Ian Campbell, 11th Duke of Argyll

Ian Douglas Campbell, 11th and 4th Duke of Argyll (18 June 1903 – 7 April 1973) was a Scottish peer. He is chiefly remembered for his unhappy marriage to, and scandalous 1963 divorce from, Margaret Whigham.

The Duke of Argyll
Duke of Argyll
Arms of the Dukes of Argyll
Predecessor	Niall Diarmid Campbell, 10th Duke of Argyll
Successor	Ian Campbell, 12th Duke of Argyll
Known for	1963 divorce
Born	Ian Douglas Campbell (1903-06-18)18 June 1903 Paris, France
Died	7 April 1973(1973-04-07) (aged 69) Edinburgh, Scotland
Spouse(s)	The Hon. Janet Gladys Aitken ​ ( m. 1927; div. 1934) Louise Hollingsworth Morris Vanneck ​ ( m. 1935; div. 1951) Margaret Whigham ​ ( m. 1951; div. 1963) Mathilda Coster Mortimer ​ ( m. 1963)
Issue Lady Jeanne Campbell Ian Campbell, 12th Duke of Argyll Lord Colin Ivar Campbell Lady Elspeth Campbell
Parents	Douglas Campbell Aimee Lawrence

Early life

Ian Douglas Campbell was born in Paris, France.[1] He was the son of Douglas Walter Campbell and his wife, Aimee Marie Suzanne Lawrence. He was a great-grandson of George Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll. He inherited the dukedom from his first cousin once removed, Niall Diarmid Campbell, 10th Duke of Argyll, in 1949.[1]

Personal life

Argyll was married four times.[2] His first marriage was to the Honourable Janet Gladys Aitken (9 July 1908 – 1988), daughter of business tycoon and press baron Lord Beaverbrook, on 12 December 1927. They had a daughter:[3]

• Lady Jeanne Campbell (1928–2007), who married Norman Mailer in 1962 and they were divorced in 1963. They have one daughter. She remarried John Cram in March 1964. They have one daughter.[3]

Ian and Janet divorced in 1934. Argyll's second marriage was to Louise Hollingsworth Morris Vanneck, née Clews (d. 10 February 1970), daughter of Henry Clews by his wife Louise Hollingsworth Morris (ex-wife 1894–1901 of Frederick Gebhard) of Baltimore, Maryland, and former wife of Hon. Andrew Vanneck (md 1930–1933) on 23 November 1935. This marriage produced two sons:[3]

• Ian Campbell, 12th Duke of Argyll (1937–2001), who married Iona Colquhoun on 4 July 1964. They had two children:[3]
  • Torquhil Campbell, 13th Duke of Argyll (b. 1968)[3]
  • Lady Louise Iona Campbell (b. 1972), who married Anthony Burrell on 18 April 1998. They have two children:[3]
• Lord Colin Ivar Campbell (b. 1946), who married Georgia Arianna Ziadie on 23 March 1974 and they were divorced in 1975.[3]

This marriage also ended in divorce, in 1951.[3]

Argyll's third marriage was to Margaret Whigham (1 December 1912 – 25 July 1993), mother of the Duchess of Rutland, Frances Helen Sweeny, from her previous marriage to Charles Sweeny. They were married on 22 March 1951. Margaret was a glittering society figure with a voracious sexual appetite. Even while married to the Duke, she carried on having affairs with men from actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr. to Duncan Sandys, the Minister of Defence. The marriage was childless and they divorced in 1963, after the Duke photographed one of her sexual exploits. In the infamous divorce proceeding, the Duke produced Polaroid photographs of the Duchess wearing only her signature triple-string of pearls while fellating an unidentified man. This naturally caused a stir in society, and 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 (20 August 1925 – 6 June 1997)[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.[3]

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.[3]

While most Dukes and Duchesses of Argyll are buried at Kilmun Parish Church, the 11th Duke and his son, the 12th Duke, both chose to be buried on the island of Inishail in Loch Awe.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Ian Campbell, 11th Duke of Argyll

16. John Campbell, 7th Duke of Argyll 8. George Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll 17. Joan Glassel 4. Lord Walter Campbell 18. George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 2nd Duke of Sutherland 9. Lady Elizabeth Sutherland-Leveson-Gower 19. Lady Harriet Howard 2. Douglas Campbell ? 10. John Clarkson Milns[7] ? 5. Olivia Rowlandson Milns[7] ? ? ? 1. Ian Campbell, 11th Duke of Argyll 24. Richard Lawrence 12. John Lawrence 25. Sarah Conrey 6. John Lawrence ? 13. Margaretta Quick ? 3. Aimeé Lawrence ? ? ? 7. Emily La Farge ? ? ?

References

1. "Eleventh Duke of Argyll, Chief of Campbells". The Glasgow Herald. 9 April 1973. p. 7. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
2. Lundy, Darryl. "p. 153 § 1525".
3. "Argyll, Duke of (S, 1701)". www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
4. Hugh Davies (10 August 2000). "Duchess's 'headless man' was Fairbanks Jnr". The Daily Telegraph.
5. "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. 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.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Duke of Argyll
• Ian Campbell, 11th Duke of Argyll

Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by Niall Diarmid Campbell	Duke of Argyll 1949–1973	Succeeded by Ian Campbell
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Niall Diarmid Campbell	Duke of Argyll 1949–1973	Succeeded by Ian Campbell