Sad news! Iona Campbell, the Dowager Duchess of Argyll has passed away at the age of 78. The aristocratic widow of the 12th Duke of Argyll was the chatelaine of Inveraray Castle for almost 30 years and a Patroness of the Royal Caledonian Ball.
The only daughter of Sir Ivar Colquhoun, 8th Baronet of Luss and Lady Colquhoun, she grew up at the family seat of Rossdhu House, near Luss in Dunbartonshire. In 1964, Iona married the then Marquess of Lorne, son and heir of the infamous 11th Duke of Argyll.
The Marquess of Lorne succeeded his father as 12th Duke of Argyll and the Head of Clan Campbell in 1973, two years before a devastating fire struck the magnificent Inveraray Castle. For several years, the Duke and Duchess lived in the castle’s basement while restorations were carried out, funded by a worldwide fundraising drive, creating several occasions for gatherings of Clan Campbell. The couple had two children, the current 13th Duke of Argyll and Lady Louise Burrell.
Following the death of the Duke in 2001, the Dowager Duchess of Argyll continued to serve as the Patroness of the Royal Caledonian Ball, which she regularly attended wearing her Diamond Tiara.
In 2006, the Dowager Duchess lost the Tiara, along with four other pieces of jewellery, after attending the Royal Caledonian Ball, travelling back to Inveraray Castle through Glasgow Airport, where the case with the jewels was found a few months later, but the jewels, worth £100,000, were auctioned for £5,000. Six years later, the Duchess spotted the Cartier brooch in the catalogue, and they were returned to her. She said:
I’m absolutely amazed. I thought that after six years, I’d lost them forever. The tiara was a Victorian family one and the necklace was given to me for my 21st birthday so everything was very special.”
Our condolences to the Campbell Family on their loss!
