This article is about the society hostess. For the fashion model and singer, see
Lady Mary Charteris .
British socialite
The Countess of Wemyss and March
Born Mary Constance Wyndham
(1862-08-03 ) 3 August 1862Belgrave Square , London, EnglandDied 30 April 1937(1937-04-30) (aged 74) Spouse
Children 7 Parent(s) Percy Wyndham Madeline Campbell
Mary Constance Charteris, Countess of Wemyss and March (née Wyndham ; 3 August 1862 – 29 April 1937), styled Lady Elcho from 1883 to 1914, was an English society hostess and an original member of The Souls , an exclusive social and intellectual group.
Early life and ancestry
Mary Constance Wyndham was born on 3 August 1862 in London at her parents' home in Belgrave Square .[1] She was the eldest daughter of Percy Wyndham and Madeline Caroline Frances Eden Campbell. Her paternal grandfather was George Wyndham, 1st Baron Leconfield . Her maternal grandfather was Sir Guy Campbell, 1st Baronet .
She was a great-granddaughter of Irish revolutionary Lord Edward FitzGerald , the son of James FitzGerald, 1st Duke of Leinster . Her great-great-grandmother, Emily FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster , was one of the Lennox sisters and a daughter of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond .
Her brothers were George Wyndham and Guy Wyndham . She had two younger sisters: Madeline, the wife of Charles Adeane , and Pamela , first the wife of Edward Tennant, 1st Baron Glenconner , and later the wife of Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon .[2]
Society life
Wyndham and her siblings and their spouses were members of The Souls , an elite English social group.[3] She and her two sisters were the subjects of John Singer Sargent 's 1899 painting The Wyndham Sisters: Lady Elcho, Mrs. Adeane, and Mrs. Tennant .[4] Her life was detailed in the book Those Wild Wyndhams by Claudia Renton.[5]
Marriage and issue
Wyndham and Hugo Charteris, Lord Elcho , who would later inherit the titles of 11th Earl of Wemyss and 7th Earl of March ,[6] were married on 9 August 1883. They had seven children:[7]
Hugo Francis Charteris, Lord Elcho (b. 28 Dec 1884, d. 23 Apr 1916), who married Violet Manners .
Guy Lawrence Charteris (b. 23 May 1886, d. 21 Sep 1967)
Lady Cynthia Mary Evelyn Charteris (b. 27 Sep 1887, d. 31 Mar 1960)
Colin Charteris (b. 1 Jun 1889, d. 27 Dec 1892)
Lady Mary Pamela Madeline Sibell Charteris (b. 24 Oct 1895, d. 1991)
Yvo Alan Charteris (b. 6 Oct 1896, d. 17 Oct 1915)
Lady Irene Corona Charteris (b. 31 May 1902, d. 1989)
Wyndham was the paternal grandmother of society hostess Ann Charteris , of Laura Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough and novelist Hugo Charteris .
Death
She died on 29 April 1937.[8]
References
^ Ridley, Jane; Percy, Clayre (September 2004). "Charteris [née Wyndham], Mary Constance, countess of Wemyss" . Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi :10.1093/ref:odnb/40735 . Retrieved 27 December 2017 . (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^ "Mary Constance Charteris, Countess of Wemyss" . geni_family_tree . Retrieved 28 December 2017 .
^ "Mary Constance Charteris (née Wyndham), Countess of Wemyss – Person – National Portrait Gallery" . Npg.org.uk . Retrieved 28 December 2017 .
^ "The Wyndham Sisters: Lady Elcho, Mrs. Adeane, and Mrs. Tennant" . Metropolitan Museum of Art . Retrieved 27 December 2017 .
^ Renton, Claudia (30 January 2014). Those Wild Wyndhams . William Collins. ISBN 978-0007544899 .
^ "Mary Wyndham – Historical records and family trees – MyHeritage" . Myheritage.com . Retrieved 28 December 2017 .
^ "Person Page" . Thepeerage.com . Retrieved 28 December 2017 .
^ "Mary Constance Charteris, Countess of Wemyss" . Librarything.com . Retrieved 28 December 2017 .