Cynthia Spencer, Countess Spencer

Cynthia Ellinor Beatrix Spencer, Countess Spencer (née Hamilton), was born on 16 August 1897 and died on 4 December 1972. She was a British peeress and the paternal grandmother of Diana, Princess of Wales.

Her parents were James Hamilton, Marquess of Hamilton, who later became the 3rd Duke of Abercorn (30 November 1869 – 12 September 1953), and Lady Rosalind Cecilia Caroline Bingham (26 February 1869 – 18 January 1958). Her maternal grandparents were Charles Bingham, 4th Earl of Lucan, and Lady Cecilia Catherine Gordon-Lennox, a daughter of Charles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond, and Lady Caroline Paget.

Cynthia Hamilton married Viscount Althorp on 26 February 1919 at St James's Church, Piccadilly, London. They had two children:

- Lady Anne Spencer (4 August 1920 – 24 February 2020), who served as an officer in the Women's Royal Naval Service. In February 1944, she married Christopher Baldwin Hughes Wake-Walker, a Captain in the Royal Navy, at Westminster Abbey.

- Edward John Spencer, who became the 8th Earl Spencer (24 January 1924 – 29 March 1992).

In 1937, Countess Spencer was appointed a Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth. She continued in this role after Elizabeth’s accession as Queen Mother in 1952 and held the position until her death in 1972.

Cynthia Spencer died at Althorp, the Spencer family estate, of a brain tumour. She was 75 years old at the time of her death. The Cynthia Spencer Hospice in Northampton is named in her honor.

She received several honours during her lifetime:

- On 4 June 1943, she was appointed Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE).

- On 1 June 1953, she was made Dame Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (DCVO).

- On 2 June 1953, she received the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal.

Her funeral and burial details are not specified in the provided sources.