William Pitcairn Nunneley 1948-2025

William Pitcairn Nunneley, who died 23 April, 2025, was a former head of stewarding at the British Horseracing Authority from 2002 to 2013, and husband of one of the Princess Royal's ladies in waiting.

He was born in 1948, son of Major David Charles William Nunneley (1918-1971), and his wife the former Rosemary Joan Monro (1917-2009); and married firstly, 1975 (div) Fiona Mary Grant, and married 2ndly, 1990, the equine sculptor, Caroline Anne Wallace (born 1950), Lady-in-Waiting to HRH The Princess Royal, and he leaves issue from his first marriage, a son, Andrew Pitcairn Nunneley (born May, 1978), and daughters, Miranda Fiona (b 1980), and Olivia Lucy (b 1986).

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Lord Ross, PC, FRSE 1927-2025

 Lord Ross, PC, FRSE, died 26 April, 2025, aged 98.

He was was Lord Justice Clerk, the second most senior judge in Scotland. Donald MacArthur Ross, was born 29 March, 1927, & and educated at the High School of Dundee and the University of Edinburgh. Ross was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates and became a King's Counsel in 1964. He was Sheriff of Ayr and Bute (1972 to 1973), Dean of the Faculty of Advocates (1973 to 1976), and appointed a Senator of the College of Justice on 17 November 1976. He served as Lord Justice Clerk from 1985 until 1997.

Lord Ross also received an Honorary Doctorate from Heriot-Watt University in 1988. In 1990 and 1991, he was Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. He was an elder at Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh.

From 1997 to 2001, Ross was Chairman of the Judicial Studies Committee for Scotland. He became a Privy Counsellor in 1985 and was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1988, where he was Vice-President from 1999 until 2002. He was the Honorary President of The Dundee High School Old Boys' Club.

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Earl of Bective marries

  The marriage took place 3 May, 2025, between Thomas Rupert Charles Christopher Taylour, styled Earl of Bective (born 18 June, 1989), son and heir of the 7th Marquess of Headfort (born 1959), of Oxfordshire, and his late wife the former Susan Jane Vandervell (1960-2008), & Florence Lucy Greensted (born 1993), daughter of Jonathan (Jack) Greensted (born 1963), also of Oxfordshire, and his wife the former Shelley Edgson (born 1960).

The Marquess of Headfort (who was born 10 Feb, 1959) is a peer of the UK as Baron Kenlis. The marquesate was created in 1800 in the Peerage of Ireland.

It was the fourth marquess who famously wed, in 1901, the Irish Gaiety Girl Rosie Boote (1878-1958). The marriage of the peer  with the comely actress caused something of a stir in Edwardian high society.

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Deborah Elizabeth Meynell 1953-2025

 Deborah Elizabeth Meynell (née Menin) died 20 April, 2025.

She was born in 1953, daughter of Terence Luigi Menin (1926-2016), of Honingham, Norfolk, and his wife the former Brenda Breakell, and married in 2000, as his second wife, Anthony Charles Meynell (born 23 July, 1952), scion of that landed gentry family, and descended from the Viscounts Halifax, elder son of Richard Walter Meynell (1923-2010), and his wife Ilse Therese Gräfin von Sponeck (1928-2018).

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Lily Emma Haxby (born 2025)

Harriet Fiona Haxby (nee Hedges, born 25 January, 1994), wife of William Henry Haxby (born 1993), gave birth to a daughter, Lily Emma, 25 April, 2025.

William Haxby, is the younger son of  Mr and Mrs Adrian Haxby, of Putney, London, and Harriet Haxby is a daughter of James Killingworth Hedges (born 1958), of Shaftesbury, co Dorset, and his wife the former Emma Mary Pym (born 25 June, 1963).

The infant is descended from the Pym landed gentry family:-

Martin Hugh Pym (b 1927) > Emma Mary Pym (b 25 June, 1963) > Harriet Hedges (b 1994) > Lily Haxby

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Lieutenant-Colonel Mark William Bingham Faulkner (1955-2025)

Lt-Col. Mark William Bingham Faulkner, late the 5th Royal Dragoon Guards, died 17 April, 2025, aged 70.

He was born 13 April, 1955, the second son of Commander William John Macnamara Faulkner, RN (1928-2005), and his 1st wife the former Margaret Annette De Trafford (1928-1997), scion of the De Trafford baronets. 

He married 8 December, 1979, the Hon Deborah Jane MacAndrew (born 13 November, 1956), daughter of the 2nd Baron MacAndrew (1919-1989), and his wife the former Ursula Beatrice Steel (1918-1986), by whom he had issue, three sons, James (b 21 May, 1983), Alexander (b 2 Apr, 1987), and Patrick (b 28 Sept, 1992).

 

Evelyn Grace Violet Horsfall (born 2025)

 Sophie Rebecca Horsfall (nee Breitmeyer, born 1987), wife of R. John Edmund Horsfall (born 1988), gave birth to a daughter Evelyn Grace Violet, 14 April, 2025.

John Horsfall is the younger son of Mr Charles Horsfall of Chitterne, Wiltshire, and Mrs Bridget Horsfall (nee Reynolds) of Pewsey, Wiltshire.

Sophie (born 1987), scion of the Breitmeyer landed gentry family, is the elder daughter of Timothy Hugh Breitmeyer (born 1959), of Bartlow, Cambridgeshire, and his wife the former Henrietta Jane Balcon (born 5 November, 1960).

Sophie is descended paternally from the 1st Baron Abertay:-

Charles Barrie, 1st and last Baron Abertay (1875-1940) > Hon June Barrie (1928-2013) > Timothy Breitmeyer (b 1959) > Sophie Breitmeyer (b 1987)

Sophie is descended maternally from the Barons Hillingson:-

Patrick Mills, 5th Baron Hillingdon (1906-82) > Hon Sarah Mills (1933-2022) > Henrietta Balcon (b 1960) > Sophie Breitmeyer (b 1987)

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Matilda Hazel Margaret Bailey (born 2025)

Jemima Jane MacLeod (nee Bailey, born 28 July, 1994), wife of William S. MacLeod, and scion of the Bailey baronets, gave birth to a daughter, Matilda Hazel Margaret, 17 April, 2025.

William is a son of of the late Graeme MacLeod, of Tillington, West Sussex, and Mrs MacLeod.

Jemima is a daughter of Patrick James Bailey (born 17 March, 1959),and his wife the former Sarah Hammond (born 1964), and is a granddaughter of Sir Derrick Thomas Louis Berry, 3rd Baronet (1918-2009).

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Bruno William Henry North (born 2025)

 Martha Elizabeth North [nee Braddell, born 1989], wife of Jocelyn Montagu Dudley [Jos] North [born 23 March, 1989], scion of the North baronets, gave birth to a son, Bruno William Henry, 24 April, 2025, a brother for Grace Elizabeth [who was born 29 July, 2020], and for Frederick Walter Francis, (who was b 25 January, 2022).

Martha is a daughter of Harry Michael Gordon Braddell [born 1950], and his wife the former Clare Haggas.

Jos North is the son and heir of Sir Jeremy William Francis North, 3rd Baronet [born 5 May, 1960], and his wife the former Lucy van der Meulen.

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The Dowager Countess of Strathmore & Kinghorne

 The Dowager Countess of Strathmore & Kinghorne, who died at her home at Melrose in the Scottish Borders, 28 April, 2025, aged 92, was the widow of the late 17th Earl of Strathmore, a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II.

The Countess lived at Glamis, the Forfar seat the Bowes Lyon family and childhood home of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.

She was the former Mary Pamela McCorquodale, and was born 31 May, 1932, the second daughter of Brigadier Norman Duncan McCorquodale, MC (1898-1971),  scion of that landed gentry family, of King's Head House, Winslow, co. Buckingham, by his wife Barbara Helen de Knoop, 1st daughter of Capt Jersey de Knoop.

She married 10 April, 1956, the then Capt Fergus Michael Claude Bowes Lyon (born 31 December, 1928), the elder son of Capt the Hon Michael Claude Hamilton Bowes Lyon (1893-1953), brother of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and his wife the former Elizabeth Margaret Cator (1899-1959), scion of that landed family. On 13 Sept, 1972 her husband succeeded his cousin as 17th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne (Scotland, let. pat. 10 Jul 1606;  additional charter 1 Jul 1677), Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne (United Kingdom, let. pat. 1 Jun 1937), Viscount Lyon (Scotland, let. pat. 1 Jul 1677), Lord Glamis (Scotland, let. pat. 28 Jun 1445), Lord Glamis, Tannadyce, Sidlaw and Strathdichtie (Scotland, let. pat. 1 Jul 1677), Baron Bowes, of Streatlam Castle in the County of Durham and of Lunedale in the County of York (United Kingdom, let. pat. 1 Jul 1887).

The 17th Earl collapsed and died on his grouse moor at Glamis, 18 August, 1987, aged 58.

The Countess leaves two daughters, (1) Lady Elizabeth Leeming (born 23 Dec, 1959), sometime Lady in Waiting to Queen Elizabeth II and later a Lady in Waiting to the Princess Royal, and (2) Lady Diana Godfrey-Faussett (born 29 Dec, 1966), and was predeceased by her only son, Michael Fergus Bowes Lyon, the 18th Earl of Strathmore & Kinghorne, DL (1957-2016).

Her grandson is the 19th Earl of Strathmore & Kinghorne (born 18 June, 1986).

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The 8th Earl of Donoughmore 1927-2025

The 8th Earl of Donoughmore died 25 April, 2025. He was 97.

The peer was a doctor turned businessman who helped develop the Perdio transistor radio into a feature of the Swinging Sixties. Perdio flourished as hand-held transistors became all the rage, not least for youngsters tuning to emerging pirate pop-music stations

Richard Michael John Hely-Hutchinson was born 8 August, 1927, the eldest son of the 7th Earl of Donoughmore (1902-81), by his wife the former Dorothy Jean Hotham (1906-1995), scion of the Barons Hotham.

His father was sometime MP for Peterborough, who was kidnapped with his wife by the IRA and held as a political hostage in the 1970s. 

He was known by the courtesy title Viscount Suirdale until he succeeded his father, 12 August, 1981, as 8th Earl of Donoughmore (Ireland, let. pat. 29 Dec 1800), 8th Viscount Donoughmore, of Knocklofty in the County of Tipperary  (Ireland, let. pat. 20 Dec 1797), 8th Viscount Hutchinson, of Knocklofty in the County of Tipperary (United Kingdom, let. pat. 14 Jun 1821), and 9th Baron Donoughmore, of Knocklofty in the County of Tipperary (Ireland, let. pat. 16 Oct 1783).

The Earl married 1stly, 1st Nov, 1951, Sheila Parson (who died in Sept 1998), daughter of Frank Frederick Parsons, by whom he had issue, four sons, (1) John Michael James, styled Viscount Suirdale (born 7 Aug, 1952), the Hon Timothy Mark Hely-Hutchinson (born 26 Oct, 1953), the Hon Nicholas David Hely-Hutchinson (born 30 Apr, 1955), and the Hon Ralph Charles Hely-Hutchinson (born 16 Dec, 1961).

He married 2ndly, 23 June 2001, Margaret Morgan Stonehouse, daughter of Eric Childe Stonehouse, of Wakefield, co. York.

The peerages now pass to his eldest son and heir, Viscount Suirdale.

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Major General Sir Christopher John Airy, KCVO, CBE 1934-2025

Major General Sir Christopher Airy, KCVO, CBE, died 7 April, 2025, aged 91.

Airy was Private Secretary and Treasurer to HM The King (when Prince of Wales, and to the Princess of Wales) 1990-1991, and an Extra Equerry to HM The King from 1991.

He was born 8 March, 1934, and educated at Marlborough, and RMA Sandhurst, and commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Grenadier Guards 1954; Scots Guards 1974; PMA to the Secretary of State for War, 1960; Commanding Officer, 1st Battalion, Scots Guards, 1974; Mil Asst (GSO1) to the Master General of the Ordnance, 1976; Comdr 5th Field Force, 1979; Senior Army Member, RCDS 1984-85; GOC London District and Major General Commanding the Household Division 1986; retired 1989. Member of the Prince of Wales's Council 1990-91; appointed CBE (1984), and KCVO (1989).

He married in 1959, Judith Stephenson (who died 14 January, 2025, aged 89), and leaves one son, Patrick (born 1965), and two daughters. His elder daughter, Lydia Lucinda, was the first wife of the 21st Baron Teynham.

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Doyne/Wood engagement

The engagement was announced 1 May, 2025, between Samuel Charles Michael Doyne (born 1992), scion of that landed gentry family, eldest son of (Charles) Philip Doyne (born 11 April, 1955), of Hampsthwaite, North Yorkshire, by his wife the former Sarah Mary Benson (born 1958), & Romilly Philippa A. Wood (born 1992), the only daughter of Mr & Mrs Jeremy Wood, of Churt, Surrey.

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Nicholas Paul Beresford-Jones (died 2025)

Nicholas Paul Beresford-Jones died 22 April, 2025, aged 81. He married in 1971, as her second husband, Deirdre Nell Bathurst Norman (born 19 Oct 1946), scion of that landed gentry family, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Harry Rumbold Bathurst Norman, GM (1901-1966), and his wife the former Ann Prunella Beckett (1907-2001), scion of the Barons Grimthorpe, by whom he had a daughter, Alexandra Juliet (born in 1973).

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The Baroness Clitheroe 1936-2025

The Baroness Clitheroe, who died at her home, Downham Hall, Lancashire, 10 April, 2025, aged 88, was the wife of the 2nd Baron Clitheroe.

She was born Juliet Hanbury, 16 November, 1936, scion of that landed gentry family, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Lionel Hanbury, MBE, TD (1905-1997), and his wife Lettice Mary Charrington (1906-1980), scion of that landed gentry family; and married 2 May, 1961, the then Hon Ralph John Assheton (born 3 November, 1929), son and heir of the 1st Baron Clitheroe (1901-1984), and his wife the former Hon Sylvia Benita Frances Hotham (1903-1991), scion of the Barons Hotham. Her husband succeeded his father as 2nd Baron Clitheroe, 18 September, 1984.

Lady Clitheroe is survived by her 95 year-old husband and two sons, the Hon Ralph (b 16 March, 1992), and the Hon John (born 12 July, 1964), and by a daughter, the Hon Elizabeth (b 6 Oct, 1968).

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Hodgson/Newton engagement

The engagement was announced 26 April, 2025, between the Hon Toby Henry Storr Hodgson (born 1988), of son of life peer the Baron Hodgson of Astley Abbotts, CBE (born 25 April, 1942), and his wife the life peer Baroness Hodgson of Abinger, CBE (born 7 Nov, 1954), & Sarah C. Newton, daughter of Mr and Mrs Michael Newton of Melbourne, Australia.

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Molesworth/Dunlop engagement

 The engagement was announced 26 April, 2025, between Lachlan James Simon Molesworth (born 1984), scion of the Viscounts Molesworth, eldest son of Simon Richard Molesworth (born 2 April, 1954), of Melbourne, Australia, and his wife the former Rosalind Marie Cochrane (born 1954), & Diana H.R. Dunlop, daughter of the late Dr Alexander Boyd Dunlop, and Mrs Aurelia Dunlop, of Melbourne, Australia.

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Fairbairn/Berg engagement

The engagement was announced 26 April, 2025, between Jack Edmund Brooke Fairbairn (born 22 March, 1995), elder son and heir of Sir Robert William Fairbairn, 7th Baronet (born 10 April, 1965), of New York and Salcombe, and his wife the former Sarah Frances Colleypriest Griffin (born 1965), & Sarah V. Berg, daughter of Andrew and Catherine Berg of Chevy Chase, Maryland, United States.

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Connie Jeanne Cubitt (born 2025)

 Eleanor Cubitt (nee Milligan-Manby), wife of James William Cubitt [born 25 July, 1992], scion of that landed family, gave birth to a daughter, Connie Jeanne, 11 April, 2025, a sister for Wilbur Thomas Owbridge, who was born 10 April, 2023.

James Cubitt is the elder son of Major General Sir William George Cubitt, KCVO  [born 1959], of Honing, Norfolk, by his wife the former Lucy Jane Pym [born 24 Sept, 1961], scion of that landed gentry family.

Eleanor Cubitt, scion of the Milligan-Manby landed gentry family, is the elder daughter of James Milligan-Manby, of Thorganby, Lincolnshire, by his wife Emma.

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Humphreys/Bunting engagement

The engagement was announced 26 April, 2025, between Edward Jasper G. (Ned) Humphreys (born 18 Oct, 1994), son of Toby J. Humphreys (born 1963), of Berwick St James, co Wilts, and his wife the former Sarah L. Hicks, & Sophie Elizabeth Bunting (born 25 March, 1995), scion of that landed gentry family, daughter of Mark Charles Bunting (born 27 February, 1959), of Pen Selwood, Somerset, and his wife the former Jill E.G. (Jilly) Carey (born 1959), scion of that landed gentry family.

Sophie Bunting is a niece of the Marchioness of Downshire (born 12 Sept, 1962), wife of the 9th Marquess of Downshire (born 4 Feb, 1959).

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James Peter George Steele (born 2025)

  Caroline Mary Steele [née McCorquodale, born 1987], wife of Thomas A.L. Steele, gave birth to a son, James Peter George, 9 April, 2025, a brother for William Hamish Lindsay, who was born 24 June, 2022.

Tom Steele is the son of Julian Steele, of Pitroddie, Perthshire. Caroline Steele is a scion of the McCorquodale landed family, daughter of Hamish Norman McCorquodale [born 1945], and his wife the former Mary Anne Cookson [born 1952], descended from the Brassey family, &c.

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Dido Selina Kerr-Smiley (born 2025)

 (Leonora) Brilliana Kerr-Smiley (nee Harley, born 1992), wife of Frederick Hugh Kerr-Smiley [born 25 March, 1992], descended from the Smiley baronets, gave birth to a daughter, Dido Selina, 13 April, 2025.

Frederick is a son of Mark Alexander Kerr-Smiley [born 30 March, 1961],  of Kensington, London, and his wife the former Manuela Marie Raquez.

Brilliana, a scion of the Harley landed gentry family, is the eldest daughter of Edward Mortimer Harley, OBE [born 1960], of Brampton Bryan Hall, Herefordshire, and his wife the former [Alice] Victoria Mather [born 1960], daughter of Lieutenant-Col Sir [David] Carol Macdonnell Mather, MC, MP [1919-2006], and his wife the former Hon Philippa Selina Bewicke-Copley [born 5 Dec. 1925], daughter of the 5th Baron Cromwell [1893-1966].

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Hamilton-Russell/Mitchell engagement

The engagement was announced 26 April 2025, between the Hon (Gustavus) Archie Edward Hamilton-Russell (born 13 June, 1999), son and heir of the 11th Viscount Boyne (born 27 May, 1965), of Burwarton Shropshire and Lucy, Viscountess Boyne (born 1965),  2nd daughter of George J S Potter, of Foxdale, Bunbury, co. Chester, by his wife Leila O McConomy, & Ottilie Rose Mitchell (born 1997), daughter of William Jonathan Edward (Jol) Mitchell (born 1958), of Benacre, Suffolk, and his wife the former Sarah Streeter.

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