Frances Balfour

Lady Frances Balfour (née Campbell; 22 February 1858 – 25 February 1931) was a British aristocrat, biographer, writer, and suffragist. She was one of the highest-ranking members of the British aristocracy to assume a leadership role in the Women's suffrage campaign in the United Kingdom. Balfour was a member of the executive committee of the National Society for Women's Suffrage (NUWSS) from 1896 to 1919. As a non-violent suffragist, she was opposed to the militant actions of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU).

Family and early life

Frances Campbell was born on 22 February 1858 at Argyll Lodge in Kensington, London, England. She was the tenth child of British Liberal politician and Scottish peer George Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll, and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Sutherland-Leveson-Gower (eldest daughter of George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 2nd Duke of Sutherland and Harriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland). Her siblings included John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll, Lord Colin Campbell and Lady Victoria Campbell.

Lady Frances Campbell had a hip joint disease and from early childhood was in constant pain and walked with a limp. Her parents were deeply religious and involved in several different campaigns for social reform. She reportedly helped with these campaigns as a child, for example by knitting garments to be sent to the children of former slaves after slavery was formally banned by the government within the British territories in 1833.

In February 1877, she slipped into the gallery of the House of Lords to listen to her father give a speech. She became a regular attendee to the Ladies Gallery in Parliament, attending major debates over Ireland, South Africa, education and church policy.