Katharine Bowes-Lyon, the niece of the late Queen Mother, died on February 23 but her death was only announced by her family yesterday. She was laid to rest at a private family funeral.
She and her late elder sister Nerissa, who also had learning disablities, were two of the four daughters of the Queen Mother's elder brother John Bowes-Lyon.
In an era when families treated the disabled with shame and even young unmarried women who got pregnant were locked in asylums or hospitals, the sisters were hidden away from polite society for much of their lives, even while the Queen Mother was patron of Mencap, the charity for what used to be known as the mentally handicapped, people with learning disabilities. » | Richard Palmer | Thursday, March 06, 2014
