Patricia Smith, Viscountess Hambleden


Patricia Smith, Viscountess Hambleden GCVO was a Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth from 1937 to 1994.

Early life

She was the eldest child of Reginald Herbert, 15th Earl of Pembroke and his wife, Beatrice. She grew up at Wilton House, Wiltshire. Her father descended from Countess Catherine Vorontsov.
In 1919, she was a bridesmaid at the wedding of the She was also debutante of the year in 1922.

Marriage and children

On 26 September 1928, she married William Henry Smith, 3rd Viscount Hambleden at Salisbury Cathedral. They had five children:
As a senior member of the royal household, she was a leading guest at the 1947 wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
She was appointed a Dame Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in the 1953 Coronation Honours
She was at one time chairman of the NSPCC, and carried out voluntary work for King's College Hospital. In 1990, to celebrate the Queen Mother's 90th birthday, she was made a Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order.
Lady Hambleden's husband died in 1948 and she remained in The Queen Mother's Household until her own death in 1994 at her home in Ewelme, Oxfordshire.

Styles and Honours