The Hon Jane Anne Caroline Wright (née Littleton), who died 7 September, 2026, aged 96, was a scion of the Barons Hatherton.
She was born 10 September, 1929, second daughter of the 5th Baron Hatherton (1900-1969), and his wife the former Ida Gwendolen Legge (died 1969).
She married 24 January, 1967, the Rev Charles Piachaud Wright (1905-1990). No issue of the marriage.
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The engagement was announced 12 September, 2026, between Henry David William South (born 1 September, 1993), younger son of David Robert South, of Oughterside, Cumbria, and his late wife the former Anne Dungey, and Evelyn Anne (Evie) Dunne (born 1 June, 1990), the elder daughter of Philip Martin Dunne (b 14 Aug, 1958), Conservative MP for Ludlow 2005-2024, and a godson of Princess Alexandra, the Hon Lady Ogilvy, and his wife the former Domenica Margaret Anne Fraser (born 31 July, 1960), scion of the Lords Lovat.
Evie Dunne is a granddaughter of the late Sir Thomas Raymond Dunne, KG, KCVO (1933-2025), a scion of a landed gentry family, and his wife Henrietta Rose Crawley (born 1937), scion of that landed gentry family.
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The engagement was announced 12 September, 2026, between Daniel, son of Mr and Mrs Omar Urdaneta, of Philadelphia, USA, and the Lady Clare Patricia Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound (born 1991), the only daughter of the 7th Earl of Minto (born 1 December, 1953), of Minto, Roxburghshire, and the Countess of Minto (nee Diana Barbara Trafford).
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Olivia Colville (nee Pettit), wife of Alexander Keith Colville [born 1993], gave birth to a son, Charles Henry Pettit, 12 August, 2026, a brother for Amelia Lily Butterfield, who was born 22 November, 2024.
Alexander Colville is a son of Mr Jeffrey Rex Colville [born 1956], of Englefield Green, Surrey, and Mrs Colville [nee Price].
Olivia is a daughter of Timothy John Pettit [born 1959], of Godalming, Surrey, and his wife the former Susan J Butterfield.
The infant's aristocratic ancestry:-
George North, 3rd Earl of Guilford > Susan, Baroness North > William North, 11th Baron North > Hon Susan Georgina North > Col. John Sidney North FitzGerald > Georgiana Mary FitzGerald > Timothy John Pettit > Olivia Pettit > Charles Colville
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The Lady Isabel Serena Mary McFarlan (née Fitzalan Howard, born 7 Feb, 1994), wife of Donald McAndrew Hamilton McFarlan (born 30 September, 1993), gave birth to a son, Donald Edward Miles, 5 September, 2026.
Donald McFarlan is the only son of the late Donald Richmond McQueen McFarlan (1952-2012 and his wife Mrs Kate Patricia McFarlan (born 1957, nee Hamilton), of Charlton, Sussex.
Lady Isabel McFarlan is the second and youngest daughter of the 18th Duke of Norfolk, GCVO, DL (born 2 December, 1956), of Arundel Castle, Sussex, and of his 1st wife Georgina Susan, Duchess of Norfolk (born 30 January, 1962, nee Gore).
The Duke of Norfolk is the Earl Marshal and Premier Duke in the Peerage of England.
Donald McFarlan is descended maternally from the Irish landed family of Hamilton, of Leix, and the extinct Earls of Leitrim
The 2nd Earl of Leitrim (1768-1854) > Rev Hon Francis Nathaniel Clements (1812-70) > Louisa Clements (1843-1939) > George Francis Clements Hamilton (1879-1900) > Ronald Marsden Clements Hamilton (1899-1953) > Peter Napier Hamilton (b 1923) > Kate Patricia Hamilton (b 1957) > Donald McFarlan (born 1993)
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Cornelia MacGregor (née Chastel de Boinville), wife of Frederick I.A. MacGregor, gave birth to a son, Beau Reuben Alexander, 6 Sqeptember, 2026, a brother for Orlando Frederick Charles, who was born 11 September, 2018, and Athena Shaunagh Antonia, who was born 2 November, 2020.
Frederick is a son of Mr and Mrs Colin MacGregor, of Fulham, London.
Cornelia MacGregor is a scion of that landed family of Walkern Hall, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, daughter of Mr and Mrs Simon Chastel de Boinville, of Baughurst, Hampshire.
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Princess Alexandra of Hanover has announced her engagement to her long-term boyfriend Ben Sylvester Strautmann.
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| Ben and Alexandra. |
Princess Alexandra has half-siblings from her parents' previous marriages. From her father's previous marriage, she has two half-brothers, Hereditary Prince Ernst August and Prince Christian of Hanover. From her mother's previous marriage, she has two half-brothers, Andrea and Pierre Casiraghi, and one half-sister, Charlotte Casiraghi. Her maternal uncle, Albert II, is the sovereign of Monaco. She is a granddaughter of American actress Grace Kelly and of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco. On her father's side, she is a descendant of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, Wilhelm II, German Emperor, and King Christian IX of Denmark. She is also a first cousin once removed of Queen Sofía of Spain and King Constantine II of Greece, and a second cousin of King Felipe VI of Spain.
Ben was born 31 December, 1998.
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| Princess Astrid, Mrs Ferner |
The princess, in a wheelchair, attended King Harald's funeral two days ago.
At the time of her death she was the oldest living descendant of Queen Victoria. That distinction now passes to her cousin, Anne Mary Sibylla Liddell-Grainger (born 28 July, 1932), a granddaughter of Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone.
Princess Astrid was a great-granddaughter of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. The number of King Edward's great-grandchildren now numbers four - HRH The Duke of Kent, HRH Princess Alexandra, the Hon Lady Ogilvy, HRH Prince Michael of Kent, and HRH The Duke of Gloucester.
She was born 12 February, 1932, daughter of Olav V, King of Norway (1903-1991), and his wife the former Princess Martha of Sweden (1901-1954).
She married 12 January, 1961, Johan Martin Ferner (1927-2015), a Norwegian sailor and Olympic medallist, who died 24 January, 2015.
Princess Astrid leaves issue:-
Cathrine Ferner (born 22 July 1962,) , married 9 December 1989 in Oslo, Arild Johansen (b. 18 June 1961, Oslo), and has two children.
Benedikte Ferner (born 27 September 1963) married firstly 30 April 1994 in Oslo (divorced 1998) Rolf Woods (b. 17 June 1963, Oslo), without issue, and married secondly on 2 December 2000 in Oslo and separated in 2002, Mons Einar Stange (b. 26 May 1962, Oslo), without issue.
Alexander Ferner (born 15 March 1965), married 27 July 1996 in Holmenkollen Kapell, Oslo, Margrét Gudmundsdóttir (b. 27 March 1966, Reykjavík, Iceland), and has two children.
Elisabeth Ferner (b. 30 March 1969) married 3 October 1992 in Oslo, Tom Folke Beckmann (b. 14 January 1963, Oslo), and has one son.
Carl-Christian Ferner (b. 22 October 1972) married 4 October 2014 in Oslo, Anna-Stina Slattum Karlsen (b. 23 February 1984), and has two children.
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Frances Hélène Stonor Saunders, died 31 August, 2026. She was 60.
She was born 14 April, 1966, the daughter of Donald Robin Slomnicki Saunders (1931-1996), and his wife the Hon Julia Maria Christina Mildred Stonor (born 19 April, 1939), and was a granddaughter of the 6th Baron Camoys (1913-1976). She was unmarried.
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Miranda Elizabeth Luard (née Higham), wife of David Julius B. Luard (born 1980), scion of that landed gentry family, gave birth to a second daughter, Phoebe Grace Lucia, 27 August, 2026, a sister for Clara, who was born 17 November, 2018.
David Luard is the third son of James Richard Luard (born 1946) and his wife the former Julia Jane Wells (born 1951), scion of that landed gentry family.
Miranda is a daughter of John Arthur Higham, QC (born 1952), and his 1st wife the former Francesca Mary Antionetta Ronan (1949-1988).
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Timothy Charles Pulleine, who died 31 August, 2026, aged 84, was a scion of that landed gentry family (later Curzon-Howe, of Crakehall and Clifton Castle).
He was born in 1942 son of Capt. Hubert Henry Worsley Pulleine (1890-1953), and his wife the former Dorothy Maughan (1909-1992). He married Ina Garner (born 1941), daughter of Frank Garner (died 1968), and his wife the former Frances May Whitnall (1909-1977). No issue of the marriage.
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Davina Mary Morley, who died 2 September, 2026, aged 75, was a girlfriend of the then Prince of Wales, and, fifty years ago, was strongly tipped to be the future Queen Consort.
Davina was one of the many who formed the posse of "English roses" who were affectionately dubbed "Charlies Angels" by the Press in the 1970s, when finding a bride for Charles was an obsession.
She was born 1 March, 1951, scion of the Sheffield baronets, the younger daughter of Capt George Berkeley Sheffield (1910-1968), Grenadier Guards, and his wife the Hon Agnes Wilson McGowan (who was murdered in a robbery at her home, 11 March, 1976), daughter of the 1st Baron McGowan (1874-1961).
Davina Sheffield, was a 5ft 10in blonde with a beautiful smile. Charles was smitten with Davina, so much so that he invited her to Balmoral Castle for the weekend. A friend told The Daily Mail at the time: 'She and Charles were wonderful together.' Davina even earned the approval of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.
Davina was certainly a great match for the then Prince Charles. The granddaughter of celebrated industrialist Lord McGowan, and a cousin of Samantha Sheffield - who later married the future Prime Minister David (now Lord) Cameron - she moved in the right circles and was a keen horsewoman. She was also undeniably the prettiest of ‘Charlie’s Angels’, who included Lady Jane Wellesley, Georgiana Russell, Lady Sarah Spencer, Sabrina Guinness and Anna Wallace.
Penny Junor wrote, “In 1976, the prince fell for another girl, Davina Sheffield, who could have been the soulmate he was searching for.”
Davina Sheffield was exactly the sort of glamorous, blue-blooded girlfriend Prince Charles was after. Initially resisting his advances due to her interest in power boat racer James Beard, she finally relented due to his persistence. Their romance only ended after the press discovered (via Beard) that Sheffield wasn’t a virgin – an archaic stipulation for any future royal bride at the time.
Davina and Charles’s romance came to an unhappy end, and the Prince was devastated.
She married the same year as Charles - on 21 December, 1981, as the second wife of Jonathan Derek (Jake) Morley (1941-2022), son of Brigadier-General Michael Frederick Morley, MBE (1911-1990), and his wife Primrose Elizabeth Gordon (1912-1997), scion of that landed family of Boveridge Park, and a brother of Miranda, Duchess of Beaufort (born 1947), second wife of the 11th Duke of Beaufort (1928-2017).
Two of her sons were named William and Henry, both younger than the sons of her former love.
Davina leaves issue three sons, Thomas George Jonathan (born 1983), and poignantly - William Frederick Duncan (born 1984), and Henry Quintus (born 1987).
Her beloved husband - Jake died 18 April, 2022, aged 80.
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| The Earl's armorial bearings. |
Lord Westmeath was an Anglo-Irish peer and a former soldier and schoolmaster. He was born at Flowerhill House, Tynagh, County Galway, and educated at Marlborough College, Wiltshire, and at Royal Military College, Sandhurst. From there he was commissioned into the Royal Artillery and retired in 1961 with the rank of Captain. He was subsequently employed as a schoolmaster at St Andrew's School, Pangbourne, from 1961 to 1988.
A peer for almost 55 years, he was the 18th Baron Delvin [Peerage of Ireland., created 1451]; and the 13th Earl of Westmeath [Peerage of Ireland, created 1621].
William Anthony Nugent was born 21 November, 1928, son of Major the 12th Earl of Westmeath (1880-1971), and his wife the former Doris Imlach (who died 9 April, 1968); and was known by the courtesy title Lord Devlin from 12 December, 1933, until inheriting the family honours, 20 November, 1971.
He married 31 July, 1963, Susanna Margaret Leonard (1941-2020), daughter of James Charles Beresford Whyte Leonard (1905-2004), and his wife the former Barbara Helen Incledon-Webber (1906-1989), by whom he had issue, two sons, Sean Charles Weston Nugent, Lord Devlin (born 16 February, 1965), and the Hon Patrick Mark Leonard Nugent (born 6 April, 1966). The elder son succeeds as 14th Earl of Westmeath and Baron Devlin.
The Countess of Westmeath predeceased him, 5 July, 2020.
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Sonia Elizabeth Sinclair (née Graham), who died 17 August, 2026, aged 100, was sometime wife of the 3rd Baron Melchett.
She was born 6 September, 1925, scion of an Irish landed family, a daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Roland Harris Graham (1898-1968), and his wife the former Kathleen Dunbar (1896-1983); and married 1stly, 26 April, 1947, the then Hon Julian Edward Alfred Mond (born 9 January, 1925), son of the 2nd Baron Melchett (1898-1949), and his wife the former Amy Gwen Wilson (1899-1982). Julian Mond succeeded his father, 22 January, 1949, as the 3rd Baron Melchett, and died 15 June, 1973.
Sonia, Baroness Melchett married 2ndly, in 1984, as his third wife, Dr Andrew Annandale Sinclair (1935-2019), son of Stanley Charles Sinclair (died 1975), and his wife the former Kathleen Henrietta Nash-Webber (died 1993). Dr Sinclair died 30 May, 2019.
Sonia leaves issue, two daughters, the Hon Kerena and the Hon Pandora Mond, and was predeceased by her only son, Peter, 4th and last Baron Melchett (1948-2018).
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The engagement was announced 9 September, 2026, between Archie Alexander H. Farquharson (born 1996), youngers on of Donald Hugh Miller Farquharson of Finzean (born Dec 1963), of Aberdeenshire, head of that Scots landed gentry family, by his wife the former Catriona Rose, & Sarah Katherine Emslie-Smith (born 1997), only daughter of Dr Alistair Mark Emslie-Smith, of Broughty Ferry, Dundee, and his wife the former Katherine Mary Hector.
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The engagement was announced 9 September, 2026, between Benjamin T. Goddard, younger son of Mr and Mrs Geoffrey Goddard, of Sewalds Hall, Essex, and the Hon Letitia Barbara D. Harris (born 2000), daughter of James Hugh Carleton Harris, styled Viscount FitzHarris (born 29 April, 1970), of Syndling Court, Dorset, and Viscountess FitzHarris (nee Jemima Nancy G. Fulford-Dobson (born 1968).
Letitia is a granddaughter of the 7th Earl of Malmesbury (born 19 June, 1946).
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Sarah Newton, wife of the Hon Toby Henry Storr Hodgson (born 1988), gave birth to a son, Albert Henry Newton, 25 August, 2026.
Toby is a 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 is a daughter of Mr and Mrs Michael Newton of Melbourne, Australia.
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Anna-Carolina, Archduchess of Austria (born 11 June, 1996), wife of John (Jack) Straker Constable (born 23 October, 1990), scion of that landed gentry family, gave birth to a daughter, Emma, 10 July, 2026.
Jack Straker Constable is the elder son of the late James Andrew John Straker (1959-2022), and his wife the former Rodrica Consuelo Chichester-Constable (born 31 March, 1963), of Hexham, scion of that landed gentry family, of Burton Constable.
Anna-Carolina, Archduchess of Austria, is the eldest daughter of Eduard Karl Joseph Michael Marcus Antonius Koloman Volkhold Maria, Archduke of Austria ( born 12 January, 1967), and his wife the former Marie Theresa von Gudenus (born 11 February, 1967).
Jack Straker is heir to the Burton Constable Hall estate, a large Elizabethan country house, with 18th- and 19th-century interiors and a fine 18th-century cabinet of curiosities. The hall, a Grade I listed building, is set in a park designed by Capability Brown with an area of 300 acres. It is located 3 miles south-east of the village of Skirlaugh in the East Riding of Yorkshire, approximately 9 miles north-east of the city of Hull, and has been the home of the Constable family for over 400 years. The hall and park are owned by the Burton Constable Foundation, a registered charity.
From the London Gazette in July 2025: The KING has been graciously pleased by Warrant under His Royal Signet and Sign Manual bearing date 17 July 2025 to give and grant His Royal Licence and Authority that John Straker Constable formerly John Constable Straker of Burton Constable in the County of East Yorkshire and his issue may continue to bear and use the surname of Constable in lieu of and substitution for that of Straker and that he and they may bear and use the Arms and Crest of Constable according to the Laws of Arms the said Armorial Bearings being first duly exemplified according to the Laws of Arms and recorded in His Majesty’s College of Arms: otherwise the said Royal Licence and Permission to be void and of none effect.
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Elizabeth Louise Beaumont (nee Holland, born 1990), wife of Richard Christian Beaumont [born 27 May, 1989], scion of the Viscounts Allendale, gave birth to a son, Albert Leopold, 3 September, 2026, a brother for Theodore Holland, who was born 13 October, 2023.
Richard Beaumont is the second son of the Hon Hubert Wentworth Beaumont [born 13 Apr, 1956], of County Kildare, Ireland, and Katherine Emma [Kate] Beaumont [nee Abel Smith, born 11 March, 1961], of Nottinghamshire.
Elizabeth Beaumont is a daughter of Michael G. Holland, of Bramcote, Nottinghamshire, and his wife the former Margaret H. Osborne.
Richard Beaumont, a grandson of the late life peer the Baron Beaumont of Whitley [1928-2008] is also a descendant of Queen Victoria.
Queen Victoria [1819-1901] > Prince Leopold [1853-84] > Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone [1883-1981] > Lady May Abel Smith [1906-94] > Richard Abel Smith [1933-2004] > Kate Abel Smith [b 1961] > Richard Beaumont [b 1989] > Albert Beaumont (born 2026)
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The marriage took place at Chelsea Old Town Hall, 3 September, 2026, between Faris Michael McKinnon (born London, April, 1985), son of Australian businessman Michael William Francis McKinnon, and his Kuwaiti-born wife the former Fawzia H. Al Sayegh, and Isabel Getty (born 11 November, 1993), daughter of Christopher Ronald Getty and his wife the former Pia Christina Miller (born 1966), sister of Marie-Chantal, Crown Princess of Greece (born 17 September, 1968).
The couple have a son, Viggo, born in October, 2025.
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(John Julian) Timothy Jeal, who died 5 August, 2026, aged 81, was a Prize winning novelist who wrote celebrated biographies of Dr Livingstone, Henry Stanley and Robert Baden-Powell while working at the BBC. He was descended from the Pasley baronets.
Always known as Timothy, he was born 27 January, 1945, son of Clifford Freeman Jeal (1906-1986), and his wife the former Norah Margaret Sabine Pasley (1902-1987).
His grandfather was Sir Thomas Edward Sabine Pasley, 3rd Baronet (1863-1947), and his wife the Lady Constance Wilmot Annie Hastings (1870-1922), daughter of the 14th Earl of Huntingdon (1841-1885).
He married 11 October, 1969, Joyce Timewell (born 1945), daughter of William George Timewell (1916-1990), and his wife the former Dorothy May Carter, by whom he had three daughters, Jessica, Lucy and Emily.
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| Hon Garrett Moore. |
Hope's father is a US investment billionaire, whose English estate is at Crichel Down, Dorset, including Crichel House, bought for £34 million in 2013.
Garrett Moore is a grandson maternally of the late Sir Nicholas Henderson, GCMG, KCVO [1919-2009], British Ambassador to Washington 1979-1982.
Moore had a previous controversial engagement in 2020 to the American actress Colleen Camp [born 7 June, 1953], a character actress and producer, the daughter of one Mr Wilson Camp. The actress was the same age at Garrett's own mother. No marriage followed.
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