Lady Diana Lucy Douglas-Home (b. 18 Dec 1940), m. James Wolfe Murray
  • David Alexander Cospatrick Douglas-Home, 15th Earl of Home (20 Nov 1943–22 Aug 2022).

She died on 3 September 1990 at the age of 80.[4] Her husband outlived her by just over five years.[5] They had been married for nearly 54 years.

References

  1. 1 2 Hurd 2004, under "Marriage and the Second World War".
  2. 1 2 3 Card 2004.
  3. ↑ Guinness Book of Records 1985.
  4. ↑ "Confirmation of birthname". RootsWeb. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  5. ↑ Hurd 2004, under "Retirement".

Bibliography

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