trenchard

Friday, February 07, 2025

Selina Violet Douglas-Home 2005-2025

 Selina Violet Douglas-Home, who died 24 January, 2025, aged 19, was a scion of the Earls of Home.

She was born 1 February, 2005, the only daughter of Tara John Douglas-Home (born 8 Apr, 1969), and his wife the former Francina Aurelia Beelaerts van Blokland (born 13 May, 1972), and a granddaughter of Charles Cospatrick Douglas-Home (1937-85), sometime editor of The Times newspaper, by his wife Jessica Violet Gwynne (born 7 Feb, 1944).

Selina was a great-granddaughter of the Hon Henry Montagu Douglas-Home (1907-1980), and his wife the Lady Alexandra Margaret Elizabeth Spencer (1906-96), daughter of the 6th Earl Spencer, KG, GCVO, VD, PC (1857-1922).

Selina's great-grandfather was a younger brother of the 14th Earl of Home, KT (1903-1995), later Sir Alec Douglas-Home, Prime Minister 1963-64, and afterwards Baron Home of the Hirsel, life peer.

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Thursday, February 06, 2025

Dodd-Noble/Murray engagement

 The engagement was announced 6 February, 2025, between Maximilian Alexander Patrick Dodd-Noble (born 14 June, 1994), son of Patrick Robin Dodd-Noble (born 10 November, 1951), of London SW11, and his wife the former Julia Leys Geddes (born 1957), and Isabella Henrietta Laura Murray (born 20 Nov, 1994), eldest daughter of Stephen Christopher Jerningham Murray (born 1957), of Saffron Walden, and his wife the Hon Amanda Muriel Mary Neville (born 8 Apr, 1962), eldest of the five daughters of the 10th Baron Braybrooke (1932-2017).

Patrick Dodd-Noble is the second son of Adrian Dodd-Noble (1922-2013), and his wife the Lady Elizabeth Theresa Boyle (1920-1981), who was a sister of the 13th Earl of Cork & Orrery (1910-95), and the 14th Earl of Cork & Orrery (1916-2003).

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Rémi Sophia Cederström Comyn (born 2024)

 The Hon  Lara Fiona Brita Comyn [nee Bampfylde, born 14 May, 1990], wife of Capt Edward John FitzWalter Comyn [born 1989], descended from the Barons FitzWalter, gave birth to a daughter, Rémi Sophia Cederström, 22 December, 2024, a sister for Rory William Fitzwalter, who was born 20 September, 2022.

Capt Comyn is the younger son of Timoty John Comyn [born 1951], of Westcot, co Oxford, by his wife the former Jane Fairrie Drinkwater [born 1954].

The Hon Lara Comyn is a daughter of the 7th Baron Poltimore [born 8 June, 1957], of Hungerford, Berkshire, by his wife the former Sally Anne Miles [born 1957].

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Wednesday, February 05, 2025

Caroline Joanna Spragge (née Baird) 1935-2025

Caroline Joanna Spragge (née Baird), who died 14 January, 2025, aged 89, was a scion of the Baird landed gentry family.

She was born 3 May, 1935, the eldest daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel David Everard Baird (1906-1987), and his wife the former Winifred Isobel Thorburn (1911-1990); and married 20 April, 1963, her first cousin, Lieutenant-Commander David Charles Spragge, RN (1932-2010), younger son of Commander Harold Edward Spragge, RN (1894-1975), and his former wife the former Vida Janet Baird (1899-1980), by whom she had issue, three daughters, Hannah, Clare and Katie.

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(Angus) Richard Bonsor 1947-2025

 (Angus) Richard Bonsor, who died 27 January, 2025, aged 77, was a scion of the Bonsor baronets.

He was born 3 February, 1947, the second son of Sir Bryan Bonsor, 3rd Baronet (1916-1977), and his wife the former Elizabeth Hambro (1920-1995), scion of that landed gentry banking family; and was sometime a director of J.O. Hambro Investment Management; he married 14 January, 1971, Susan Anne Wigan (born 1949), scion of that landed gentry family, daughter of Flight Lieutenant David Henry Lewis Wigan (1924-2006), and his 1st wife the former Anne Heyworth (1924-2017), scion of that landed family and descended from the Barons Tweedmouth, by whom he had issue, two sons, Rupert (born 26 Sept, 1974), and Edward (born 16 July, 1976), and a daughter, Clare (born 3 Sept, 1981).

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Rosanna Catherine Frances Clarke (born 2025)

Polly Jane Beaumont Clarke (nee Fairbank, born 1993), wife of Thomas H. Clarke, gave birth to a daughter, Rosanna Catherine Frances (Rosie), 4 January, 2025, a sister for Eliza Jane.

Tom Clarke is the elder son of Mr & Mrs Francis Clarke, of Harston, 

Polly Clarke is the eldest daughter of Simon Neville Fairbank [born 6 July, 1965], of South Dalton, Yorkshire, by his wife the former Catherine Jane Beaumont Sanders [born 1967].

Polly's is a granddaughter of John Anthony Fairbank [1931-1966], by his wife the former Jane Truscott [born 14 September, 1937], scion of the Truscott baronets, third daughter of Sir Denis Truscott, GBE [1908-89], sometime Lord Mayor of London.

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Scarlett Elizabeth Brooke (born 31 Jan 2025)

 Emily Anne K. Brooke (nee Close, born 1990), wife of George Francis Geoffrey Brooke [born 10 September, 1991], gave birth to a daughter, Scarlett Elizabeth, 31 January, 2025.

George Brooke is the son and heir of Sir Francis George Windham Brooke, 4th Baronet [born 15 October, 1963], of Glenbevan, Croom, County Limerick, and his wife the Hon Lady Brooke [nee the Hon Katharine Elizabeth Hussey, born 1 Feb, 1964]/

Emily Brooke is the the only daughter of Thomas D. Close, of Horsham, West Sussex, and his wife the former Sarah Pool.

George Brooke is a grandson maternally of Lady Susan Hussey, GCVO [nee Waldegrave] [born 1 May, 1939] long serving Woman of the Bedchamber to HM Queen Elizabeth II.

12th Earl Waldegrave, KG [1905-95] > Lady Susan Waldegrave [b 1939] > Hon Katharine Hussey [b 1964] > George Brooke [b 1991] > Scarlett Elizabeth Brooke [b 2025]

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Tuesday, February 04, 2025

His Highness The Aga Khan IV 1936-2025

 His Highness The Aga Khan, who became the spiritual leader of the world’s millions of Ismaili Muslims at age 20 as a Harvard undergraduate and who poured a material empire built on billions of dollars in tithes into building homes, hospitals and schools in developing countries, died 4 February, 2025, at Lisbon. He was 88.

His Aga Khan Foundation and the Ismaili religious community announced on their websites that His Highness Prince Karim Al-Hussaini, the Aga Khan IV and 49th hereditary imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, died on Tuesday in Portugal surrounded by his family. They said an announcement on his successor would come later.

Considered by his followers to be a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV was a student when his grandfather passed over his playboy father as his successor to lead the diaspora of Shia Ismaili Muslims, saying his followers should be led by a young man “who has been brought up in the midst of the new age.”

Over decades, the Aga Khan evolved into a business magnate and a philanthropist, moving between the spiritual and the worldly and mixing them with ease.

Treated as a head of state, the Aga Khan was given the title of “His Highness” by HM Queen Elizabeth II in July 1957, two weeks after his grandfather the Aga Khan III unexpectedly made him heir to the family’s 1,300-year dynasty as leader of the Ismaili Muslim sect.

He became the Aga Khan IV on Oct. 19, 1957, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on the spot where his grandfather once had his weight equalled in diamonds in gifts from his followers.

He had left Harvard to be at his ailing grandfather’s side, and returned to school 18 months later with an entourage and a deep sense of responsibility.

“I was an undergraduate who knew what his work for the rest of his life was going to be,” he said in a 2012 interview with Vanity Fair magazine. “I don’t think anyone in my situation would have been prepared.”

Accounts differ as to the date and place of Prince Karim Aga Khan’s birth. According to “Who’s Who in France,” he was born 13 December, 1936, at Creux-de-Genthod, near Geneva, Switzerland.

He was the son of Prince Ali Salman Shah (1911-1960), and his first wife, the Hon Joan Barbara Yarde-Buller (1908-1997), former wife of Thomas Loel Evelyn Bulkeley Guinness (1906-88), and eldest daughter of the 3rd Baron Churston (1873-1930), and his first wife the actress Jessie Smither (who used the stage name Denise Orme) (1884-1960). Jessie was later wife of the 7th Duke of Leinster (1892-1976). His mother's third husband was the 2nd Viscount Camrose (1909-1995).

His Highness had an elder half-brother, Patrick Benjamin Guinness (born 10 March, 1931), who married in 1955, the German aristocrat Dolores Maria Agatha Wilhelmine Luise Gräfin von Fürstenberg (born 31 July, 1936), and he was killed in a motor accident, 5 Oct, 1965. 

The Aga Khan married firstly, in 1969 (divorced 1995), the model Sarah Frances Croker Poole (born 28 January, 1940), former wife of Lord James Charles Crichton-Stuart (1935-82), a younger son of the 4th Marquess of Bute (1907-1956), and his wife Lady Eileen Beatrice Forbes (1912-93), and daughter of Lieutenant-Col Arthur Edward Croker Poole (1900-80), and his wife the former Jean Margaret Balfour Watson (who died 2001). His Highness the Aga Khan married 2ndly, 30 May, 1998 (div 2014) Gabriele Renate Thyssen (Princess Inaara Aga Khan) (born 1 April, 1963), former wife of Karl-Emich Nikolaus Friedrich Hermann Erbprinz zu Leiningen (born 12 June, 1952), and daughter of   Helmut Friedhelm Homey, and his wife Renate Kerkhoff.

The Aga Khan leaves issue by his first wife, known as the Begum Salimah Aga Khan, two sons, Rahim (born 12 Oct, 1971), and Hussain (born 10 Apr, 1974), and a daughter, Zahra (born 18 Sept, 1970), and a son by his second wife, Aly Muhammad (born 7 March, 2000).

The eldest son, Rahim, married the American model Kendra Spears (now Princess Salwa Aga Khan) in 2013, and they have two sons.

The Aga Khan's daughter, Zahra, married in 1997 (div 2005), Mark Boyden, son of a Dorset farmer, and has issue, a son, Iliyan Boyden (born 8 May, 2002), and a daughter, Sara Boyden (born 14 Nov, 2000).

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Elizabeth Caroline Anderson (nee Hibbert) 1943-2025

 Elizabeth Caroline Anderson, who died 25 January, 2025, aged 81, was a scion of the Hibbert landed gentry family, and a granddaughter of the 2nd Earl of Inchcape.

She was born 9 June, 1943, second daughter of Major Hugh Washington Hibbert (1911-1985), and his wife the former Lady Patricia Margery Kathleen Mackay (1916-1973), daughter of the 2nd Earl of Inchcape (1887-1939), and his wife Joan Moriarty (1896-1933); and married 1stly, 12 June, 1965, Capt Jeremy Michael Porter (1937-1985), son of Capt Ludovic Ernest Porter, RN (1902-1976) and his wife the former Joan Caulfeild (1903-95), scion of the Viscounts Charlemont; married 2ndly, 6 March, 1991, Kenneth Rouse Anderson, son of Austin Innes Anderson, and leaves issue from her first marriage, two sons, James Robert Porter (born 11 Oct, 1967), and Toby Hugh Washington Porter (born 4 May, 1969).

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Mary Fleur Cameron (nee Mount) 1934-2025

 Mary Fleur Cameron (nee Mount), who has died aged 90, was a scion of the Mount baronets, and mother of the former Prime Minister the Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton, PC.

Mary Fleur Mount was born 22 October, 1934, the second daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Sir William Malcolm Mount, 2nd Baronet (1904-1993), and his wife the former Elizabeth Nance Llewellyn (1904-1997); and married 20 October, 1962, Ian Donald Cameron (1932-2010), scion of the clan Cameron and a descendant of King William IV & Mrs Dorothea Jordan, by whom she had issue, two sons, Allan Cameron, QC (1963-2023), the Rt Hon David Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton, PC (born 9 Oct, 1966), and two daughters, Tania (born 7 March, 1965), and Clare (born 1971).

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Paloma Leo Lorimer Worsley (born 25 Jan. 2025)

 Eliza Worsley (née Lorimer), wife of Hugo Justin Pitfield Worsley (born 5 Aug, 1992), scion of the Worsley baronets, gave birth to a daughter, Paloma Leo Lorimer Worsley, 25 January, 2025, at Homerton University Hospital.

Hugo Worsley is the third son of Jonathan Hugh Worsley (born 3 October, 1960), and his wife the former Laura Weldon Pitfield (born 1957), and is a grandson of the late John Arthington Worsley (1928-2022), and his wife the Hon Carolyn Mary Wynyard Hardinge (1932-2007), daughter of the 4th Viscount Hardinge (1905-79).

The infant is a great-great niece of HRH The Duchess of Kent, GCVO.

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Monday, February 03, 2025

Sir Simon William Patrick Dunning, 3rd & last Baronet 1939-2025

 Sir Simon William Patrick Dunning, 3rd Baronet, died 28 January, 2025. He was 85.

He was born 14 December, 1939, son of Sir William Leonard Dunning, 2nd Baronet (1903-1961), and his wife the former Kathleen Lawrie (who died 1992), and succeeded to the baronetcy, created in 1930, on his father's death, 10 September, 1961.

Sir Simon was educated at Eton, and was an insurance broker and underwriting member of Lloyds. He was a member of the Turf Club. His home was at Low Auchengillan, Blanefield by Glasgow.

He married in 1975, Frances Deirdre Morton Lancaster (who died 1 Oct, 2016), daughter of Major Patrick William Morton Lancaster (1914-1986), of Wapsbourne Manor, Sheffield Park, Sussex, by his wife the former Masika Mary C. Evans-Brown (1914-2000), by whom he had a daughter, Mariota Kathleen Masika (who was born 30 Aug, 1976).

The baronetcy now becomes extinct.

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Octavia Helen Dominique Skinner (born 2025)

 Francesca Katherine Charteris Skinner [née Groves, born 1987], wife of Miles David R Skinner (born 1986), gave birth to a daughter Octavia Helen Dominique, 24 January, 2025, a sister for Theodore David Richard, who was born 5 Oct, 2021.

Francesca is a daughter of Richard William Lewis Groves, of Fontmell Parva, Dorset, by his wife the former Helen Mary Keppel Charteris (b 1956), scion of the Earls of Wemyss & March, daughter of David Nigel Charteris (1920-2007), by his first wife the former Eupehmia Mary Inglis (1924-69), daughter of Major-General Sir (John) Drummond Inglis, KBE, CB, MC (1895-1985), &c.

Miles Skinner is a son of the late David J Skinner by his wife the former Dominique G.R. Bates (b 1959), of Haslemere, Surrey.  

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Saturday, February 01, 2025

Hon Eloise Violet Jean Bathurst (born 21 Jan, 2025)

 Sara Bathurst, styled Lady Apsley (née Kushma), wife of Benjamin George Henry [Ben] Bathurst, styled Baron Apsley [born 6 March, 1990], gave birth to a daughter, Eloise Violet Jean, 21 January, 2025, a sister for the Hon Theodore George Eugene (Teddy), who was born 7 March, 2023, 

Lord Apsley is the son and heir of the 9th Earl Bathurst [born 11 March, 1961], of Cirencester Park, Gloucestershire, by his first wife the former Hilary Jane George [now Hilary, Baroness Apsley].

Lady Apsley is the youngest daughter of Michael and Debra Kushma, of New York City, United States.

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Lady Perdita Minna 'Perdy' Pratt (born 22 Jan, 2025)

Dinah Louise Walpole Pratt, styled Countess of Brecknock  (born 1988, nee Hillsdon), wife since 2024 of James William John (Jamie) Pratt, styled Earl of Brecknock ( born 11 December, 1965), gave birth to a daughter, Lady Perdita Minna ('Perdy'), 22 January, 2025.

The Earl of Brecknock  is the elder son and heir of the 6th Marquess Camden (born 13 August, 1930), and his first wife the former Virginia Ann Finlaison (now Mrs Michael Clark).

The Countess of Brecknock is a daughter of Thomas D. Hillsdon (born 1957), and his wife the former Gina L. Walpole.

The Earl of Brecknock, 59, is heir to the several peerages of his 93 year-old father:-

Marquess Camden (United Kingdom, let. pat. 7 Sep 1812); Earl Camden (Great Britain, let. pat. 13 May 1786); Earl of Brecknock (United Kingdom, let. pat. 7 Sep 1812); Viscount Bayham, of Bayham Abbey in the County of Kent (Great Britain, let. pat. 13 May 1786); Baron Camden, of Camden Place in the County of Kent (Great Britain, let. pat. 17 Jul 1765)

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Hon Marybelle Drummond (died 26 Jan. 2025)

 The Hon Mrs Marybelle Drummond ((née Gordon), died 26 January, 2025, aged 85.

She was a daughter of Capt Charles Gordon of Pitlurg, of Duford Wood, Petersfield, Hampshire, and his wife 2nd wife, Frances Strickland Lovell Oldham, daughter of Robert Pollard Oldham, of Seattle, United States, who had married (1) 1928, as his second wife, the Hon James Henry Bertie Rodney, MC, DSO (1893-1933), and married (2) in 1938 (div 1948), the abovementioned Capt Charles Gordon. Frances married (3) in 1949, Alwyne Farquharson of Invercauld, 16th of Invercauld (1919-2021).

She married 24 June, 1961 (div 1985), the Hon James Reginald Drummond (born 28 July, 1938), second son of the 17th Earl of Perth (1907-2002), and his wife the former Nancy Seymour Finke (who died 7 June, 1996).

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Wills/Webb engagement

 The engagement was announced 1 February, 2025, between Thomas Robert Hamilton Wills (born 1991), scion of the Barons Dulverton, elder son of Christopher Aubrey Hamilton Wills (born 21 February, 1953), of Litchfield Down, Hampshire, and his wife the former Lady Katharine Anne Meade (born 10 Aug, 1959), & Emma A. Webb, daughter of Mr Michael Webb, of Boxford, Berkshire, and Mrs Bridget Roupell, of Kintbury, Berkshire.

Thomas Wills is a grandson maternally of the late 6th Earl of Clanwilliam (1914-1989).

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Forbes/Martyn-Hemphill engagement

 The engagement was announced 1 February, 2025, between Patrick James Ferrar Forbes (born 1980) son of Dr & Mrs Michael Forbes, of London, & the Hon Amelia Rose Martyn-Hemphill (born 1988), second daughter of the 6th Baron Hemphill (born 8 Oct, 1954), of London, and his wife the former Sarah Jane Frances Lumley (born 1956).

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Douglas-Miller/Izat engagement

 The engagement was announced 1 February, 2025, between Capt the Hon Archie J.K. Douglas-Miller, son of the life peer the Baron Douglas-Miller, OBE (born 1965), of The Hopes, East Lothian, and Baroness Douglas-Miller , descended from the Bromley Davenport landed gentry family, & Dr Poppy Elizabeth M. Izat (born 1997), daughter of Alexander R. Izat (born 1961), of Baitstrand Farm, Northumberland, by his wife the former Jane Alston.

Poppy Izat is a niece of Rosanna Izat (born 1963), Baroness Clinton, wife of the 23rd Baron Clinton.

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Friday, January 31, 2025

Marie-Thérèse, Viscountess Sidmouth (died 2025)

Marie-Thérèse, Viscountess Sidmouth, who died 23 January, 2025, aged 97, was the second wife of the late 7th Viscount Sidmouth.

She was born Marie-Thérèse Sheridan, daughter of Sir Joseph Alfred Sheridan (1882-1964), sometime Chief Justice of Kenya, by his wife the former Muriel Macaulay; and married 1stly, 11 July, 1950, Francis Anthony Baring Pollen (1926-1987), scion of the baronets of that name, son of Arthur Joseph Lawrence Pollen (1899-1968), and his wife the Hon Daphne Baring (1904-1986), daughter of the 3rd Baron Revelstoke (1864-1934). She married 2ndly, 2 October, 1993, as his second wife, John Addington, 7th Viscount Sidmouth (born 3 Oct, 1914), son of the 6th Viscount Addington (1887-1976), and his wife the former Gladys Mary Dever Hughes (who died 14 Apr, 1983). The 7th Viscount Sidmouth died 30 January, 2005.

From her first marriage she leaves issue, a son, John Pollen (born 23 Aug, 1959), and four daughters, (1) Mary Clare (born 2 June, 1951), who is Countess of Oxford & Asquith; (2) Katherine (born 25 July, 1954), Roseanna (born 25 Oct, 1956), and Mary Louise (born 29 June, 1969).

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Lady Ellinor Caroline Gordon Lennox 1952-2025

 The Lady Ellinor Caroline Gordon Lennox, who died 24 January, 2025, aged 72, was the eldest child of the late 10th Duke of Richmond and Gordon (1929-2017), of Goodwood, Sussex, and the late Duchess of Richmond and Gordon (nee Susan Monica Grenville-Grey 1932-2023). She born 28 July, 1952, and was unmarried, and is survived by her brother, Charles, 11th Duke of Richmond and Gordon, and sisters, Lady Maria, Lady Naomi and Lady Louisa.

Lady Ellinor's funeral takes place at Boxgrove Priory, 18 February, 2025.

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Mills/Russell engagement

 The engagement was announced 31 January, 2025, between Nicholas Harwood Bertram Mills (born September, 1990), son of Christopher Harwood Bernard Mills (born 4 November, 1952), and his wife the former Lynne T.V. Egan, of Chieveley, Berkshire, & Rose Isobel Aliki Russell (born 1991), scion of the Dukes of Bedford, younger daughter of Alexander Charles Thomas Wriothesley Russell (born 28 June, 1950), and his wife the former Elizabeth Diana (Libby) Manners (born 4 October, 1959), scion of the Dukes of Rutland.

Rose Russell is a granddaughter maternally of Lord John Manners (1922-2001), and a great-granddaughter of the 9th Duke of Rutland (1886-1940), and is a granddaughter paternally of the diplomat Sir John Russell, GCVO, CMG (1914-84), who was a descendant of the 6th Duke of Bedford (1766-1839)

Rose Russell's aunt, Lucy Manners, was Lady-in-Waiting to Sarah, Duchess of York.

Nicholas Mills is descended from Bertram Mills (1873-1938), the circus owner.

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Athena Rose Foyle Fotopoulos (born 27 Jan. 2025)

 Antonia Leonora D. Foyle Fotopoulos (née Foyle, born 6 July, 1988), wife of Evangelos Fotopoulos, gave birth to a daughter, Athena Rose Foyle Fotopoulos, 27 January, 2025.

Evangelos Fotopoulos is a son of Mr and Mrs Michael Fotopoulos, of Johannesburg, South Africa.

Antonia is a scion of the Foyle landed gentry family, the younger daughter of Anthony George Eugene Foyle (born June, 1950), of Earlston, Berwickshire, and Mrs Foyle.

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