The Cunard liner RMS Scotia docked this morning in New York Harbor, having sailed from Liverpool and Queenstown. Among several illustrious passengers on board was the Lady Margaret Montagu Douglas Scott, second daughter of the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry. One of Great Britain’s most eminent peers and Gold Stick for Scotland, His Grace previously served Her Majesty Queen Victoria as Lord Privy Seal and was a close friend of Prince Albert. Lady Margaret’s mother, the Duchess of Buccleuch, is the daughter of the Second Marquess of Bath, and former Mistress of the queen’s Robes. The family’s several homes and estates include Montagu House in London; Drumlanrig Castle, Bowhill, and Dalkeith Palace in Scotland; and Boughton House in Northamptonshire, England.

Lady Margaret made her debut before Her Majesty Queen Victoria in April 1865, and was one of the London Season’s most fêted debutantes. She is a close friend of the most beautiful of the royal princesses, Louise, and served as a bridesmaid at the marriage of Princess Helena to Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg in July 1866. Ill health forced Lady Margaret to retire from society and take refuge at Powerscourt near Dublin, where she has been the guest of the Seventh Viscount and his wife.

Lady Margaret travels with a companion, Mrs. Marion Scrymgeour, and is expected to make her home in the United States. She will be a most welcome addition to our homegrown aristocracy here in New York.

New York Herald, Wednesday, 8 January 1868

New York Herald, Wednesday, 8 January 1868

NEW YORK, NEW START FOR A DUKE’S DAUGHTER?

We are delighted and intrigued to note that one of the passengers who disembarked yesterday from the RMS Scotia was Lady Margaret Montagu Douglas Scott, the second daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch. Lady Margaret was accompanied by Mrs. Marion Scrymgeour, about whom we can glean nothing at all, save that she is the relic of a minor British diplomat and no relation to her ladyship.

Readers who are imagining a faded, aged spinster peeress and her down-at-heel paid companion should prepare to have their expectations quite confounded. Lady Margaret is twenty-one years of age, flame haired, and perfectly proportioned, according to our source on board the Scotia, with a charming and unaffected manner. Not the average English Rose that the British aristocracy export, not by any stretch!

Why has this matrimonial prize been permitted to escape the Old Country? What does she hope to find here in the New World? The New York Herald has no time for scurrilous rumors and ancient scandal. America is the Land of Second Chances as well as the Land of Opportunity. Whatever her past misdemeanors, Lady Margaret will be welcomed with open arms into the heart of society in the Metropolis and will, we have no doubt, fast become the most sought-after guest at any and all of the current season’s events.