This is my paternal 3rd cousin, James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin, and 12th Earl of Kincardine's wife, Mary Louisa Lambton.

Mary was the eldest daughter of the 1st Earl of Durham, John George Lambton, and Louisa Elizabeth Grey. She was born in 1819 and was my cousin's second wife. Mary and James married in London, England in 1846 at St. George, Hanover Square (a recurring theme in my family marriages as recent as my Great-great maternal grandparents, Richard and Eliza Tinsdill). As a teenager Mary had visited Canada with her father and two of her sisters, Emily and Alice. Mary returned to Canada in 1847 after my cousin James was appointed Governor General of Canada.

In 1878, Mary was decorated with the award of the Imperial Order of the Crown of India (C.I.). The Order was established by Queen Victoria in 1878 when she became Empress of India. The order was only open to women and no new appointments have been made after the Partition of India in 1947. Mary had been in India with her husband, James Bruce, when he held the office of Viceroy of India from 1862 until his death in 1863.

Today only one surviving member of the Order, and that is Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. Her Majesty and her sister, Her Royal Highness Princess Margaret, were made Companions of the Order by their father, King George VI in June, 1947.