Rosalind Shand

The Honourable Mrs Shand
Born	Rosalind Maud Cubitt (1921-08-11)11 August 1921 16 Grovesnor Street, London
Died	14 July 1994(1994-07-14) (aged 72) Lewes, East Sussex
Spouse	Major Bruce Shand
Children	Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall Annabel Elliot Mark Shand
Parent(s)	Roland Cubitt, 3rd Baron Ashcombe Sonia Rosemary Keppel
Relatives	Edith Marguerite Harrington (mother-in-law) Philip Morton Shand (father-in-law) Tom Parker Bowles (grandson) Laura Parker Bowles (granddaughter) Ben Elliot (grandson) Charles, Prince of Wales (son-in-law)

Rosalind Maud Shand (previously The Hon. Rosalind Maud Cubitt; 11 August 1921 – 14 July 1994), styled as The Hon. Mrs Shand after her marriage, was the daughter of the Roland Cubitt, 3rd Baron Ashcombe. She was the wife of army officer Major Bruce Shand and the mother of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.

Childhood

Rosalind was born at 16 Grovesnor Street, London on 11 August 1921, the eldest of the three children born to The Hon. Roland Calvert Cubitt (1899–1962) and his wife Sonia Rosemary Cubitt, (née Keppel; 1900–1986). Her father was the son of Henry Cubitt, 2nd Baron Ashcombe and became 3rd Baron Ashcombe after his death. Rosalind's mother Sonia was the youngest daughter of The Hon. George Keppel and his wife, Alice Frederica Keppel (née Edmonstone).

Rosalind had two younger siblings: The Hon. Henry Cubitt, who succeeded his father as the 4th Baron Ashcombe and The Hon. Jeremy Cubitt, who died in 1958 at the age of 30. Her family was the aristocratic and wealthy Cubitt family, which founded the Cubitt construction company. She was a goddaughter of Dame Margaret Greville and inherited some of her fortune.

Rosalind had her debutante ball on 6 July 1939 at the great Holland House in Kensington, London. It was attended by more than a thousand guests including famous entertainer Noël Coward, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. The ball was described as the last grand and great ball held at the house before it was destroyed during the Second World War.

Marriage and children

Rosalind met her future husband Major Bruce Middleton Hope Shand (1917–2006), son of English journalist Philip Morton Shand and his first wife Edith Marguerite Harrington at the end of the Second World War. He later retired from the British Army after winning two Military Crosses and being a German prisoner of war. They married on 2 January 1946 at St Paul's Church, Knightsbridge in London. The couple bought a country house, the Laines in Plumpton, East Sussex and also maintained another house in South Kensington.

They had three children:

• Camilla Rosemary Shand (b. 17 July 1947), who married firstly Andrew Parker Bowles and had two children:
  • Thomas Henry Charles Parker Bowles (b. 1974)
  • Laura Rose Lopes née Parker Bowles (b. 1978)

and married secondly His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales

• Sonia Annabel Shand (b. 2 February 1949) married Simon Elliot and had three children:
  • Benjamin William Elliot (b. 1975)
  • Alice Rosalind Irwin née Elliot (b. 1977)
  • Katie Camilla Elliot (b. 1981)
• Mark Roland Shand (28 June 1951 – 23 April 2014) married Clio Goldsmith and had a child:
  • Ayesha Shand (b. 1995)

Career, charity work and interests

Rosalind worked for an adoption agency. She volunteered at the Chailey Heritage Foundation, which helps young children with disabilities in the 1960s and 1970s located at North Chailey, East Sussex. She worked there as a volunteer for 17 years. Her daughter Camilla opened a new facility there in 2013. She like her son, had a strong interest in the Hindu religion and Indian culture.

Death

She died at Lewes, East Sussex on 14 July 1994 aged 72, having long suffered from osteoporosis. Her mother Sonia also died from the same disease in 1986. She was survived by her husband, her three children and five grandchildren. Her youngest granddaughter Ayesha was born a year after her death.

Following her death, Camilla became a member of the National Osteoporosis Society (the only UK-wide charity dedicated to improving the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of osteoporosis) in 1994 to help raise awareness of the disease. She became Patron of the charity in 1997 and was appointed President in 2001.

Ancestry

Family of Rosalind Shand

16. Thomas Cubitt 8. George Cubitt, 1st Baron Ashcombe 17. Mary Anne Warner 4. Henry Cubitt, 2nd Baron Ashcombe 18. Rev. James Joyce 9. Laura Joyce 19. Sarah Brakspear 2. Roland Calvert Cubitt, 3rd Baron Ashcombe 20. Charles Calvert 10. Archibald Motteux Calvert 21. Jane Rowley 5. Maud Marianne Calvert 22. William Peters 11. Constance Maria Peters 23. Marianne Bonham 1. The Hon. Rosalind Maud Cubitt 24. George Keppel, 6th Earl of Albemarle 12. William Keppel, 7th Earl of Albemarle 25. Susan Coutts Trotter 6. The Hon. George Keppel 26. Sir Allan Napier MacNab, 1st Baronet, Premier of the Province of Canada 13. Sophia Mary MacNab 27. Mary Elizabeth Stuart 3. Sonia Rosemary Keppel 28. Sir Charles Edmonstone, 2nd Baronet, of Duntreath 14. Adm. Sir William Edmonstone, 4th Baronet, of Duntreath 29. The Hon. Louisa Hotham 7. Alice Edmonstone 30. Lieut.-Col. John Whitehill Parsons 15. Mary Elizabeth Parsons 31. Mary Elizabeth Dewar

Books cited

• Brandreth, Gyles (2007). Charles and Camilla: Portrait of a Love Affair. Random House. ISBN 0-09-949087-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• MacCarthy, Fiona (2006). Last Curtsey: The End of the Debutantes. Faber & Faber. ISBN 978-0571228591.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Mitford, Deborah (2010). Wait for Me!: Memoirs. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 978-0374207687.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)

External links

• Rosalind Shand at Find a Grave
• Cubitt Family Crest, Coat of Arms and Name History