Lady Flora Hastings

The daughter of the Earl of Loudoun, Lady Flora Hastings (1806-1839) was brought up at Loudoun Castle, near Galston, East Ayrshire. She became a Lady-in-Waiting to the young Queen Victoria.

The daughter of the Earl of Loudoun, Lady Flora Hastings was brought up at Loudoun Castle, near Galston, East Ayrshire. She became a Lady-in-Waiting to the young Queen Victoria. Victoria, who had seen Lady Flora climbing into a carriage with Sir John Conroy, noticed that a few months later she appeared pregnant. Lady Flora insisted that she remained a virgin and had not done anything to merit the suspicion. Victoria refused to believe her and insisted that she undergo a rigorous medical examination. Victoria's doctors revealed that the unfortunate Lady Flora had indeed been telling the truth and was still a virgin. The swelling was the result of a cancerous growth on her liver which led to the innocent Lady Flora's death a few months later. The story had been leaked to the press however and set tongues wagging. The treatment that Lady Flora had received seriously damaged the Queen's popularity to the point where eggs were openly thrown at the royal carriage. 

Lady Flora is buried near her family home, in Loudoun Old Parish Kirk. She was commemorated with the building of the Lady Flora's Institute in Newmilns, which has since become an old people's home.

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