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Ian Campbell, 11th Duke of Argyll

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His Grace

The Duke of Argyll
The Duke in 1953
PredecessorNiall Campbell, 10th Duke of Argyll
SuccessorIan Campbell, 12th Duke of Argyll
Known for1963 divorce
BornIan Douglas Campbell
(1903-06-18)18 June 1903
Paris, France
Died7 April 1973(1973-04-07) (aged 69)
Edinburgh, Scotland
Spouse(s)
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(m. 1927; div. 1934)​
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(m. 1935; div. 1951)​
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(m. 1951; div. 1963)​
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(m. 1963)​
IssueLady Jeanne Campbell
Ian Campbell, 12th Duke of Argyll
Lord Colin Ivar Campbell
Lady Elspeth Campbell
ParentsDouglas Campbell
Aimee Lawrence
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
In office
31 July 1963 – 7 April 1973
Hereditary Peerage
Succeeded byIan Campbell, 12th Duke of Argyll
Military career
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchBritish Army
Years of service1939–1945
RankCaptain
Service number547098
UnitArgyll and Sutherland Highlanders
Battles / wars

Ian Douglas Campbell, 11th and 4th Duke of Argyll (18 June 1903[citation needed] – 7 April 1973), was a Scottish peer and the Chief of Clan Campbell (Scottish Gaelic: MacCailein Mòr). He is chiefly remembered for his unhappy marriage to, and scandalous 1963 divorce from, his third wife, Margaret Whigham.

Early life

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Ian Douglas Campbell was born in Paris, France.[1] He was the son of Douglas Walter Campbell and his wife, Aimee Marie Suzanne Lawrence. His paternal grandfather, Lord Walter Campbell, was the third son of the 8th Duke of Argyll. Through his father, he was the great nephew of Queen Victoria's daughter Louise, who married John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll, the fourth Governor General of Canada. He was educated at Milton Academy in the United States and Christ Church, Oxford.

He served during the Second World War with the rank of captain in the 8th Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and saw combat during the Fall of France. Along with his commanding officer Maj. Gen. Victor Fortune, the war poet Aonghas Caimbeul, and all surviving members of the 51st (Highland) Division, Captain Campbell surrendered to Wehrmacht General Erwin Rommel at Saint-Valery-en-Caux in Normandy on 12 June 1940. He was held as a prisoner of war until 1945.[2]

He inherited the titles Duke of Argyll and Chief of Clan Campbell (Scottish Gaelic: MacCailein Mòr) following the death of his first cousin once removed, the 10th Duke, on 20 August 1949.[1]

Personal life

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Argyll was married four times. He was known to be addicted to alcohol, gambling, and prescription drugs. The Duke was also accused of physical and emotional abuse by his wives, whose money he tried to use for maintaining Inveraray Castle.[3] His first marriage was to Janet Gladys Aitken, daughter of business tycoon and press baron Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, on 12 December 1927. They had a daughter:

Ian and Janet divorced in 1934. Argyll's second marriage was to Louise Hollingsworth Morris Vanneck, née Clews, daughter of Henry Clews Jr. by his wife Louise Hollingsworth Morris (ex-wife 1894–1901 of Frederick Gebhard) of Baltimore, Maryland, and former wife of Hon. Andrew Vanneck on 23 November 1935. This marriage produced two sons:

This marriage also ended in divorce, in 1951.

Argyll's third marriage was to Margaret Whigham, mother of Frances, Dowager Duchess of Rutland, from her previous marriage to Charles Francis Sweeny. They were married on 22 March 1951. Margaret was a glittering society figure. While married to the duke, she had affairs with other men including actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Duncan Sandys, the minister of defence. The marriage was childless and they divorced in 1963 after the duke found Polaroid photographs of her sexual activities with other men. In the divorce proceedings, the duke produced the photographs, which featured the duchess wearing only her signature triple-string of pearls while fellating an unidentified man. In hearings which gained much media attention, the divorce was granted, though on grounds of adultery with a different man.[4]

Argyll's fourth and final marriage was to Mathilda Coster Mortimer[5] on 15 June 1963. Mathilda, who was first married to Clemens Heller, founder of the Salzburg Global Seminar, a school in Salzburg, Austria,[5] was the granddaughter of New York banker and clubman William B. Coster.[6] From this marriage he had a daughter:

  • Lady Elspeth Campbell (1967–1967), who lived only five days.

They remained married until the duke's death on 7 April 1973. He died in a nursing home in Edinburgh.[1] He was succeeded by his son Ian.

While most dukes and duchesses of Argyll are buried at Kilmun Parish Church, Ian Campbell and his son, the 12th duke, both chose to be buried on the island of Inishail in Loch Awe.

Ancestry

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Eleventh Duke of Argyll, Chief of Campbells". The Glasgow Herald. 9 April 1973. p. 7. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  2. ^ The Times, 18 April 1973
  3. ^ Gristwood, Sarah (26 December 2021). "The Argyll divorce: the society scandal that rocked 1960s Britain". BBC History. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  4. ^ Hugh Davies (10 August 2000). "Duchess's 'headless man' was Fairbanks Jnr". The Daily Telegraph.
  5. ^ a b "Mathilda, Dowager Duchess of Argyll, Dies at 70". The New York Times. 8 June 1997. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  6. ^ Currie, William (17 January 1993). "Mother's Search". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  7. ^ a b Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage (Volume 40 ed.). Burke's Peerage Limited. 1878. p. 39. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  8. ^ Kanter, Jake (11 March 2020). "'The ABC Murders' Writer Sarah Phelps Signs Up For 'A Very English Scandal' Season 2".
  9. ^ "A Very English Scandal series 2 will focus on the 'Dirty Duchess' divorce case". The Telegraph. Press Association. 31 January 2019 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  10. ^ Williams, Zoe (17 December 2021). "'I like sex and am extremely good at it' – the real crime of the 'fellatio duchess' in A Very British Scandal". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
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Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by Duke of Argyll
1949–1973 		Succeeded by
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Duke of Argyll
1949–1973 		Succeeded by
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