Prince Andreas Michael Arnim Siegfried Friedrich Hans Hubertus of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha, Duke of Saxony 1943-2025

Prince Andreas Michael Arnim Siegfried Friedrich Hans Hubertus of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha, Duke of Saxony, a descendant of Queen Victoria, has died aged 82.

He was head of the Ducal House of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha.

He was born 21 March, 1943, the eldest son of Prince Friedrich Josias Carl Eduard Kyrill Harald of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha (1918-1998), and his 1st wife the former Viktoria Luise Gfn zu Solms-Baruth (1921-2003), and was a grandson of Leopold Charles Edward George Albert, Prince of Great Britain and Ireland, 2nd Duke of Albany, &c (1884-1954), and a great-grandson of Leopold George Duncan Albert, Prince of Gt Britain & Ireland, 1st Duke of Albany, KG KT GCSI GCMG PC (1853-1884), fourth son of HM Queen Victoria (1819-1901).

 He married 31 Jul 1971, (with the pemission of his father as Head of the Ducal House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha) Carin Dabelstein (born 16 Jul 1946), daughter of Adolf Wilhelm Martin Dabelstein by his wife Irma Maria Margarete Callsen, and by her had issue,two sons, Prince Hubertus Michael (born 16 Sept, 1975), and Prince Alexander Philip (born 4 May, 1977), and a daughter, Princess Stephanie Sibylla (born 31 Jan, 1972). His elder son succeeds as head of the Ducal House of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha.

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Lord Vivian has married Saweda Kamara

The marriage took place at the weekend between Charles Crespigny Hussey Vivian, 7th Baron Vivian (born 20 December, 1966), son of the late 6th Baron Vivian (1935-2004), of Glynn and Truro, and his former wife Catherine (née Hope) now Countess of Mexborough, of Helmsley, North Yorkshire, and Saweda K. Kamara, the only daughter of the late Mr Alex Kamara and Mrs Jeanette Eccles-James (née Smythe-Macaulay), of Freetown, Sierra Leone.

It is Lord Vivian's second marriage. His first, in 2011, to Mrs Mary Elizabeth Wimpress, daughter of Gregory Vatterott of St Louis, Missouri, USA, ended in divorce, and without issue.

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Countess Sophie Vladimirovna Kleinmichel (Mrs Philip Goodman) 1930-2025

 Countess Sophie Vladimirovna Kleinmichel (Mrs Philip Goodman), died 5 April, 2025. She was 95.

She was descended from the Royal House of Mecklenberg-Strelitz and was a direct descendant of George II, King of Gt Britain & Ireland.

She was born 27 March, 1930, daughter of Count Vladimir Petrovich Kleinmichel, CVO (1901-1982), the courtier who King George V despatched to Denmark to negotiate the purchase of the Romanov jewels from the King's aunt, the Empress Marie of Russia. Count Vladmir's wife was Countess Marie Catherine Sophie von Carlow (1893-1979), daughter of Georg, Duke of Mecklenberg-Strelitz (1859-1909), and descended from King George II.

Her father had arrived in England as a penniless exile in the 1920s, became a merchant banker in the City of London, and also was appointed by the Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna, the sister of the murdered Tsar Nicholas II, to be the Comptroller of her household. Her parents were veritable pillars of the parish of the London Russian Orthodox Church in Exile. Countess Marie was the Patron of the parish Sisterhood of Saint Xenia for the last 20 years of her life; and the Count was both Treasurer and Starosta of the parish for more than 40 years, and it was his prudent care of the meagre resources of the parish that paved the way for building the London Russian Orthodox Cathedral (ROCOR). Following the death of Count Kleinmichel, his daughter became Starosta. It was while Mrs Goodman was Starosta that the ROCOR London parish found the courage (and the resources) to buy a plot of land in west London, on which today stands the Cathedral of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God and the Holy Royal Martyrs, an everlasting testimony to the faithful devotion of the Kleinmichel family to the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad.

Sophia married 17 May, 1957, Philip Henry Russell Goodman (born 17 June, 1931), son of Sir Victor Goodman, KCB, OBE, MC (1899-1967), a public servant and sometime Clerk of the Parliaments, and his wife Julian Ottoline Morrell (1906-1989), scion of that landed gentry family.

Her husband's grandmother was Lady Ottoline Violet Ann Cavendish-Bentinck (1873-1938), scion of the Dukes of Portland, and a kinswoman of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, whose mother was a Cavendish-Bentinck.

Philip Goodman died 29 March, 2025, aged 93. 

She leaves issue, five daughters, Mary, Catherine, Elizabeth, Sophia and Xenia.

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Wilbur Hubert Piers Pratt (born 2025)

Constance Elizabeth Pratt [born 1989, neé Mainwaring-Burton], wife of [Edward Roger] George Pratt [born 1989], gave birth to a son, Wilbur Hubert Piers, 9 March, 2025, a brother for Romy and Ned.

George Pratt is a scion of the landed gentry family of that name, son of [Edward Roger] Piers Pratt [1956-2014], and his wife the former Sarah Tilley.

Constance Pratt is a daughter of Guy Anthony Mainwaring-Burton [born 1956], scion of that landed gentry family, and his wife the former Bridget Mary Riley [born 1958].

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Philip Henry Russell Goodman 1931-2025

Philip Henry Russell Goodman, who died 29 March, 2025, aged 93, was a grandson maternally of the Lady Ottoline Morrell, the society hostess, influential in artistic circles.

He was born 17 June, 1931, son of Sir Victor Goodman, KCB, OBE, MC (1899-1967), a public servant and sometime Clerk of the Parliaments, and his wife Julian Ottoline Morrell (1906-1989), scion of that landed gentry family.

His grandmother was Lady Ottoline Violet Ann Cavendish-Bentinck (1873-1938), scion of the Dukes of Portland, and a kinswoman of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, whose mother was a Cavendish-Bentinck.

He married 17 May, 1957, Countess Sophie Vladimirovna Kleinmichel (born 27 March, 1930), daughter of Count Vladimir Petrovich Kleinmichel, CVO (1901-1982), the courtier who King George V despatched to Denmark to negotiate the purchase of the Romanov jewels from the King's aunt, the Empress Marie of Russia. Count Vladmir's wife was Countess Marie Catherine Sophie von Carlow (1893-1979), daughter of Georg, Duke of Mecklenberg-Strelitz (1859-1909), and descended from King George II.

Philip Goodman leaves issue, five daughters, Mary, Catherine, Elizabeth, Sophia and Xenia.

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Mariella Davies (born 2025)

 The Lady Jemima Juliet Davies (nee Herbert, born 4 October, 1989), wife of Hugo Patrick Trehearne Davies [born 1989], & scion of the Earls of Pembroke & Montgomery, gave birth to a daughter, Mariella, in March, 2025, a sister for Delfina (Delfi), who was born 12 December, 2022.

Lady Jemima is the fourth daughter of the late 17th Earl of Pembroke [1939-2003], of Wilton House, Salisbury, by his second wife the former Miranda Juliet Oram [born 1962] (now Miranda, Countess of Pembroke), and is a half-sister of the 18th Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery.

Hugo Davies is the eldest son of Mr Mark Edward Trehearne Davies, CVO [born 20 May, 1948], of Admington, Warwickshire, by his wife the former Antonia Catharine Chittenden [born 1960], 

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The 4th Baron O'Hagan 1945-2025

 The 4th Baron O'Hagan, Member of the European Parliament (Independent) 1973-75 and for Devon (Conservative) 1979-94; Junior Opposition Whip, House of Lords 1977-79, has died aged 79.

The peer died after suffering a severe head injury. An inquest opening in Exeter revealed that the former Conservative peer died 23 March, 2025, at the North Devon District Hospital in Barnstaple. 

Lord O'Hagan, Charles Towneley Strachey, was a godson of the late Queen Elizabeth II, and was a Page of Honour to the Queen 1959-1962.

He was born 6 September, 1945, son of Maj the Hon (Thomas) Anthony Edward Towneley-O'Hagan later Strachey (1917-1955), and his wife Lady Mary Sophia Palmer (1920-2001), a close friend of the late monarch, Lady-in-Waiting to HRH The Princess Elizabeth 1944-47, and an Extra Lady-in-Waiting to HRH until 1949, third daughter of the 3rd Earl of Selborne, CH, PC (1887-1971), and his wife the former Hon Grace Ridley (died 22 September, 1959), daughter of the 1st Viscount Ridley, PC (1842-1904).

He succeeded as 4th Baron O'Hagan (Peerage of the UK, cr 1870), on the death of his paternal grandfather, the 3rd Baron, 18 December, 1961.

He married 1stly, 13 Jul 1967 (div. 1984) HSH Princess Tamara Imeretinsky (former wife of Lt Cmdr Thomas Mervyn Smith-Dorrien-Smith RN, of Tresco Abbey, Isles of Scilly), 1st daughter of S/Ldr HSH Prince Michael Imeretinsky, of La Colle, Route de Castellar, Menton, France, by his wife Margaret Stella Kinnaird, former wife of Hon Patrick Charles Kinnaird MC (5th son of Arthur Fitzgerald [Kinnaird], 11th Lord Kinnaird, by his wife and cousin Mary Alma Victoria Agnew, 5th daughter of Sir Andrew Agnew of Lochnaw, 8th Bt.) and 2nd daughter of Henry FitzHerbert Wright, of Yeldersley Hall, co. Derby; and married 2ndly, March 1985 (div. 1995) Mrs Mary Claire Parsons, only dau. of Rev Leslie Roose-Francis, of Trencoth, Blisland, Bodmin, co. Cornwall; and married 3rdy, Dec 1995, Elizabeth Lesley Eve Smith, daughter of Hubert Smith, of Exeter. co. Devon.

Lord O'Hagan leaves issue, a daughter from his first marriage, the Hon Nina Natalia, and a daughter from his second marriage, the Hon Antonia Philippa Mary.

The peerage now passes to his younger brother, the Hon Richard Towneley Strachey (born 29 Dec, 1950).

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The 3rd Viscount Craigavon 1944-2025

 The Viscount Craigavon, third holder of the peerage, has died at the aged of 80.

Janric Fraser was born 9 June, 1944, son of the 2nd Viscount Craigavon (1906-1974), and his wife the former (Angela) Fiona Tatchell (died 6 Nov, 2007), daughter of Dr Percy Tatchell; and succeeded to the peerage (cr 1927) and baronetcy (cr 1918), on the demise of his father, 18 May, 1974.

The 3rd Viscount was one of the hereditary peers elected to the House of Lords in 1999.

The family honours, which now become extinct, were created for his grandfather, James Craig (1871-1940), the first prime minister of Northern Ireland.

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The 24th Lord Borthwick 1940-2025

Lord Borthwick, 24th holder of the Scottish lordship, died 26 March, 2025. He was 84.

Lord Borthwick, of Crookston, Heriot, Midlothian, was the Hereditary Royal Falconer of Scotland, and Chief of the Name and Arms of Borthwick.

John Hugh Borthwick of that Ilk, was born 14 November, 1940, the elder twin son of Henry Borthwick of Crookston (1905-96), who was recognised by Lyon Court 26 Jul 1944 as Borthwick of Borthwick;  and his claim to the Lordship of Borthwick was admitted by Lord Court in 1986, by his wife the former Margaret Frances Cormack (1911-1976). He succeeded to the Lordship on the death of his father, 30 Dec, 1996.

He married 9 Feb 1974, Adelaide Birkmyre (born 1945), daughter of Archy Birkmyre (1904-1992), of Overdale, Crieff, co. Perth (by his wife Doreen Barclay (1913-2005), daughter of Robert Barclay (1882-1949), of Glenpressen, Kilbirnie, co. Ayr), 2nd son of Sir Archibald Birkmyre, 1st Bt., CBE (1875-1935), of Dalmunzie, co. Perth, by whom he had two daughters, the Hon Georgina (born 18 Dec, 1975), and the Hon Alexandra (born 25 Aug 1977).

Lord Borthwick is succeeded by his younger twin brother, the Hon James Henry Alexander Borthwick of Glengelt.

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The Baron Kalms 1931-2025

 The Baron Kalms, who died 30 March, 2025, aged 93, was a Conservative life peer, businessman who was the life president and chairman of Currys plc. In 1948 he joined Dixons, which was founded by his father Charles Kalms in 1937. He spent his whole career with the company, through its various mergers and acquisitions into Currys. He was chairman of Volvere plc, a British turnaround group, from 2002 to 2011. Stanley Kalms had close connections to the University of Buckingham. He received an honorary degree from Buckingham, and Chris Woodhead was the Sir Stanley Kalms Professor of Education. He received his knighthood in the 1996 New Years Honours for his services to the electrical retailing industry and made a life peer as Baron Kalms, of Edgware in the London Borough of Barnet in 2004. Kalms ceased to be a member of the House of Lords on 9 July 2024 under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014 because of non-attendance in the preceding session of Parliament.

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