Sir Henry Neville Lindley Keswick 1938-2024

Sir Henry Keswick, head of Jardine Matheson and owner of The Spectator during a golden era, died 5 November, 2024. He was 86.

Keswick was a youthful taipan of Jardine Matheson, his family’s Far Eastern trading house, and later, for four decades, its presiding spirit from London. He was also a benevolent proprietor of The Spectator magazine, though the political career that he hoped might follow did not transpire.

He joined Jardines in 1961 and was assigned to the firm's offices in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. He was made a director in 1967, senior managing director in 1970 and chairman in 1972. He retired as senior managing director and chairman in 1975. He returned to London and is the current chairman of Jardine Matheson Holdings.

Henry Neville Lindley Keswick, William Jardine's great-grandson, was born in Shanghai, 29 September, 1938. He was the eldest of three sons of Sir William “Tony” Keswick (1903-90), who combined his role as a resident director of Jardines with the chairmanship of the Municipal Council of Shanghai’s International Settlement, and was later a director of the Bank of England. Henry's mother was Mary Etheldreda Lindley (1911-2009), a great-granddaughter of Simon Fraser, 13th Lord Lovat (1828-87).

Henry had a sister, Teresa, and two brothers, Sir John Chippendale "Chips" Keswick (1940-2024), who was not associated with Jardine Matheson but instead with the London merchant bank, Hambros. He was the chairman of  Arsenal football club, who died in April, and a brother Simon (born 1942), also a managing director of Jardine Matheson.

It was his cousin Hon. Annabel Thérèse (Tessa) Fraser (1942-2022) – then married to the 14th Lord Reay (1937-2013), but who became Henry Keswick’s wife in 1985 – who first suggested that he should buy The Spectator. He called on the magazine’s then owner, Harry Creighton, and agreed to buy it for £75,000.

Henry Keswick’s country home was Oare House, a Georgian mansion near Marlborough in Wiltshire, where he and his wife commissioned a contemporary pavilion by the Chinese-American architect IM Pei. In the Keswick homeland of Dumfriesshire, Henry enjoyed the sporting life at Glenkiln, a wild domain inherited from his father with its collection of sculptures by Moore and Epstein in moorland settings; Henry Moore’s Standing Figure, valued at £3 million, was stolen from the estate in 2015.

He also owned and greatly improved an 18,000-acre grouse moor at Hunthill in Angus. For recreation in London, Keswick was a keen bridge player at the Portland Club.

He was appointed Knight Bachelor in 2009.

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Piers David Christopher Eley 1941-2024

 Piers David Christopher Eley, who died 18 October, 2024, aged 83, was a scion of that landed gentry family.

He was born 20 May, 1941, the elder son of Sir Geoffrey Cecil Ryves Eley, CBE (1904-1990), businessman and sometime director of the Bank of England, by his wife the former Penelope Hughes Wake-Walker (1917-2003); and married 1 April, 1967, Sarah Cloudesley Long-Price (born 1943), daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel David Edward Long-Price (1914-1992), and his wife the former Barbara Mary Tuffs (1912-1979), by whom he had issue, a son, Damian (born 24 Jan, 1970), and a daughter, Thalia (born 9 Sept, 1971).

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Chloë Blackburn (died 2024)

 Chloë Blackburn, who has died aged 93, was the first wife of Sir Crispin Tickell, GCMG, KCVO, the environmentalist and diplomat. She was a talented sculptress.

Sir Crispin was a great-great grandson of Thomas Henry Huxley, the biologist and anthropologist, scion of that landed gentry family.

 She was born Chloë Gunn, daughter of the portrait painter Sir James Gunn, RA (1893-1964), and his first wife the former Gwendoline Thorne; and married 1954 (div 1976), as his first wife, Crispin Charles Cervantes Tickell (who was born 25 August, 1930), son of Jerrard Tickell and his wife the former Renee Haynes. Her husband served in the Coldstream Guards 1952-54; HM Diplomatic Servive, 1954; Foreign Office 1954-55; The Hague 1955-58; Mexico 1958-61; Foreign Office (Planning Staff) 1961-64; Paris 1964-70; Private secretary to successive ministers responsible for Britain's entry into the European Community 1970-72; Foreign and Commonwealth Office 1972-75; Fellow, Center for International Affairs, Harvard University 1975-76; Chef de Cabinet to the Commissioner of the European Community, 1977-81; Visiting Fellow, All Souls College Oxford 1981; Ambassador to Mexico 1981-83; Deputy Under Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 1983-84; Perm Secretary, ODA, 1984-87; British Perm Rep to the United Nations, 1987-90; Warden, Green College, Oxford, 1990-97, appointed Chancellor of University of Kent, 1996 &c. He was appointed MVO [1958], KCVO [1983], and GCMG [1989]. He died 25 January, 2022. He was 91.

Chloë Tickell married secondly, in 1985, Bill Blackburn (died 2002), a lawyer. She leaves three children, Oliver, Oriana and James Tickell.

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Victoria, Baroness Oaksey 1938-2024

Victoria, Baroness Oaksey, who died 19 October, 2024, aged 86, was the first wife of John Geoffrey Tristram Lawrence, 4th Baron Trevethin (Peerage of the UK, cr 1921) & 2nd Baron Oaksey (Peerage of the UK, cr 1947).

Her husband, 'John Oaksey', was the jockey, journalist, broadcaster and author was founded of the Injured Jockeys Fund.

She was the former Victoria Mary Dennistoun, born 1938, daughter of Major John Dennistoun, by his wife the former Nancy Mary Court (1909-90); and married 21 May, 1959 (div 1987), the then Hon John Lawrence (born 21 March, 1929), son of Geoffrey Lawrence, judge, Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, who was created the 1st Baron Oaksey in 1947 and who succeeded as 3rd Baron Trevethin on the death of his elder brother in 1959, and his wife the former Marjorie Frances Alice Robinson (who died 1984). Her husband succeeded his father in the baronies, 28 Aug, 1971, and died 5 September, 2012.

Lady Oaksey leaves a son, the present baron (born 29 June, 1960), and a daughter, Sara (born 26 July, 1961).

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The Baron Renwick of Clifton, KCMG 1937-2024

 The Baron Renwick of Clifton, KCMG, who died 4 November, 2024, aged 86, was a diplomat, sometime ambassador to Washington and to South Africa.

He served in Dakar, Senegal, 1963–64; Foreign Office, 1964–66; New Delhi, 1966–70; Private Secretary to Minister of State, Foreign & Commonwealth Office, 1970–72; First Secretary, Paris, 1972–76; Counsellor, Cabinet Office, 1976–78; Head of Rhodesia Department, FCO, 1978–80; Political Adviser to Governor of Rhodesia, 1980; Head of Chancery, Washington, 1981–84; Assistant Under-Secretary of State for European affairs, FCO, 1984–87. Helped to negotiate the 1984 UK rebate, a two-thirds reduction in the British financial contribution to the European Communities; Ambassador to: South Africa, 1987–91; involved in the release of Nelson Mandela; United States, 1991–95.

Robin William Renwick was born 13 December, 1937, son of Richard Renwick, of Edinburgh, and his wife the former Clarice Henderson; and married in 1965, Annie Colette Giudicelli, by whom he had issue.

He was a former diplomat and a former member of the House of Lords. He was originally appointed by Prime Minister Blair as a Labour Peer in 1997 but moved to the crossbenches in 2007. He retired from the House in 2018.

Renwick was appointed CMG in the 1980 New Year Honours and was promoted to KCMG in the 1989 New Year Honours. On his elevation to the Lords he took the title Baron Renwick of Clifton, of Chelsea in the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea. 

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Lord Benyon appointed Lord Chamberlain

 The Lord Parker of Minsmere had an audience of the King, 4 November, 2024, and delivered up his Wand and Insignia of Office as Lord Chamberlain and took leave upon relinquishing his appointment as Lord Chamberlain. Lord Benyon had an audience of the King, kissed hands upon his appointment as Lord Chamberlain and received from His Majesty the Wand and Insignia of Office when the King invested his with the Insignia of a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order.

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Charles Anthony Fry 1940-2024

 Charles Anthony Fry who died 27 October, 2024, aged 84, was sometime president and chairman of Marylebone Cricket Club, and scion of landed gentry families.

He was born 14 January, 1940, the third son of the cricketer Stephen Hope Fry (1900-1979), and his wife the former Gladys Yvonne Blunt (1905-2001), and was grandson of the great sportsman C.B. Fry (1872-1956), and his wife the former Beatrice Holme-Sumner (1862-1946), of that landed family, descended from the Kingscote landed gentry family, and Lieutenant-General the 1st Baron Bloomfield, GCB, GCH, PC (1768-1846).

Charles Fry, while studying at Oxford, played first-class cricket for Oxford University Cricket Club, making his debut for the club against Yorkshire at Oxford in 1959.

He married Jane Vigors, by whom he had three children, Benjamin, James and Annabelle.

The 1st Baron Bloomfield > Hon Harriott Bloomfield (1806-1901) > Georgina Kingscote (1835-1912) > Beatrice Holme-Sumner (1862-1946) > Stephen Hope Fry (1900-79) > Charles Fry (1940-2024)

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Kapetanov/Brudenell marriage

 The marriage has taken place between Bret Kapetanov (born circa 1994), and Maddison May Brudenell (born 16 May, 1994), a descendant of the Royal House.

Maddison, a descendant of Queen Victoria, announced her engagement to Bret in June, 2023. Mr Kapetanov, a millwright, hails from Windsor, Ontario, and she gave birth a son Michael Adam, 6 August, 2024. The baby is named in honour of Maddison's paternal grandfather, the late John Michael Brudenell (1925-2015), the royal obstetrician.

Maddison is a daughter of the actor Jeremy Alexander Rothwell Brudenell (born 2 April, 1960) and his wife the former Edwina Victoria Louise Hicks (born 24 December, 1961), elder daughter of the late David Nightingale Hicks (1929-1998), by his wife the former Lady Pamela Carmen Louise Mountbatten (born 19 April, 1929), younger daughter of Admiral of the Fleet the late 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (1900-79).

In 2015 Maddison married Olaoluwa Olamide Modupe-Ojo, a musician under the name "Jazz Purple". The marriage ended in divorce. Maddison has issue from her first marriage, two daughters, Daphne (born 26 Nov, 2016), and  Phoebe (born 15 Dec, 2018), and a son, Moses (b 2020).

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Lindsay/Strunck marriage

 The marriage has taken place between the Hon James Antony Lindsay (born 10 November, 1992), second son of the 30th Earl of Crawford & Balcarres (born 24 November, 1958), of Balcarres, Fife, and the Countess of Crawford & Balcarres (nee Nicola Ann Bicket, born 1960), & Clara Rose C.R. (Coco) Strunck (born 9 April, 1993), youngest daughter of Ronald A.A.M. Strunck (born Nov, 1943), of London, and his wife the former Camilla Mary Elizabeth Romsey Dobson (born Feb, 1958).

The bride is a granddaughter maternally of Sir Denis Dobson, KCB, OBE, QC (1908-1995). She is a freelance writer and journalist. She has experience writing news, features and interviews for magazines and national newspapers, including The Sunday Times Style, Tatler, ES Magazine, The Evening Standard, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, The Telegraph and Vogue Scandinavia, among others. She has also worked on refreshing brand editorial for companies such as Cartier and Bicester Village.

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Hamish Angus Peter Ramsay (born 2024)

 Catherine Kidd, wife of Major James Ivor Iain Ramsay [born 1990], The Royal Regiment of Scotland, gave birth to a son, Hamish Angus Peter, 24 October, 2024.

The parents announced their engagement in August, 2021, and planned to marry 21 May, 2022.

Major Ramsay is a son of Major-General Angus Iain Ramsay, CBE, DSO, of Hurstbourne Tarrant, Hampshire, and his wife the former Victoria Clare Lanyon [born 14 Oct, 1956].

Catherine is a daughter of Mr & Mrs David Kidd, of Bosham Hoe, West Sussex.

The infant is descended from the Barons Amherst of Hackney [and via them from the 3rd Marquess of Exeter], and the Barons Cornwallis.

William, 3rd Marquess of Exeter [1825-95] > Lord William Cecil [1854-1943] > Cdr Henry Cecil [1893-1962] >  Rachel Cecil [1924-2010] > Victoria Lanyon [b 1956] > Maj James Ramsay [b 1990] > Hamish Ramsay (b 2024)

Fiennes, 1st Baron Cornwallis [1864-1935] > Hon Yvonne Cornwallis [1896-1983] > Rachel Mary Cecil [1924-2010 - see above]

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William Louis Cowper-Coles (born 2024)

 Georgia Sophie Frances Cowper-Coles (born 1991, nee Rawlinson), wife of Myles Philip Cowper-Coles (born 21 March, 1990), scion of the Coles landed gentry family, gave birth to a son, William Louis, 22 October, 2024.

Georgia is a daughter of John Rawlinson, by his late wife the former Penelope Angela J. Letts (1957-2017). Myles is a son of Sir Sherard Louis Cowper-Coles, KCMG, LVO (born 8 January, 1955), by his first wife the former Bridget Mary Elliott (born 1953).

Sir Sherard is a British former diplomat. He was the Foreign Secretary's Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2009–2010. 

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Simon Anthony Sherbrooke 1947-2024

Simon Anthony Sherbrooke, who died 20 October, 2024, was a scion of the Lords Herries of Terregles.

He was born in 1947, the eldest son of John Penn Sherbrooke (who died in 2001), and his wife the former Madeline Mary Josephine Maxwell-Stuart (1918-2002), a great-granddaughter of the 10th Lord Herries of Terregles (1804-1876); and married in 1977, Miranda McCrea, daughter of Michael McCrea, of Tweedbank, Kelso, by whom he had issue, five children, Archie (born 1980), Rosanna (born 1982), Benedict (born 1984), Luke (born 1986), and Edmund (born 1993, deceased).

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Corfield/Adams engagement

 The engagement was announced 2 November, 2024, between (Richard) Kai C. Corfield, scion of that landed gentry family, son of Richard Conyngham Corfield (born 1955), of Edgeworth, Gloucestershire, and his wife the former Emma Catharine Ramsay Willis, & Isabella Denia Adams (born 1992), daughter of Hugh H.C. Adams, of Hunts Green, Berkshire, and his wife the Hon Annabella Jane Palumbo (born 1961), daughter of the life peer the Baron Palumbo (born 20 July, 1935).

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Rex Anthony Bovill 1948-2024

Rex Anthony Bovill died 28 October, 2024, aged 76.

He was a grandson maternally of Sir John Leigh, 1st Baronet (1884-1959), a mill-owner, who used his fortune to buy a newspaper and launch his career as a Conservative politician. Leigh, whose family resided for generations at Pennington was descended from a cadet branch of the Barons Leigh (of the first creation). Sir John made his fortune in the Lancashire cotton industry. In February 1918, he was created a baronet of Altrincham in Cheshire, and around 1921 he purchased the Pall Mall Gazette. 

Rex Bovill was born 12 February, 1948, the third son of Major William Frederick Bovill, OBE (1905-1982), and his wife the former Marjorie Joan Leigh (1910-1985); and married in 1973, Julia Bell, by whom he had a son, Benjamin (born 1983), and a daughter, Fenella (born 1977).

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The Viscountess Brentford, OBE 1942-2024

 The Viscountess Brentford, OBE, who died 28 October, 2024, aged 81, was wife of the 4th Viscount.

 The peeress was a British evangelical Anglican and activist. She served as the Third Church Estates Commissioner, one of the most senior lay people in the Church of England, from 1999 to 2005. She was also President of the Church Mission Society (CMS) between 1998 and 2007. She served as High Sheriff of East Sussex, 1998-99, and was appointed OBE in 1996.

She was born Gillian Evelyn Schluter, 22 November, 1942, daughter of Gerard Edward Schluter, OBE (1917-1979), of Nairobi, Kenya, and his wife the former Evelyn Rosie Galton-Fenzi (1920-2017), scion of the Galton landed gentry family; and married 21 March, 1964, the then Hon Crispin William Joynson-Hicks (born 7 Apr, 1933), son and heir of the 3rd Viscount Brentford (1902-1983), and his wife the former Phyllis Allfrey (died 1979), scion of that landed gentry family. Her husband succeeeded his father, 25 February, 1983, as fourth viscount (Peerage of the UK, cr 1929), and in the two baronetcies (cr UK 1919, and UK, 1956).

Viscountess Brentford is survived by her husband and a son, the Hon Paul William Joynson-Hicks (born 18 Apr, 1971), and three daughters, Emma, Rowena, and Amy.

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Ewen Alan Macpherson of Attadale (died 2024)

 Ewen Alan Macpherson of Attadale, who died 25 October, 2024, at Lochcarron, was laird of the 32,000-acre Attadale estate in the North West Highlands of Scotland, which stretches from the south shore of Loch Carron to Loch Monar, 15 miles away to the east.

The Attadale estate was historically part of the Clan Matheson lands that extended west to the Kyle peninsula. Most of the estate consists of bare hillside with around 200 acres of flat ground covering the floor of the Attadale glen. Attadale House was built in 1755 by Donald Matheson whose father, John, was the factor for the Seaforth estates in Kintail, Lochalsh and Lochcarron. The love stone above the middle first floor window shows their initials DM and E MK and a heart. The estate was bought in 1952 by Mr Macpherson's father, Ian, whose family had left the island of Skye in the early years of the 19th century. 

Mr Macpherson was predeceased by his wife, the former Nicolette Van der Bijl (who died 17 October, 2018). 

Ewen's branch of the Macpherson clan came from Sleat and Orbost in Skye. Great great grandfather Dr Hugh Macpherson acquired the island of Eigg in the nineteenth century. He was Vice Principal of King’s College, Aberdeen.

Ewen Macpherson's wife Nicolette, always Nicky, was born in South Africa, a van der Bijl, whose family moved to the Cape from near Rotterdam in the mid-seventeenth century and become anglicised when the British defeated the Dutch in 1805. Nicky trained as a painter in London and was greatly influenced by childhood memories of gardens such as Kirstenbosch and Vergelegen at the Cape.

Ewen Macpherson is survived by a son, Nicholas and a daughter Joanna, and predeceased by a daughter Sophie. The daughter Joanna featured in a BBC One documentary 'Lady Lairds' in 2016. Joanna left her marketing job in London to take over the running of Attadale Estate from her father Ewen. 

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Gabrielle Genista Fraser (nee Holt-Wilson) 1933-2024

 Gabriella Genista 'Gay' Fraser, died 19 October, 2024, aged 91.

She was born in 1933, daughter of Brigadier-General Sir Eric Edward Boketon Holt-Wilson, CMG, DSO (1875 – 1950) , the Army officer who left the army to join the nascent British Security Service (MI5), which developed in time to deal with espionage during World War I. He became the Service's deputy to Sir Vernon Kell, serving through to the beginning of World War II. Her mother was the former Audrey Stirling (1910-1994).

Gay Fraser was a great-granddaughter of Edward Greene (1815-1891), a brewer and Conservative MP who founded Greene King brewery, and was father of Sir Edward Greene, 1st Baronet (1842-1920).

Gay married in 1963, Colin G. Fraser, by whom she had issue, a son Andrew, and a daughter, Fiona.

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John Ernest Pretyman 1929-2024

 John Ernest Pretyman, who died 28 October, 2024, aged 95, was a scion of that landed gentry family and a grandson of the 4th Earl of Normanton.

He was born 28 September, 1929, son of Lt-Cdr Herbert Ernest Pretyman, RN (1900-1987), and his wife Lady Mary Karen Agar (1901-1975), daughter of the 4th Earl of Normanton (1865-1933.

His father was a first cousin of the late Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester (1901-2004).

John Pretyman was a grandson of the Rt Hon Ernest George Pretyman, MP, PC (1859-1931), who served as Member of Parliament for Woodbridge, Suffolk from 1895 to 1906 and for Chelmsford from 1908 to 1923. He defeated the Liberal MP Robert Lacey Everett in 1895 and lost his seat to Everett in 1906. He was Civil Lord of the Admiralty from 1900 to 1903, Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty from 1903 to 1906, Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade from 1915 to 1916 and Civil Lord of the Admiralty again from 1916 to 1919. He was appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1917.

John's paternal grandmother was Lady Beatrice Bridgeman (1870-1952), daughter of the 4th Earl of Bradford (1845-1915). Lady Beatrice's younger sister, Lady Margaret (1872-1954), was wife of the 7th Duke of Buccleuch & Queensberry (1864-1935), parents of Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott, who married King George V's third son.

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David Edward Wyndham Tennant 1930-2024

David Edward Wyndham Tennant, who died 19 October, 2024, aged 94, was a scion of the Barons Glenconner and a son of the actress Hermione Baddeley.

He was born 10 May, 1930, the son of the Hon David Francis Tennant (1902-68), and his first wife the former Hermione Youlanda Ruby Clinton-Baddeley (1906-86). His mother was the great English actress Hermione Baddeley, who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Room at the Top (1959) and a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore in 1963. She portrayed Mrs Cratchit in the 1951 film Scrooge and Ellen the maid in the 1964 Disney film Mary Poppins. She voiced Madame Adelaide Bonfamille in the 1970 Disney animated film, The Aristocats.

David Tennant's aunt was Angela Baddeley, CBE (1904-76),  the stage and television actress, best-remembered for her role as household cook Mrs. Bridges in the period drama Upstairs, Downstairs.

David Tennant was a grandson paternally of the 1st Baron Glenconner (1859-1920).

The Old Etonian was a member of the London Stock Exchange. He married firstly, 3 Dec, 1964 (div 1973), Margaret Rachel Scott (born 23 Nov, 1943), scion of the Earls of Eldon, daughter of the Hon Sir Ernest Stowell Scott, KCMG, MVO (1872-1953), diplomat, by his wife the former Winifred Kathleen Brodrick, by whom he had issue; he married 2ndly, in 2004, as her 3rd husband, Frances Jane Fairey (1937-2017), daughter of Sir Charles Richard Fairey, MBE (1887-1956), the aircraft manufacturer, by his wife the former Esther Sarah Whitmey (1906-78).

David Tennant leaves issue from his first marriage, two sons, Aubone (born 7 May, 1969), and Ivan (born 1970), and a daughter, Laura (born 9 Feb, 1967).

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Callander/Simpson engagement

 The engagement was announced 30 October, 2024, between Edward Miles Callander (born December, 1992), youngest son of John Callander, of Fulham, London, by his wife the former (Alice) Camilla Twiston Davies (born 1960), scion of that landed gentry family, & Matilda Kate G. Simpson (born 1993), eldest daughter of Richard G. Simpson (born 1958), of Over Norton, Oxfordshire, and his wife the former Joanna Laidlaw (born 1959), daughter of Sir Christopher Laidlaw (1922-2010).

Edward Callander is descended from the 1st Baron Jolliffe:-

1st Baron Jolliffe (1800-76) > Hon William Jolliffe (1841-1912) > Julia Jolliffe (d 1917) > Violet Shuttleworth (1910-77) > Sara Coryton (b 1934) > Camilla Twiston-Davies (b 1960) > Edward Callander (b 1992)

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William Piers Tyser St Aubyn (born 2024)

The Hon Mrs Felix St Aubyn, wife of the Hon Felix John St Aubyn [born 16 January, 1992], gave birth to a son, William Piers Tyser, 21 October, 2024.

The Hon Felix St Aubyn is the second son of the 5th Baron St Levan [born 6 June, 1950], of St Michael's Mount, Penzance, Cornwall, by his wife the former Mary Caroline Bennett.

Mrs St Aubyn is the former Miss Alice C. Tyser, only daughter of Mr Jonathan Tyser, of Normandy, France, and Mrs Clare Peech, of Hayhill, Zimbabwe.

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Camilla Rose Balfour (nee Webster) 1952-2024

 Camilla Rose Balfour (nee Webster), who died 22 October, 2024, at the Borders General Hospital, was the wife of Robert Roxburgh Balfour, scion of that landed gentry family, and a descendant of the 3rd Marquess Conyngham.

She was born in Windsor, circa Oct, 1952, daughter of Michael George Thomas Webster (1920-2012), and his wife the former Isabel Margaret Dent (1916-2002), scion of that landed family.

Her father was a great-grandson of the 3rd Marquess Conyngham (1825-1882).

3rd Marquess Conyngham > Lady Constance Conyngham > Constance Combe > Michael Webster > Camilla Webster

She had two sisters who both married into the peerage. Susan Honour Webster is the wife of the 11th Viscount Torrington, and Isabel Jane Webster, who is the wife of Desmond Shane Spencer Chichester, scion of the Marquesses of Donegall.

She married 31 January, 1973, Robert Roxburgh Balfour (born 29 June, 1947), scion of that landed family, son of Alexander Norman Balfour (1909-1996), of Dawyck, and his wife the former Elizabeth Eugenie Cowell, by whom she had three children, a son Rupert (born 23 Apr, 1976), and two daughters, Camilla Louise (born 11 May, 1979), and Lara Selina (born 1 June, 1983).

Her husband is a cousin of Neil Roxburgh Balfour (born 12 Aug 1944), who married 23 Sept, 1969 (div 1978), HRH Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia (born 7 Apr, 1936).

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John Robert Brayton Bouchier 1931-2024

 John Robert Brayton Bouchier died 23 October, 2023, aged 93.

He was born in 1931, son of Colonel Clare Brayton Bouchier, MC (1898-1972), of the Royal Munster Fusiliers, and his wife the former Muriel Beatrice Case (1905-1994), daughter of Robert Reginald Case.

He married in 1962, Elisabeth J. Alexander (born 1938), daughter of Robert Alexander and his wife the former Margaret Spring, by whom he had issue, two sons, Rupert (born 1962), and Alexander Henry (born 1968), who married in 1995, Katheryn Sophia Montgomerie of Southannan (born 1970), of the Scottish landed gentry family of that name.

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Thompson/Lewis engagement

 The engagement was announced 29 October, 2024, between Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan 'Jonny' Thompson (born 1984), Equerry to the King, son of Mr & Mrs Alan Thompson, of Morpeth, Northumberland, and Olivia Rose Lewis (born 1991), a PR executive, daughter of Mr Simon David Lewis, OBE (born 8 May, 1959), of Primrose Hill, London, and his wife the former Claire E.A. Pendry (born 1959).

Thompson, "Super" Equerry to the King, is an officer from the 5th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland was front and center for many milestones of the first year of the King's reign, from joining the King and Queen on their first state visit abroad to playing a prominent role during the coronation last year at Westminster Abbey, where he watched over Prince George and His Majesty's other three Pages of Honor as they carried his ceremonial robes.

Thompson is divorced from his first wife Caroline, whom he married in 2010. He has a son.

Olivia's father Simon Lewis is the former chief executive of the Association for Financial Markets in Europe. He was formerly Director of Communications for the former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown. He previously held this position for the Queen, Vodafone, and Centrica. He attended Whitefield School before studying PPE at Brasenose College, Oxford. Lewis was appointed an OBE in the 2014 New Year Honours List for public service and services to international education through the Fulbright Commission. 

Olivia's uncle is the former Daily Telegraph editor-in-chief, Sir Will Lewis (born 2 Apr 1969).

Olivia Lewis has a brother, Thomas Paul Lewis (born 1982), also a PR executive.

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Aldridge/Roblin engagement

 The engagement was announced 29 October, 2024, between Samuel Peter J. (Sam) Aldridge (born 1992), son of Richard D.C. Aldridge, of Hampshire, and his wife the former Christina M. Dimmock (born 1963), & Jemima Eleanor D. Roblin (born 1996), daughter of David John Henry Roblin (born February, 1967), of West Sussex, and his wife the former Alice Eleanor Pigott Sclater (born 22 Oct, 1965).

Sam Aldridge is descended from the Earls of Denbigh, and the Elwes landed gentry family. His maternal grandfather, Peter Dimmock, CVO (1921-2015), was a BBC producer, who married Mary Freya (Polly) Elwes (1928-87), the BBC TV announcer.

The 8th Earl of Denbigh (1823-92) > Lady Winefride Feilding (1869-1959) > Sir Richard Elwes (1901-68) > Polly Elwes (1928-87) > Christina Dimmock (b 1963) > Sam Aldridge (b 1992_

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The Sclater family, afterwards Sclater-Booth, are kin of the Barons Basing (cr 1887).

Jemima Roblin descends from the Hunter Blair baronets:-

Sir David Hunter Blair, 3rd Bt (1778-1857) > Jane Hunter Blair (d 1915) > Capt Guy Sclater (1868-1914) > Cdr Claude Sclater (b 1910) > Lt-Cdr Edward Sclater (b 1936) > Alice Sclater (b 1965) > Jemima Roblin (b 1996)

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Willis/Young engagement

 The engagement was announced 29 October, 2024, between Alastair Hamilton D'Anyers Willis (born 1989), scion of that landed gentry family & descended from the Feilden baronets, son of Patrick John D'Anyers Willis (born 24 Apr 1954), of Swallowcliffe, Wiltshire, and his wife the former Caroline R. Lyell (born 1953), scion of that landed gentry family, and Lucy Irene Young, daughter of Mr & Mrs C.P. Young, of Yeovil, Somerset.

Alastair's aunt, Harmony Joanna Lyell (born 1956), was the wife of the late Charles Heathcoat-Amory (1945-2016), scion of the baronets of that name.

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