Susan, Dowager Duchess of Montrose, has died aged 85 after a long period of illness.
Born in Zanzibar on November 15 1928, she spent her first six years in Africa but several bouts of malaria led to her being sent back to Ireland at the age of six to be brought up by her grandmother in Carrickmines.
She saw her parents once a year when they were home on leave and otherwise communicated with them by letter until, at the age of 12, she rejoined them in Uganda, where her father had been posted.
She attended Kaptagat School for a year until her parents moved to Kenya and bought a farm near Gilgil and she moved to St George’s School in Nairobi.
After the war she married Michael Gibbs, a Kenyan farmer and accomplished polo player, who had been an RAF tail gunner in the war.
He died tragically only two years later, leaving her widowed with a young daughter.
She then met Angus Graham, then the Marquis of Graham, a year later and married him in Rhodesia in 1952, beginning a happy relationship that lasted until his death in 1992.
She became a duchess on the death of her father-in-law in 1953.
She played her formal role as if born to it and adopted her husband’s love of the Gaelic language, herself becoming a member of An Comunn Giadhealach (The Highland Association) in 1953, attending the Mod whenever she could.
On returning to Africa, she threw her energy into raising five children and being a farmer’s wife.
She went on to support her husband with charm and style when he became a politician and eventually a cabinet minister in Ian Smith’s government in Rhodesia.
During the Rhodesian Civil War she was a household name as she led a charity that raised funds to provide better recreational facilities for the troops.
She left Rhodesia with the duke in 1979 and moved to South Africa, where they farmed a small-holding near Pietermaritzburg.
They returned to Scotland in 1988, to live with their son in Kinross-shire, where the dowager duchess established a wide circle of friends.
She was a dedicated member of Cleish Parish Church, being a firm supporter of the guild until her failing health prevented her from regular attendance.
She will be remembered by many for her elegance and sharp wit.
The dowager duchess suffered a cruel decline of her health in both body and mind over the last five years.
She is survived by her five children, 14 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.