55 Wives of knights

Lady May Helen Emma Abel Smith was a relative of the British Royal Family. She was a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria and a niece of Queen Mary. Due to anti-German sentiment in England during the First World War, King George V changed the name of the royal house from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor and renounced all of his German titles and the German titles of members of the British royal family. In response, May's family renounced their German princely titles and the style of Serene Highness and adopted the surname Cambridge, after her ancestor the Duke of Cambridge. Her father was then created the Earl of Athlone, and she was granted the precedence of the daughter of an earl with the courtesy title of Lady.

Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan was the fourth and last wife of Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III. The couple married thirteen months after the Aga Khan III and his third wife were divorced by mutual consent. The Begum was well known for her generosity towards and compassion for the impoverished and the elderly. Her Egyptian Om Habibeh Foundation worked towards the alleviation of poverty and the improvement of quality of life in the area surrounding Aswan, Egypt, and in Le Cannet she established a retirement home. She was particularly interested in women's issues and, an accomplished artist and sculptor, she was also interested in the arts including classical music, ballet, and the opera. The Begum died at the age of 94 in Le Cannet and was buried in the mausoleum of her husband at Aswan.

Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy, KG, GCVO, CD is a member of the British royal family.

Alice, Lady More - also known as Dame Alice Moore - was the second wife of Sir Thomas More, who served as Lord Chancellor of England. She is a prominent figure in Tudor history and literature.

Edris Elaine Allan was a Jamaican community worker, political figure and women's rights advocate. From childhood, she performed community service and worked as a clerk in several retail establishments prior to her marriage. She was the first telephone operator for the Jamaica All Island Telephone Service. As the wife of Sir Harold Allan, honored with the first knighthood bestowed on a Jamaican of African descent by the British crown, she became an instant celebrity, traveling often with her husband and serving as his secretary. A founding member of the Jamaica Federation of Women (JFW), she held many offices in the organization including serving as chair from 1959 to 1962 and again from 1971 to 1976, and then president from 1976 until her death in 1995.

Laura Theresa Alma-Tadema, Lady Alma-Tadema was an English painter specialising in domestic and genre scenes of women and children. Eighteen of her paintings were exhibited at the Royal Academy. Her husband, Lawrence Alma-Tadema, was also a painter.

Anne, Princess Royal, is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. She is 14th in line to the throne as of August 2019 and has been Princess Royal since 1987.

Mary, Lady Bankes née Hawtry was a Royalist who defended Corfe Castle from a three-year siege during the English Civil War from 1643 to 1645. She was married to Sir John Bankes, Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas and Attorney-General of King Charles I.

Muriel Beaumont, Lady du Maurier was an English stage actress. She was the wife of the actor Sir Gerald du Maurier and mother of the writers Angela du Maurier and Daphne du Maurier and artist Jeanne du Maurier. She retired from the stage in 1910.

Margaret Osla Henniker-Major, Lady Henniker-Major was a Canadian debutante, who worked at Bletchley Park, was Prince Philip's first girlfriend, and later married John Henniker-Major, 8th Baron Henniker.

Margaret, Lady Brooke, Ranee of Sarawak was the ranee of the second White Rajah of Sarawak, Charles Anthony Johnson Brooke. She published her memoir, My Life in Sarawak, in 1913. The memoir offers a rare glimpse of life in The Astana in Kuching and colonial Borneo. The Ranee became legendary during her lifetime as a woman of strength and intelligence, as well as on account of her status, which she shared with the other White Rajahs, of being at once an English subject and also an Asian monarch.

Sylvia Leonora, Lady Brooke, Ranee of Sarawak, was an English aristocrat who became the consort to Sir Charles Vyner de Windt Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak, the last of the White Rajahs.

Lady Margaret Butler, Lady Boleyn was an Irish noblewoman, the daughter and co-heiress of Thomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormond. She married Sir William Boleyn and through her eldest son Sir Thomas Boleyn, was the paternal grandmother of Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII of England, and great-grandmother of Anne and Henry's daughter, Elizabeth I of England.

Paula Byrne, Lady Bate,, is a British author and biographer.

Shakira Baksh, Lady Caine is a Guyanese former actress and fashion model, and the wife of English actor Michael Caine.

Catherine of Valois was the queen consort of England from 1420 until 1422. A daughter of Charles VI of France, she married Henry V of England, and gave birth to his heir Henry VI of England. Her liaison with Owen Tudor proved the springboard of that family's fortunes, eventually leading to their grandson's elevation as Henry VII of England. Catherine's older sister Isabella was queen of England from 1396 until 1399, as the child bride of Richard II.

Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, was an English writer known for her sixty-six detective novels and fourteen short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, The Mousetrap, which was performed in the West End from 1952 to 2020, as well as six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.

Clementine Ogilvy Spencer-Churchill, Baroness Spencer-Churchill, was the wife of Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and a life peer in her own right. While legally the daughter of Sir Henry Hozier, her mother’s known infidelity and his suspected infertility make her paternal parentage uncertain. She met Winston Churchill in 1904 and they began their marriage of 56 years in 1908. They had five children together, one of whom died at the age of two from sepsis. During World War I, Clementine organised canteens for munitions workers and during World War II, she acted as Chairperson of the Red Cross Aid to Russia Fund, President of the Young Women’s Christian Association War Time Appeal and Chairman of Maternity Hospital for the Wives of Officers, Fulmer Chase. Throughout her life she was granted many titles, the final being a life peerage following the death of her husband in 1965. In her later years, she sold several of her husband’s portraits to help support herself financially. She died in her London home at the age of 92.

Philippa Congsby married to Sir Thomas Coningsby and had 11 children.

Elizabeth Seymour was a younger daughter of Sir John Seymour of Wulfhall, Wiltshire and Margery Wentworth. Elizabeth and her sister Jane served in the household of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII. In his quest for a male heir, the king had divorced his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, whose only surviving child was a daughter, Mary. His marriage to Anne Boleyn had also resulted in a single daughter, Elizabeth. The queen's miscarriage of a son in January 1536 sealed her fate. The king, convinced that Anne could never give him male children, increasingly infatuated with Jane Seymour, and encouraged by the queen's enemies, was determined to replace her. The Seymours rose to prominence after the king's attention turned to Jane.

Helen Cutler, Lady Cutler, was a lieutenant in the Australian Women's Army Service (AWAS) during World War II and an Australian charity worker and patron. She also fulfilled public duties as wife of Sir Roden Cutler, governor of New South Wales.

Elizabeth Lydia Rosabelle, Lady Clifford, as known as Mrs Henry de la Pasture, was an English novelist, dramatist and children's writer.

Air Commandant Lena Annette Jean, Lady Bromet, DBE, AE, ADC, best known by her maiden name Dame Jean Conan Doyle, was a British military officer in the Women's Royal Air Force.

Penelope Ann Rachel, Lady Reed, known as Penelope Dudley-Ward, was an English actress.

Lady Antonia Margaret Caroline Fraser is a British author of history, novels, biographies and detective fiction. She is the widow of the 2005 Nobel Laureate in Literature, Harold Pinter (1930–2008), and prior to his death was also known as Lady Antonia Pinter.

Marie Carola Franciska Roselyne Galway, Lady Galway, CBE, DStJ, née Blennerhassett, was a British charity and civic worker and advocate for women's rights. She was married to Sir Henry Galway, Governor of South Australia.

Joanna Gosling is an English television news presenter, broadcast journalist and author. She presents on the United Kingdom rolling news channel BBC News, and occasionally the first half of the 11 o'clock news hour on BBC2 as well as presenting the Victoria Derbyshire programme on Fridays. Having previously worked for Independent Local Radio, Central Television in the Midlands and Sky News she has been with the BBC since 1999.

Gwladys ferch Dafydd Gam was a Welsh noblewoman. She was the daughter of Dafydd ap Llewelyn ap Hywel, otherwise known as Dafydd Gam, who was killed at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415.

Emma, Lady Hamilton was an English model and actress, who is best remembered as the mistress of Lord Nelson and as the muse of the portrait artist George Romney.

Susan, Lady Kulukundis,, known professionally by her maiden name Susan Hampshire, is an English actress known for her many television and film roles. A three-time Emmy Award winner, she won for The Forsyte Saga in 1970, The First Churchills in 1971, and for Vanity Fair in 1973. Her other television credits include The Pallisers (1974), The Grand (1997–98) and Monarch of the Glen (2000–2005).

Ursula Kathleen Webb Hicks, styled as Lady Hicks upon her marriage, was an Irish-born economist and academic.

Dame Agnes Jekyll, was a British artist, writer and philanthropist. The daughter of William Graham, Liberal MP for Glasgow (1865–1874) and patron of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, she was educated at home by governesses, and later attended King's College London.

Princess Katarina of Yugoslavia is an English businessperson specializing in etiquette and decorum courses. She is a member of the extended former Yugoslavian royal family.

Dame Janet Elizabeth Murray "Betty" Kershaw, DBE, FRCN, CStJ, is an English nurse who served as professor of nursing and dean at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Sheffield from 1999 to 2006.

Ruth Williams Khama, Lady Khama, was the wife of Botswana's first president Sir Seretse Khama, the Paramount Chief of its Bamangwato tribe. She served as the inaugural First Lady of Botswana from 1966 to 1980.

Vivien Leigh was a British stage and film actress. She won two Academy Awards for Best Actress, for her definitive performances as Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939) and Blanche DuBois in the film version of A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), a role she had also played on stage in London's West End in 1949. She also won a Tony Award for her work in the Broadway musical version of Tovarich (1963).

Honor Grenville was a Cornish lady whose domestic life from 1533 to 1540 during the reign of King Henry VIII is exceptionally well recorded, due to the survival of the Lisle Papers in the National Archives, the state archives of the United Kingdom.

Lena Login, Lady Login was a Scottish courtier and author. She was involved with educating Duleep Singh and bringing him to the UK. She was asked by Queen Victoria to look after an Indian noble and to find her an acceptable husband.

Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, was an English author and playwright.

Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney was an American photographer, musician, animal rights activist, and entrepreneur. She was best known as the first wife of Paul McCartney of the Beatles and for her photographs of celebrities and contemporary musicians. Her photos were published in the book Linda McCartney's Sixties: Portrait of an Era in 1992.

Heather Anne Mills is an English former model, media personality, businesswoman and activist.

Lady Adeline Molamure, CBE was the first female member of State Council of Ceylon, and therefore, the first elected female legislator in Sri Lanka. She was the Deputy President of the Senate of Ceylon.

Lucy Jeanne Neville-Rolfe, Baroness Neville-Rolfe, is a British Conservative politician and Chairman of Assured Food Standards, and a former Commercial Secretary to the Treasury.

Elizabeth, Lady Raleigh was an English courtier, a Gentlewoman of the Privy Chamber to Queen Elizabeth I of England. Her secret marriage to Sir Walter Raleigh precipitated a long period of royal disfavour for both her and her husband.

Dhanvanthi, Lady Rama Rau (1893–1987) was founder and president of the Family Planning Association of India. She was married to Sir Benegal Rama Rau, the noted civil servant, and was the mother of Santha Rama Rau, the writer.

Alma Lucy Reville, Lady Hitchcock, was an English screenwriter and film editor, and the wife of director Alfred Hitchcock. She collaborated on scripts for her husband's films, including Shadow of a Doubt, Suspicion and The Lady Vanishes, as well as scripts for other directors, including Henrik Galeen, Maurice Elvey, and Berthold Viertel.

Lady Margaret Beaufort was a major figure in the Wars of the Roses of the late fifteenth century.

Mary Scudamore was a courtier and the daughter of Sir John Shelton of Shelton Hall, Norfolk and his wife, Margaret Parker. She was one of only six women who were appointed to the Privy chamber of Elizabeth I. When her close friend, Lady Dorothy Stafford, was ill, it was Mary Scudamore who was the Queen's sleeping companion.

Ursula St Barbe was a lady at the court of Queen Elizabeth I of England.

Jane Maria Strachey, Lady Strachey was an English suffragist and writer. Her father was a British colonial administrator and she later married her father's secretary, Sir Richard Strachey, and ten of their children survived into adulthood. She was an outspoken advocate for the right of women to vote and involved her daughters in her campaigning. She wrote two books for children.

Emily Anne Thornberry is a British politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington South and Finsbury since 2005. A member of the Labour Party, she has served as Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade since 2020. She had previously served in the Shadow Cabinet of Jeremy Corbyn as Shadow First Secretary of State from 2017 to 2020 and Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from 2016 to 2020.

Matilda Alice Powles, was a popular English music hall performer. She adopted the stage name Vesta Tilley and became one of the most famous male impersonators of her era. Her career lasted from 1869 until 1920. Starting in provincial theatres with her father as manager, she performed her first season in London in 1874. She typically performed as a dandy or fop, also playing other roles. She found additional success as a principal boy in pantomime.

Helen Mary Warnock, Baroness Warnock, was an English philosopher of morality, education, and mind, and a writer on existentialism. She is best known for chairing an inquiry whose report formed the basis of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990. She served as Mistress of Girton College, Cambridge from 1984 to 1991.

Judith Ann Wilcox, Baroness Wilcox is a businesswoman and a Conservative Life Peer in the British House of Lords. She was awarded her peerage in 1996 as one of the first Working Peers for her services to Consumer Services.

Zenaida Yanowsky, Lady Keenlyside, is a French-born Spanish ballet dancer and a former principal dancer with the Royal Ballet in London.