ONE of the Queen’s maids of honour who carried her coronation train died the night before Her Majesty’s state funeral.
Lady Mary Russell, daughter of the Earl and Countess of Haddington, was just 19 when the Queen chose her to be one of her train bearers who carried her six-yard Robe of State.
Lady Mary Russell has died aged 88
She was one of the Queen’s six maids of honour at her coronation in June 1953
She was one of the Monarch’s six maids of honour at her coronation at Westminster Abbey in June 1953.
Her death, at age 88, was announced in the obituary section of The Times.
It read: “Lady Mary died peacefully at home with her family around her on Sunday 18 September.
“Beloved wife of David, much-loved mother of Arabella, Anthony, Philip, Jason and Marina, and dearly loved by her 12 grandchildren.”
Previously speaking about the Queen’s coronation, Lady Mary Russell said: “It was overwhelming and moving – especially during the anointing.
“It was an incredible moment, but all I could think about was how heavy the embroidery felt.
“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.”
She died the night before The Queen’s state funeral which was watched by 28 million doting royal fans across the globe.
Lady Russell is the second of the six maids of honour to pass away.
Lady Moyra Campbell died aged 90 in November 2020 in Belfast.
She went on to serve as a lady-in-waiting to Princess Alexandra from 1954 to 1964, and to the Queen from 1964 to 1966.
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Speaking about the day in an interview in 2012, she told News Letter that she would never forget “the age-old ceremony” and the “utter dedication of the Queen making those very solemn promises”.
She had to stand for three hours on the day of the Coronation but said it just “passed like clockwork because it was so deeply interesting”.
