Capt Sir David Younger, KCVO 1939-2024

 Captain Sir David Younger, KCVO, who died 14 June, 2024, aged 85, was Lord Lieutenant of Tweeddale from 1994 to 2014. He retired on reaching the age of seventy-five.

(John) David Bingham Younger was born 20 May, 1939, son of Maj Oswald Bingham Younger, MC, and his wife the former Dorothea Elizabeth Hobbs, and was educated at Eton and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

He married in 1962, Anne Rosaleen Logan, by whom he had a son and a daughter.

Younger was commissioned into the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in 1959, and served in Borneo and Singapore before joining the Directorate of Military Operations at the Ministry of Defence in 1967. He retired from the Army in 1969 and was with Scottish and Newcastle Breweries from 1969 to 1979 before becoming one of the founding partners of the Broughton Brewery in 1979.

In 1969 he became a member of the Royal Company of Archers, which is the Queen's Bodyguard for Scotland, and was its Secretary from 1993 to 2007. He was vice-president of the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland in 1994, and became Vice-Lord Lieutenant of Tweeddale in 1992, before becoming Lord Lieutenant in 1994.

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Fergus Brodie Maitland Jewell (born 2024)

Alexandra Heriot-Maitland [born 1989], scion of the Earls of Lauderdale, wife [?] of Calum Jewell, gave birth to a son, Fergus Brodie Maitland, 13 May, 2024.

Alexandra is a 5 x gt-granddaughter of the 6th Earl of Lauderdale [who died in 1744], and is the third daughter of Mr Patrick Richard Heriot-Maitland [born 23 April, 1947], of Dunning, Perthshire, by his wife the former Marilyn Lois Grant.

 Calum Jewell is the younger son of Mr Stanley Jewell, and Mrs Ann McKinsley, both of Dunfermline.

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Hon Mrs David Erskine 1928-2024

 The Hon Mrs David Erskine, who died 12 June, 2024, aged 96, was a scion of the Earls of Harewood, a daughter of Sir Alan 'Tommy' Lascelles.

The former Caroline Mary Lascelles was born 15 February, 1928, the younger daughter of the Rt Hon Sir Alan Frederick 'Tommy' Lascelles, PC, GCB, GCVO, CMG, MC (1887-1981), & his wife the former Hon Joan Frances Vere Thesiger (1895-1971), daughter of the 1st Viscount Chelmsford.

Her father, the formidable Tommy Lascelles, served as assistant private secretary to King George V, 1935, and to King George VI 1936-43, Private Secretary to King George VI 1943-52, Keeper of the King's Archives 1943-52, Private Secretary to Queen Elizabeth II 1952-53, Keeper of the Queen's Archives 1952-53, &c.

Sher married firstly, 20 May, 1949, the Hon Antony Alfred Lyttelton (born 23 Oct, 1920), son of the 1st Viscount Chandos (1893-1972), and his wife the former Lady Moira Godolphin Osborne (1892-1976), daughter of the 10th Duke of Leeds (1862-1927). Her 1st husband succeeded his father as 2nd Viscount Chandos, 21 January, 1972, and died 28 November, 1980.

As Caroline, Viscountess Chandos, she married 2ndly, in 1985, as his second wife, the Hon David Hervery Erskine (born 5 November, 1924), scion of the Earls of Mar & Kellie, 3rd son of Major Lord Erskine (1895-1953), by his wife the former Lady Marjorie Hervey (1898-1967), daughter of the 4th Marquess of Bristol (1863-1951), and a yr brother of the 13th Earl of Mar & Kellie (1921-93).

Caroline Erskine leaves issue from her first marriage to Viscount Chandos, two sons, Thomas and Matthew, and two daughters, Laura and Deborah. Her elder son is the 3rd Viscount Chandos.

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Amelia Rosemary Hind (born 2024)

 Venetia Hind (nee Trotter, born 1991), wife of Capt Edward John M. Hind [born 1992], of the 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards, gave birth to a daughter, Amelia Rosemary, 23 May, 2024.

Capt Hind is a son of Mr Michael C. Hind, of Denbighshire, by his wife the former Angela Marshall.

Venetia Hind is a daughter of Mr Peter M.H. Trotter, of Aldsworth, Gloucestershire, and Mrs Janet Trotter [nee Buchanan-Dunlop, scion of that landed gentry family], of Andoversford, Gloucestershire.

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Jill Vivienne Wellesley (née Burton) 1927-2024

Mrs Richard Wellesley, who died 11 June, 2024, aged 96, was the widow of Major Richard Wellesley, scion of the Dukes of Wellington.

She was born in 1927, as Jill Vivienne Burton, daughter of Group Capt Eric Burton, RAF, and his wife the former Jessie Vivienne Freeman; and married in 1970, as his second wife, Major Richard Wellesley (born 22 June, 1920), son of Wing Commander Lord George Wellesley (1889-1967), and his first wife the former Louise Nesta Pamela FitzGerald (1889-1946), scion of the FitzGerald baronets, knights of Kerry. Her husband, a grandson of the 4th Duke of Wellington, died 27 April, 1984, aged 63. No issue.

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The Garter service at St George's Chapel, Windsor

 The King and Queen, the Prince of Wales and other members of the royal family have taken part in the annual Garter Day service at Windsor Castle today, 17 June, 2024 - but despite her appearance at the Trooping the Colour, the Princess of Wales was absent from the ceremony.

The celebration commemorating the ancient Order of the Garter traditionally takes place on the Monday after the Birthday Parade and on the day before the commencement of Royal Ascot week,  as the busy royal summer period begins in earnest. 

Today, members of the royal family who are Ladies and Knights of the Order of the Garter – the country's oldest and most senior Order of Chivalry – processed down the hill from the Berkshire castle's State Apartments to St George's Chapel, dressed in white ostrich feather plumed hats and dark blue velvet robes. They include the Duke of Edinburgh, the Princess Royal, and the Duke of Gloucester. 

The procession was watched by crowds of onlookers, which included the Duchess of Edinburgh, who in other years has been joined by the Princess of Wales.  After the ceremony, the King and Queen Camilla and members of the royal family departed by carriage and returned to the castle.

The Duchess of Gloucester was invested today as a Royal Lady of the Garter. The former Birgitte van Deurs, 77, has been a member of the Royal Family since marrying Prince Richard, King George V's youngest grandson, in 1972.

Lord Lloyd-Webber, the composer and impresario, Lord Kakkar, emeritus professor of surgery at University College London and Air Chief Marshal the Lord Peach, were installed as Knight Companion. Founded in 1348 by King Edward III, the Order of the Garter is awarded by the sovereign for outstanding public service and achievement.

It is limited to 24 Knights or Ladies Companion, in addition to the King and the Prince of Wales and several "supernumerary members", including some foreign monarchs such as the Emperor of Japan, the King of Spain, the King of Norway, the King of Sweden, Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands, her son, the King of the Netherlands and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. Recipients of the honour are chosen because they have held public office, contributed to national life or served the sovereign personally.

The appointment of Knights and Ladies of the Garter is the King's gift and is made without consulting ministers. The investing of new companions with the Order's Insignia is a key feature of the annual ceremony and is done by the monarch.

The Pages of Honour in attendance on the King and Queen were the Hon Guy Aylmer George Tryon, son and heir of the 4th Baron Tryon, and Charles Hugh Valentine van Cutsem.

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Julia Mary Budworth (nee Bowles) 1932-2024

 Julia Mary Budworth (nee Bowles), who died 19 May, 2024, aged 92, was part-owner of The Lady magazine.

Julia Mary Bowles was born in March, 1932, daughter of George Frederic Stewart Bowles, and his wife the former Madeline Mary Tobin, and was a cousin of the famed 'Mitford Sisters', Nancy, Pamela, Diana, Unity, Jessica, and Deborah.

She married in 1952, David Dutton Budworth (1920-1974), scion of that landed gentry family, son of Major-General Charles Edward Dutton Budworth, CB, CMG, MVO (1869-1921), and his 2nd wife the former Helen Blewitt.

She leaves issue, four sons, Ben, Richard, Adam and William. Another son, Alexander, pre-deceased her.

From the Times 17 June 2024: Julia Budworth took enormous pride in her role as the grande dame of The Lady and fought a vocal and very public battle to uphold the magazine’s traditional standards against the tide of modernisation. The Lady was founded in 1885 as “a journal for gentlewomen” by her grandfather Thomas Gibson Bowles. She was born in the flat above the magazine’s offices in Covent Garden and grew up immersed in the code of good manners and proper behaviour that it championed in its pages.

The magazine was where the aristocracy advertised for maids, nannies and other domestic servants. A typical ad read: “Titled Sir and Lady, without children, require a butler and housekeeper for a couple position in a beautiful country house on their estate in Yorkshire. The suitable couple will be responsible for the smooth running of the house, chauffeuring when required, care of fine antiques, fabrics and furniture, and must be knowledgeable in laundering full clothing and care of ­silver.”

When Budworth was growing up, The Lady’s contributors included her cousin Nancy Mitford…

[Her son] Ben ­appointed Rachel Johnson, sister of ­Boris, as the magazine’s editor. Over the previous 125 years, The Lady had steered a serene and stately path under only eight editors, but the ninth came in with a mission to shake up the magazine and make a noise…

…The daughter of Madeleine (née Tobin) and George Frederic Stewart Bowles, she was born Julia Mary Bowles in London in 1932. Her father had taken over The Lady on the death of his father in 1922 and nursed the magazine through the 1929 crash and the Depression. “He kept it going and they lived over the shop because they had very little money,” Budworth said…

…As a child she escaped the smoke in the company of her cousin Debo, the youngest of the six Mitford sisters and whose father, David Mitford, Baron Redesdale, had at one time been general manager of The Lady. Debo, the future Duchess of Devonshire and chatelaine of Chatsworth, was 12 years older and pushed her cousin’s pram when she was an infant. Later she taught her to ride and to milk a cow on the Hebridean island of Inch Kenneth, which the Mitford family owned.

They were together on the island in 1939 when the Second World War was declared. At the time, Debo’s sister Unity was in Munich under Hitler’s patronage and another sister, Diana, was about to be interned with her husband Oswald Mosley, the leader of the British fascists…

…Julia herself married David Budworth, who ran an engineering company, in 1952. He died in 1974 when the plane he was piloting crashed due to a technical fault. She is survived by their four sons, Ben, Richard and Adam, both barristers, and William, who works in security. A fifth son Alexander predeceased her…

Julia Budworth, magazine part-owner, was born in March 1932. She died of old age on May 19, 2024, aged 92

Albie Stewart Richard Mitchell-Innes (born 2024)

Charlotte Elizabeth Mitchell-Innes [born 1985, née Groves], wife of Peter Stewart Mitchell-Innes [born 1985], scion of that landed family, gave birth to a son, Albie Stewart Richard, 10 June, 2024, a brother for Jasper William David, who was born 8 February, 2017, and for Lyla Diana Helen, born 13 December, 2019. 

Peter is a son of Ian Stewart Mitchell-Innes [born 1947] by his wife the former Diana Brooke Dean. 

Charlotte is a daughter of Richard William Lewis Groves [born 1957], by his wife the former Helen Mary Keppel Charteris [born 1956], scion of the Earls of Wemyss & March.

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Lt-Col Robin James Stirling Bullock-Webster, OBE 1944-2024

Lieutenant-Colonel Robin James Stirling Bullock-Webster, OBE, who has died aged 79, was a career soldier who spent almost 30 years in the Irish Guards. He was head of the Bullock-Webster landed gentry family.

He was born 22 November, 1944, the only son of Capt Sandro Ansell George Stuart Bullock-Webster, RM (1919-2007), and his wife the former Joan Stirling Joll (1921-2012), descended from the Stirling baronets. He married 1stly, 1971, Susan Nicola Darby (1948-1979), daughter of Peter James Darby (1917-2008), and his wife the former Pamela Joan Poyer Lewis (1919-2010), scion of that Welsh landed gentry family; married 2ndly, 1980, Maria, Countess Cowley (nee Maria Della Buenaño), widow of the 6th Earl Cowley (1946-1975), and daughter of Enrique Buenaño.

His only son, James Richard Henry Llewelyn Bullock-Webster (born 21 Apr, 1981), succeeds as head of the landed gentry family.

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Clara Amélie MacHale (born 2024)

 Isabella Louise MacHale (nee Kerr-Smiley, born 19 February, 1990), wife of Thomas E. MacHale, gave birth to a daughter, Clara Amélie, 2 June, 2024, a sister for Clementine Thea, who was born 4 May, 2023.

Thomas MacHale is the younger son of Mr & Mrs Joseph MacHale, of Wonston, Hampshire.

Isabella MacHale is a scion of the Smiley baronets, elder daughter of Mark Alexander Kerr-Smiley [born 30 March, 1961], of Kensington, London, and his wife the former Manuela Maria Raquez.

Sir Hugh Smiley 1st Bt-->Peter Kerr-Smiley [1879-1943]-->Cyril Kerr-Smiley [1906-80]-->Peter Kerr-Smiley [b 1934]-->Mark Kerr-Smiley [b 1961]-->Isabella Kerr-Smiley [b 1990] > Clara MacHale [b 2024].

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Dexter Reuben Chastel de Boinville (born 2024)

 Serena Louise Chastel de Boinville [nee Cookson, born 1986], wife of Nicolai (Nico) Chastel de Boinville, gave birth to a son, Dexter Reuben, 1 June, 2024, a brother for Antigoni Shaunagh, born 3 July, 2019, and for Iola Angela, born 24 June, 2021.  

Nico Chastel de Boinville, jockey, is a scion of that landed family, of Walkern Hall, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, son of Mr Simon Murdoch Chastel de Boinville, of Baughurst, Hampshire, and the late Mrs Shaunagh Chastel de Boinville (d 2016).

Serena Chastel de Boinville is descended from the Barons Hemphill, daughter of Robert Edwin Cookson (descended from the Viscounts Falmouth), by his wife the former Hon Angela Mary Martyn Hemphill (b 1953), daughter of the 5th Baron Hemphill.

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Algernon Wilfred Cornell Scrope (born 2024)

Rosanna [Posie] Scrope [nee Staveley] wife of [Simon] Harry Richard Scrope [born 1974], head of the landed gentry family of Scrope of Danby, has given birth to a third son, Algernon Wilfred Cornell (Algie), 27 May, 2024, a brother Maximus Simon Parkinson, born 30 April, 2022, and for Henry Miles Titus 'Milo', born 28 August, 2023.  

Harry is the only son of the late Simon Egerton Scrope [1934-2010], of Danby on Yore, and his wife the former Jennifer Jane Parkinson, descended from the extinct Barons Bingley.

Rosanna Lorna Scrope [born 1988], scion of the Staveley landed gentry family, is a daughter of the late Simon Henry Staveley [1949-98], and his wife the former Judy O. Willis Fleming [b 28 June, 1954], scion of that landed gentry family, of Willis Fleming, of Stoneham.

Harry Scrope is a grandson maternally of the late Sir Kenneth Parkinson, Kt [1908-81], sometime chairman of Yorkshire Post Newspapers, and his wife the former Hon Dorothy Lane Fox [1909-80], a daughter of the 1st and last Baron Bingley [1870-1947].

The Scrope family (pronounced "Scroop") are seated at Danby, the family's 1,500-acre estate in North Yorkshire. The family descend from one of Edward the Confessor's Norman favourites, and were thus already settled in England at the time of the Conquest. The family motto, Devant si je puis (Forward if I am able), is a sardonic allusion to their name,which means "crab" in the Norman dialect. Establishing themselves in Wensleydale in the 12th century, Scropes distinguished themselves on the Crusades and in the Hundred Years War, were regularly summoned to medieval parliaments as barons, and have produced five Garter knights, and an Archbishop of York.

The Scrope coat of arms, Azure a bend or, was one of the earliest to be adopted and, to amateurs of heraldry, is a celebrated curiosity. Campaigning in Scotland in 1385, Richard, Lord Scrope of Bolton, was aghast to see it borne by a fellow knight, Sir Richard le Grosvenor. The matter was tried in the Court of Chivalry – John of Gaunt, Harry "Hotspur" and Geoffrey Chaucer all giving evidence on Scrope's behalf.

Depositions were conveniently heard in York Minster, the family burial place, where the Scrope arms were prominently on display, as they were – in glass, alabaster and stone – in more than 40 other churches in Yorkshire. The court's decision in favour of Scrope has long rankled with the Grosvenors. Hugh Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster, was to name his famous racehorse (the 1880 Derby winner) Bend Or, and it was also his nickname for his grandson, the 2nd Duke, whose chestnut hair reminded him of the horse. For their part, the proud Scropes sport a distinctive family tie, based on their arms, of blue with diagonal gold stripes.

Harry Scrope descends from a junior branch of the family which succeeded to the headship in 1630. Christopher Scrope was by that time a convicted recusant and knew better than to press his claim to the titles and estates. Christopher's son seated himself at Danby-on-Yore, in the heart of the Scrope country, which the family had acquired through an heiress in 1576. Largely rebuilt in the 16th century, Danby Hall incorporates one of the most southerly examples of a peel tower, dating from the early 14th century. A small chamber at the top of the "old Tower" served as a chapel, the only place of Catholic worship for miles around. In the early 1800s a capacious priest's hole was rediscovered at the back of a fireplace. Generations of Scropes were barred, as Catholics, from public office. Their sons were sent abroad, with false identities, for their schooling. Forbidden to own any horse worth more than £5, they depended on kindly Protestant neighbours to hold them in their own names. The Scrope who bred Danby Cade, a famous 18th-century racehorse, was not his legal owner. "Penal times" ended with the passing of the Catholic Relief Act in 1829. Scrope of Danby petitioned in vain for the earldom of Wiltshire, but retained the heraldic supporters (a pair of Cornish choughs) that the family claim by prescription – supporters being an honour usually afforded only to peers and knights grand cross under Royal Warrant.

Rosanna Scrope is a granddaughter of Capt [William Arthur] Miles Staveley [1913-81], scion of the Staveleys of North Stainley Hall, Ripon, and his wife the former Nancy Constance Cail [1914-2007].

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Beatrice Veronica Sophia Spink (born 2024)

The Lady Iona Margaret Sophia Spink (nee Murray, born 13 March, 1992), wife of Capt Barnaby Frederick J Spink (born 1992), gave birth to a daughter, Beatrice  Veronica Sophia, 31 May, 2024.

Capt Spink is a son of [Andrew David] Jonathan Spink [born Oct 1960], of Kimbolton, and his wife the former Kathryn Anne Armstrong [born 1963].

 Lady Iona is a daughter of the 8th (and ninth) Earl of Mansfield and Mansfield (born 17 October, 1956) of Scone Palace, Perthshire, and the Countess of Mansfield (nee Sophia Mary Veronica Ashbrooke (born 22 January, 1959).

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Lord Ashton of Hyde appointed Master of the Horse

 His Majesty The King has appointed Lord Ashton of Hyde, PC, to succeed Lord De Mauley as Master of the Horse.

The Master of the Horse was once an important official of the sovereign's household, though the role is largely ceremonial today. The master of the horse is the third dignitary of the court, and was always a member of the ministry (before 1782 the office was of cabinet rank), a peer and a privy councillor. All matters connected with the horses and formerly also the hounds of the sovereign, as well as the stables and coachhouses, the stud, mews and previously the kennels, are within his jurisdiction.

Lord Ashton of Hyde,  a former Conservative chief whip in the Lords, is a Gloucestershire neighbour of the King, living at Moreton-in-the-Marsh, half an hour's drive from Highgrove.

Thomas Henry Ashton was born 18 July, 1958, son of the 3rd Baron (1926-2008), and his wife the former Pauline Brackenbury (who died 4 Nov, 2014). He married 31 Oct, 1987, Emma Louise Allinson, by whom he has issue, four daughters, Harriet, Isobel, Flora and Matilda.

Lord Ashton of Hyde will replace the serving Master of the Horse, the 7th Baron de Mauley (born 30 June, 1957) , whose final major duty will be to ride in this weekend’s Trooping the Colour ceremony as holders of the post are present when the Royal Mews supports state occasions.

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Baroness Manningham-Buller appointed Chancellor of the Order of the Garter

 The King has appointed the first female Chancellor of the Order of the Garter in history, the former head of MI5 Baroness Manningham-Buller.

The Order of the Garter, which was founded by King Edward III in 1348, is the oldest and most senior Order of Chivalry, with members appointed personally by the monarch for their contribution to public life.

Baroness Manningham-Buller, LG, DCB (born 14 July, 1948), was made a Lady Companion of the Garter by the late Queen Elizabeth II in April 2014. She became Director General of the MI5 in October 2002 and, in that capacity, led the Security Service's response to the 7 July 2005 London bombings. Following her retirement in April 2007, she became a crossbench life peer in 2008.

Buckingham Palace said the King has been “graciously pleased” to appoint Baroness Manningham-Buller to the office on the retirement of the 5th Duke of Abercorn, KG (born 4 July, 1934), who has held the office since 2012.

Elizabeth Lydia Manningham-Buller is a daughter of the 1st Viscount Dilhorne (1905-80), sometime Lord Chancellor, and his wife, Lady Mary Lilian Lindsay (1910-2004), daughter of the 27th Earl of Crawford & Balcarres (1871-1940). She is the first female Chancellor since the office’s inception in 1475. The role was held by the bishops of Salisbury and Oxford for nearly 500 years, before changing in 1937 to be someone selected from the existing Knights Companion of the Order.

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Sir Martin Wakefield Jacomb 1929-2024

Sir Martin Jacomb, who has died aged 94, was a barrister and merchant banker who became founder chairman of BZW, the investment banking arm of Barclays, and a key adviser to the government on the privatisation of British Telecom; he went on to be chairman of Prudential, Canary Wharf and the British Council.

Martin Wakefield Jacomb was born 11 November, 1929, son of Hilary Jacomb and his wife Felice, and was educated at Eton and Worcester College, Oxford.

At various times he was a member of the court of the Bank of England, an adviser to the US Federal Reserve, deputy chairman of Commercial Union and a director of Marks & Spencer, British Gas, RTZ, Christian Salvesen and The Telegraph. He served on the boards of the Royal Opera House, the OUP, the National Heritage Memorial Fund, and was Chancellor of Buckingham University. He was knighted in 1985.

In later years he occasionally contributed to the business pages of The Spectator – and to Daily Telegraph obituaries. Into his nineties, though notably stooped, he remained active in City and political debate. He voted Remain in the EU referendum, “but only because the EU will collapse unless reformed, and I would like the UK to lead the reformation”.

He married 30 Apr, 1960, Evelyn Helen Heathcoat Amory (born 4 June, 1939), scion of the baronets of that name, elder daughter of Richard Frank Heathcoat Amory (1903-57), and his wife the former Hon Margaret Irene Gaenor Scott-Ellis (1919-2002), daughter of the 8th Baron Howard De Walden (1880-1946), by whom he had issue, a daughter Emma (born 15 May, 1961), and two sons, Matthew (born 11 June, 1963), and Thomas (1964-2023).

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Duke of Westminster and Olivia Henson marry

 The Duke of Westminster is marrying Olivia Henson today at Chester Cathedral. The Prince of Wales is acting as one of the duke’s ushers.

Crowds lined the streets of Chester to cheer the arrival of the duke, his bride with her father, and the Prince of Wales. Princess Eugenie, Mrs Jack Brooksbank is one of the 400 guests.

The bride looked magnificent in a gown by London-based designer Emma Victoria Payne and she completed her bridal look with the Faberge Myrtle Leaf Tiara, one that Grosvenor brides wear on their wedding day. Olivia was wearing blue velvet shoes - 'something borrowed and something blue'.

A spokesman for the duke said: “The Duke and Miss Henson have taken a great deal of care in planning the wedding, putting their own personal stamp on all the arrangements and have made a conscious effort to involve local and regional suppliers in several aspects of the day.”

While the Prince of Wales is playing a key role in today's event, the majority of the Royal Family will miss the big day. The King and Queen have been in Normandy for the events surrounding 80th anniversary of D-Day. His brother the Duke of Sussex is not in Chester, with mixed reporting on whether he actually got an invitation or not. The wedding comes amid a long-running rift between the princes.

The Duke is one of Britain’s wealthiest men, with his calculated wealth of just over £9.7 billion putting him 13th on the 2022 Sunday Times Rich List. Once considered one of the country's most eligible bachelors.

The couple are surprisingly low-key, and have released just one photograph of themselves together - until now. On 7 May, exactly one month before the nuptials took place, the duke and his bride-to-be visited a number of charities in Chester to see the projects that his organisation, the Westminster Foundation, is funding.

The young duke is a fourth cousin once removed of the King. They both have Romanov blood, the duke via his mother Natalia, and the King via the late Prince Philip's Romanov descent.

A spokesperson for the Duke and Miss Henson said: “The couple have chosen the cathedral for both its beauty and long association with the Grosvenor family, including to the Duke personally. Cheshire is the Grosvenor family’s ancestral home and as Miss Henson’s connection to the region continues to grow, they are keen to plan their wedding there.”

The duke's parents, the 6th Duke and Natalia Phillips married at Chester Cathedral, 7 October, 1978, and the Royal Family were there to celebrate the union of one of Britain's wealthiest men and Natalia, daughter of one of Queen Elizabeth II's great friends, the former Georgina Wernher. The duke's aunt, Lady Leonora Grosvenor, married the late 5th Earl of Lichfield at the cathedral, 8 March, 1975, and another aunt, Lady Jane Grosvenor married the 10th Duke of Roxburghe there, 10 September, 1977.

"The Duke and Miss Henson became engaged at Eaton Hall in April 2023, and have been incredibly grateful for the warm messages of congratulations they have received since then."

One of Britain’s wealthiest men, certainly our richest duke, 33,  is godfather to Prince George of Wales, and a close confidante of the Prince and Princess of Wales. He was born 29 January, 1991, the only son of the 6th duke (1951-2016).

Hugh Richard Louis Grosvenor, the 7th duke, inherited the Eaton Hall estate near Chester, and large land holdings in London, Lancashire, Scotland, and in Canada, on the death of his late father, who died suddenly on his Abbeystead estate in Lancashire,  9 August 2016. The Westminster fortune is estimated to stand at 9.46 billion. 

The duke’s mother, the former Natalia Ayesha Phillips (born 8 May 1959), descended from the Russia tsars and from Pushkin, is a granddaughter of Lady Zia Wernher, of Luton Hoo, a great friend of the late Queen Elizabeth II. It was at Luton Hoo where the late Queen and her consort spent many wedding anniversaries in the lifetime of Lady Zia, who died in 1977, and her husband Harold, who died in 1973.

The Duke was present at the Coronation of the King and Queen in May last year, and he carried a standard in the procession into Westminster Abbey. 

The duke has three sisters, Lady Tamara van Cutsem (born 20 Dec 1979), wife of another of the King’s godsons, Edward van Cutsem, and Lady Edwina Snow (born 4 Nov, 1981), a criminologist, wife of historian and broadcaster Dan Snow, and Lady Viola Roberts (born 9 Oct, 1992), wife of Dragoon Guards officer, Angus Roberts.

Their is no heir to the dukedom, and a son and heir would secure the peerage and the vast Grosvenor inheritance.

The dukedom of Westminster was the last dukedom to be given outside the confines of the royal family, and was created by Queen Victoria in 1874.

The new duchess (born 1 Sept, 1992), is a senior account manager with Belazu, an ethical food company, in London. She is extremely well connected, with lines of descent from the Hoare banking dynasty, the Marquesses of Britsol, of Ickworth, Suffolk, and the Dukes of Rutland, of Belvoir Castle. She is the elder daughter of Mr Rupert Cornelius Brooke Henson (born 7 September, 1962), of Longworth, Oxfordshire, and his wife the former Caroline Belinda Frisby (born 17 August, 1963), scion of that landed gentry family, descended from the Hoare banking family and the Marquesses of Bristol. Olivia’s uncle, Charles Wolrige Gordon, is the Grand Master of Scottish freemasons, Scotland’s senior freemason. Olivia’s mother is the twin sister of Charles’s wife, Angela Clare Wolrige Gordon.

Olivia has a brother Jasper (born 1994), who announced his engagement last year to the Spanish aristocrat Isabel Rodriguez-Legorburu Cabrera Kabana, and a sister, Emilia (born 1997).

Olivia is a granddaughter paternally of Thomas John Brooke Henson, MC (1931-2024), and his first wife the former Jennifer Caswell Cornelius (born 1938), daughter of Leonard Raymond Cornelius (1907-88), and his wife the former Betty Kathleen Caswell (1916-2010). Her grandparents divorced and in 1983 Mrs Jennifer Henson married Robert Christopher Thoroton Hildyard (1912-86), scion of a Yorkshire landed gentry family, descended from the Foljambe Earls of Liverpool.

The Romanov link:-

Nicholas I, Tsar of Russia (1796-1855) > Grand Duke Michael of Russia (1832-1909) > Grand Duke Michael of Russia (1861-1929)  > Lady Zia Wernher (1892-1977)  > Georgina Wernher (1919-2011)  > Natalia Ayesha Phillips (b 1959), The 7th Duke of Westminster (b 1991)

Nicholas I, Tsar of Russia (1796-1855) > Grand Duke Constantine of Russia (1827-1892) > Grand Duchess Olga of Russia (1851-1926) > Prince Andrew of Greece (1882-1944) > Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (1921-2021) > King Charles III (b 1948)

Olivia is also descended from the Dukes of Rutland :-

The 5th Duke of Rutland > Lady Katherine Manners > Lord Augustus Henry Charles Hervey > Lady Geraldine Mariana Hervey > Angela Beryl Hoare > Simon Rollo Frisby > Caroline Belinda Frisby > Olivia Grace Henson

Olivia's descent from the Marquesses of Bristol-

Frederick, 2nd Marquess of Bristol > Lord Augustus Henry Charles Hervey >Lady Geraldine Hervey > Angela Beryl Hoare > Simon Frisby . Caroline Frisby > Olivia Grace Henson 

The Duke and Olivia are both 6x great grandchildren of the 5th Earl of Carlisle (making them 7th cousins) and 7x great grandchildren of the 4th Duke of Beaufort (making them 8th cousins).

Olivia is a great-great granddaughter of Henry Hoare (1866-1956), partner in the eponymous family concern -  Hoare's Bank, of Ellisfield Manor, Basingstoke, White Wings, Angmering, Sussex, and La Lucretola, Lago di Como, Italy. The Old Etonian died 29 July, 1956.

Olivia's descent from the Arbuthnot baronets:--

Sir William Arbuthnot, 1st Baronet (1766-1829) > John Alves Arbuthnot (1802-75) > William Arbuthnot (1833-96) > Alice Arbuthnot (b 1869) > Capt William Herbert Fox (1901-40) > Sara Fox (d 2018) > Caroline Frisby (b 1963) > Olivia Henson (b 1992)

The 6th Baron Hindlip 1940-2024

 Lord Hindlip, the 6th Baron, businessman, who has died aged 83, was for many years at Christie's, the fine arts auction house, in which he was General Manager of Christie's New York and later Chairman of Christie, Manson & Woods and finally of Christie's International. He was the father of the TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp.

Charles Henry Allsopp was born 5th August, 1940, son of the 5th Baron Hindlip (1912-1993), and his wife the former Cecily Valentine Jane Borwick (1910-2000); and succeeded to the peerage (created UK, 1886), on his father's death, 19 December, 1993.

He married 18 April, 1968, Fiona Victoria Jean Atherley McGowan (1947-2014), daughter of the Hon William Johnston McGowan (1909-1977), and his wife the former Helen Myrtle Dorothy Atherley (died 16 March, 1976); and a granddaughter of the 1st Baron McGowan (1874-1961).

Lord Hindlip leaves issue, three daughters, Kirstie (born 31 Aug 1971), Sophia (born in 1980), and Natasha (born 1986), and a son, the Hon Henry William Allsopp (born 8 June, 1973), who now succeeds as 7th Baron Hindlip.

Cranstoun/Rhys-Evans engagement

The engagement was announced 5 June, 2024, between Alexander John George Cranstoun of that Ilk and Corehouse, Yr (born 15 June, 1995), elder son of Colonel David Alexander Somerville Cranstoun of that Ilk (born 19 Dec, 1943), head of that landed family, of Corehouse, Lanarkshire, by his wife Dr Maja Martha Glattli, & Olivia Frances Rhys-Evans (born 1996), elder daughter of the late Peter Howell Rhys-Evans, FRCS (died 2022), and his second wife the former Frances Knight, now of Petworth, West Sussex.

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The Baroness Jessel (died 2024)

 The Baroness Jessel, who died 27 May, 2024, aged 91, was the widow of the 2nd & last Baron Jessel.

She was the former Jessica Marian de Wet, daughter of William de Wet, of Rondesbosch, Cape Town, South Africa; and married 20 Dec, 1960, as his second wife, Edward Herbert Jessel, the 2nd Baron Jessel (born 25 March, 1904), son of the 1st Baron Jessel, CB, CMG, TD, DL, JP (1866-1950), and his wife the former Maud Goldsmid (1874-1965), daughter of Sir Julian Goldsmid, 3rd Baronet (1838-96).

Her husband died 13 June, 1990, when the peerage (created in 1924) became extinct.

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Stephen Andrew Romilly Michael Asquith 1944-2024

 Stephen Asquith, who died 31 May, 2024, aged 80, was a scion of the Earls of Oxford and Asquith, and was a great-grandson of H.H. Asquith, the Liberal statesman and prime minister.

Stephen Andrew Romilly Michael Asquith was born 27 January, 1944, the elder son of Michael Henry Asquith (1914-2004), and his 1st wife the former Diana Eveline Montagu Battye (1915-2004), scion of that landed gentry family; and married firstly, in 1963 (div 1965), Nicola Scott, daughter of Lt-Cdr Sir Peter Markham Scott, CH, CBE (1909-1989) (son of Scott of the Antarctic), and his first wife the writer Elizabeth Jane Howard (1923-2014); married 2ndly, in 1983, as her second husband, Clare Frances Stanton, scion of that landed gentry family, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel John Richard Guy Stanton, MBE (1919-1990), and his wife Margaret Frances Harries, OBE (1917-2004).

From his first marriage he leaves a son, Daniel (born 1964), and two daughters, Emily (b 1965), and Lucy (b 1967), and from his second marriage, a son, Thomas (b 1980), and a daughter, Portia (b 1978).

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Timothy Ward Seely 1935-2024

Timothy Ward Seely, who died 18 May, 2024, aged 88, an actor, was a scion of the Seely baronets, and was rumoured to be the illegitimate son of the then Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII, and Duke of Windsor).

In 1957, he made his theatre debut in the play Tea and Sympathy at the London Comedy Theatre. Seely played the young Tom Lee, who fell in love with the senior Laura, played by Elizabeth Sellars. He played the same role in the adaptation at New Shakespeare Theatre, Liverpool. There he also played Rodolfo in Arthur Miller's A View From the Bridge. In 1958, he acted alongside Maggie Smith at the London St Martin's Theatre in an adaptation of The Stepmother. Seely was member of the BBC Radio Drama Company, with which he acted the title role in Pericles, Prince of Tyre. He also had roles in various Shakespeare plays, including as Baptista in The Taming of the Shrew, Capulet in Romeo and Juliet, Polonius in Hamlet, Leonato in Much Ado About Nothing and the King of France in All's Well That Ends Well. In the late 1950s, he also took roles in film and television productions. One of his more prominent roles was as Midshipmen Ned Young in the 1962 version of Mutiny on the Bounty, where Seely appeared alongside Marlon Brando and Trevor Howard. He also made several appearances in the YTV soap Emmerdale, as Sir Thomas Weir, in 1994-95.

Seely was born 10 June, 1935, the second son of the late Major Frank James Wriothesley Seely (1901–1956), and a great-grandson of Sir Charles Seely, 1st Baronet. His mother was Vera Lilian Birkin (1903-1970), a friend of the future King Edward VIII, a daughter of British Colonel Charles Wilfred Birkin (1865-1932) (fourth son of a lace embroidery and tableware magnate of Nottingham, Sir Thomas Isaac Birkin 1831-1922).  His aunt was Freda Dudley Ward (1894-1983), Marquesa de Casa Maury, a mistress of King Edward VIII (1894-1972) and wife of William Dudley Ward (1877-1946). 

Biographer Andrew Lownie claims that 'a convincing case' can be made for Seely's illegitimate royal birth. "This is interesting, as Seely was born in 1935, after the affair with Wallis had begun, but we know from Special Branch reports that the Prince of Wales was not monogamous - he was enjoying an affair with an Austrian Princess at the same time."

The future King had been best man at Vera Birkin's wedding to Jimmy Seely in 1925 and the prince often stayed with the Seelys in Nottinghamshire. "The family later played down the story, and refused to talk about it but, after the Duke's death, Seely was contacted by the Duke's lawyers," says Lownie, who himself approached the Seelys in August 2020. He received an email from Timothy's wife Camilla: "Over the years, various authors/reporters have contacted Tim but the response was always the same, he is not interested. He is immensely discreet… We would not wish to be even a small part of yet more unworthy stories concerning The Royal Family."

Tim Seely studied at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

He married firstly,  He m 1st 1960 (div) Anna Henrietta Maria St Paul Butler (later Lady Younger) 1924-96 (her 3rd husband was Sir Jock Younger 3rd Bt) daughter of Capt Horace George St Paul Butler (1898-1971) by his wife Dorothy Henrietta Torlesse (1899-1934); and married secondly, in 2001, (Ann) Camilla Cartwright,  daughter of John Sheward Cartwright. 

From his first marriage he leaves a son, Hugo Michael David St. Paul Seely (born 1961).

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Boyer/Hearn engagement

The engagement was announced 3 June, 2024, between Thomas McKenzie Boyer (born 1992), son of the late Miles Roger Boyer (1957-1992), and his wife the former Penelope J. McKenzie (now of Gloucestershire), & Olivia Lucy-Rose Hearn (born 24 September, 1988), elder daughter of Simon Nigel Richard Hearn (born 1958), of Hampshire, and his wife the former Henrietta Lucy Calder-Smith (born 1961).

Olivia is descended from the Tetley brewing family, from the Nettlefold family, landed gentry, and from the Martineau family, and thus a distant kinswoman of HRH The Princess of Wales. The Nettlefolds were seated at Nether Lypiatt Manor, sometime home of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. Olivia ia also descened from the Courtauld family.

John Edmund Bedwell Tetley (1904-73) = Mary Margaret Martineau > Susan Lucy Tetley (1931-2012) = Maj John Hearn = Simon Hearn (b 1958) > Olivia Hearn (b 1988)

George Martineau (b 1796) > David Martineau (b 1828) > Howard Martineau (1864-1953) = Dorothy Nettlefold, of Goodyns Place, Dorking (1873-1918).

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Aurelius Balthazar Cobbold Bush (born 2024)

 The Hon Morwenna Gray Lytton Bush (nee Cobbold, born 16 Aug, 1989), wife of Philip Horatio Bush, gave birth to a son, Aurelius Balthazar Cobbold Bush, 26 April, 2024.

 Philip Bush is the son of Mr & Mrs Graham Bush, of Smeeth, Kent. 

The Hon Morwenna Bush is daughter of the the 3rd Baron Cobbold [born 12 May, 1962], of Knebworth, Hertfordshire, by his wife the former Martha Frances Boone.

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Bradstock/Parson engagement

 The engagement was announced 1 June, 2024, between James Rupert Bradstock (born 6 Oct, 1993), scion of that landed gentry family, son of Rupert John Bradstock (born 8 Oct, 1958), of Trinity, Jersey, and his wife the former Anna Louise Riley (born 18 Oct, 1962), & Olivia Anne Parsons (born 1993), daughter of Peter John Parsons (born 1949), of Eastleach, Gloucestershire, and his wife the former Carolyn Ann Stuart (born 1955).

The 8th Viscount Molesworth (1829-1906) > Hon Andalusia Molesworth (d 1912) > Lt-Col Christopher Riley (1894-1958) > Maj. John Riley (b 1925) > Anna Riley (b 1962) > James Bradstock (b 1993)

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Campbell/Leese engagement

The engagement was announced 1 June, 2024, between Ferdinand James Marc (Ferdy) Campbell (born 29 April, 1994), elder son of of the late Colonel the Hon Alastair James Calthrop Campbell (1952-2021), of Ferne, Wiltshire, (see Campbell of Croy life peerage), by his wife the former Primrose Felicia Palmer (born 18 February, 1960), & Mimi Constance Leese (born 1995), daughter of the late Julian S. Leese, by his wife the former Nichola Mimi Vestbirk (now wife of Piers Robert Conyngham Plunket (born 27 June, 1959, scion of the Barons Plunket), of Chilhampton, Wiltshire.

Ferdy Campbell is descended from the Earls of Longford:-

The 5th Earl of Longford (1864-1915) > Lady Pansy Pakenham (1904-99) > Horatia Lamb (b 1933) > Primrose Palmer (b 1960) > Ferdy Campbell (b 1994)

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Robert Hew Dalrymple 1946-2024

 Robert Hew Dalrymple, who died 27 May, 2024, aged 77, was a scion of the Earls of Stair.

He was born 10 November, 1946, son of the Hon Hew North Dalrymple (1910-2012), and his first wife, the former Mildred Helen Egerton (1903-1980), scion of the Earls of Ellesmere; and was a grandson paternally of the 12th Earl of Stair (1879-1961); & married 22 April, 1976, Caroline Anne Hunting, daughter of (Charles) Patrick Hunting, CBE, TD (1910-1993), by his wife the former Diana Margaret Pereira (1920-1995), by whom he had two sons, Hamish Hew (born 1979), & Alastair North (born 1982).

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