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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Thursday, January 30, 2025

The Baron Davies of Stamford, 1944-2025

The Baron Davies of Stamford, politician, life peer, died 13 January, 2025. He was 80.

(John) Quentin Davies was the Conservative MP for Stamford and Spalding 1987-97, and for Grantham and Stamford 1997-2010, and crossed the floor to join the Labour benches in the House of Commons in 2007.

He was born 29 May, 1944, son of Dr Michael Ivor Davies and and his wife the former Thelma Butler. He married in 1983, Chantal Tamplin, the elder daughter of Lt-Col R.L.C. Tamplin, 17th/21st Lancers, Military Knight of Windsor, by his wife the former Claudine Pleis, by whom he had two sons.

He joined HM Diplomatic Service in 1967; 3rd Secretary Foreign & Commonwealth Office 1967-69; 2nd Secretary, Moscow 1969-72; 1st Secretary, Foreign & Commonwealth Office, 1973-74. With Morgan Grenfell and Co. Was elected Tory MP at the General Election, 1987. Served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of State for Education 1988-90;  PPS to the Minister of State, Home Office 1990-91; Opposition Spokesman on Social Security and Pensions, 1998-99; Shadow Paymaster General, 1999-2000; Opposition Spokesman on Defence 2000-2001;  Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary 2001-2003, &c. 

He was raised to the peerage for life in 2010, as Baron Davies of Stamford, of Stamford in the County of Lincolnshire.

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Sir Edward Fairfax Studd, 4th Baronet 1929-2025

 Sir Edward Fairfax Studd, 4th Baronet, died 20 January, 2025, aged 95.

He was a Coldstream Guards officer, and company director.

He was born 3 May, 1929, the second son of  Capt Sir Eric Studd, 2nd Baronet, OBE (1887-1975), and his wife the former Kathleen Stephana Langmead (who died 21 September, 1976), and was a younger brother of Capt Sir Robert Kynaston Studd, 3rd Baronet (born 9 July, 1926), whom he succeeded 27 May, 1977.

He married 30 September, 1960. Prudence Janet Fyfe (born 6 Apr, 1932), daughter of Alastair Douglas Fyfe, OBE (1902-1974), and his wife the former Phyllis Mary Ingledew (1900-1979). Lady Studd died 19 April, 2024, aged 92.

Sir Edward leaves issue, two sons, Philip and Christopher, and a daughter, Alexandra. The elder son, Philip Alastair Fairfax Studd (born 27 Oct, 1961), now succeeds as 5th Baronet (cr UK, 1929).

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Anthony Havelock Hudson 1946-2025

 Anthony Havelock Hudson died 21 January, 2025.

He was born 25 April, 1946, son of Sir Havelock Henry Trevor Hudson (1919-1996), sometime Chairman of Lloyds, of Stanford Dingley, Berkshire, by his first wife the former Elizabeth Home (1925-2014); and married 2 May, 1968, Caroline Evelyn Loyd (1947-2022), a scion of Loyd landed family formerly of Monk's Orchard, daughter of Capt Edward Percy Canning Loyd [1921-1977], and his wife the former June Cecilia Keppel [1924-2008], scion of the Earls of Albemarle. Caroline was a descendant of the 2nd Earl of Albermarle, and a kinswoman of HM Queen Camilla. He married 2ndly, 1996, Penelope Reynolds-Payne (nee Hayes).

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Cholmeley/Streeter engagement

 The engagement was announced 30 January, 2025, between Montague Hugh Peter Cholmeley (born 19 May, 1997), son and heir of Sir Hugh John Frederick Sebastian (Fred) Cholmeley, 7th Baronet (born 3 January, 1968), of Easton, Lincolnshire, and his wife the former Ursula Anne Bennett (born 29 January, 1971), &  Isabela Tara Streeter (born 1996), daughter of Dr Thornton William J.A. Streeter (born 1968), of Rawridge, Devon, and Mrs Andree Lalvani Streeter, of Mumbai, India.

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Lord Johnstone to wed Sarah Sherlock

 The engagement was announced 20 January, 2025, between David Patrick Wentworth Hope Johnstone, styled Lord Johnstone (born 13 October, 1971), son and heir of the 11th Earl of Annandale & Hartfell (born 19 April, 1941), of Annanbank, Dumfriesshire, and the late Countess of Annandale & Hartfell (the former Susan Josephine Ross, who died 4 Nov, 2022), and Sarah Catriona M. Sherlock (born 1979), daughter of Donald James Nugent Sherlock (born 1947), of Ramsbury, Wiltshire, and his wife the former Nicola Anne Elizabeth Mellor (born 1952).

Lord Johnstone and Miss Sherlock have issue, a son, Kit (born 1 Aug, 2019).

Lord Johnstone's first marriage, 19 May, 2001, was to Penny Macmillan, daughter of the late John Macmillian, and has a son and a daughter from his first marriage.

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Wednesday, January 29, 2025

Athena Elizabeth Rose Mapelli Mozzi (born 22 Jan. 2025)

 Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrice, Mrs Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi [born 8 Aug, 1988], wife of Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi (born 1 Nov, 1983), gave birth to a daughter, Athena Elizabeth Rose, at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, 22 January, 2025, a sister for Sienna Elizabeth, who was born 18 September, 2021.

The infant is 11th in line of succession to throne, following her elder sister, and pushing her aunt, Princess Eugenie down to 12th position.

Edo Mapelli Mozzi is the son of Count Alessandro [Alex] Mapelli Mozzi [born 1951], by his former wife the former Nicola Diana Burrows [born Feb 1956] [now Mrs Nikki Williams-Ellis, MBE].

Princess Beatrice is the elder daughter of HRH The Prince Andrew, Duke of York [born 19 February, 1960], by his former wife the former Sarah Margaret Ferguson [born 15 October, 1959].

Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh joined the Duke of York at the scaled down Covid-secure wedding of their granddaughter and Edo Mapelli Mozzi at the Chapel Royal of All Saints, in Windsor Great Park, 17 July, 2020. Around twenty guests attended the wedding.

Edoardo's maternal grandmother, the former Susan Arnot Heath, married firstly, Robert David Burrows [Edo's grandfather], and married secondly, Lieutenant-Col Greville Wyndham Tufnell, CVO [born 1932], of the Grenadier Guards, who has close associations with the Royal Household.

Count Edoardo Alessandro M Mapelli Mozzi (known as Edo) was born in Westminster, 1st November, 1983, son of Count Alessandro (Alex) Mapelli Mozzi, and his former wife the former Nicola Diana [Nikki] Burrows. He has an elder sister Natalia Alice, born in 1981, wife of Mr Tod Yeomans.

His father, who was born in 1951, is a British Olympian, an Alpine skier, took part in several events at the 1972 Olympic Games.

Edo's grandfather was Count Gian Paolo Mapelli Mozzi (1922-80), Italian aristocrat, who married Gigliola Stoppani. Count Gian Paolo was a son of Count Luigi Mapelli Mozzi (1894-1948), who married Nobile Maria Mercedes Baroli.

Count Luigi was a son of Count Paolo Mapelli Mozzi (1854-1921), who married Enrichetta Tarsis dei Conti di Castel d'Agogna (1866-1941). Count Paolo was the son of Count Alessandro Mapelli Mozzi (1815-79) who married Nobile Ippolita Giulino dei Conti di Vialba.

The Mapelli Mozzi name came about from the marriage of Count Alessandro's father, Nobile Gerolamo Mapelli (1785-1842) with Angela Mozzi.

Edo's mother married as her second husband Christopher M.H. Shale, a British businessman and Conservative politician, friend of former prime minister David Cameron. Mr Shale died from natural causes at Glastonbury, in June, 2011. Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie and their parents the Duke and Duchess of York attended Mr Shale's funeral. Mrs Shale married thirdly, the sculptor David Williams-Ellis, a great nephew of Clough Williams-Ellis, the architect.

Mrs Williams-Ellis was awarded the MBE in David Cameron's resignation honours.

Edo has a half-brother, Albemarle Christopher M.H. Shale, ten years his junior.

The Mapelli Mozzi family have several connections to the British aristocracy. Edo's cousin, Edward Ankarcrona, son of Countess Margaretha Mapelli Mozzi, married in 2006, Lady Lucinda Savile, a daughter of the Earl and Countess of Mexborough.

Although he enjoys the title of "Count" he is a British subject and technically cannot use a foreign title in this country. Foreign styles and titles were confined to those who received a Royal Warrant from King George V in 1932.

Edo has a son, Christopher Woolf "Wolfie", born in 2016, from a previous relationship.

The royal baby is the 14th great-grandchild for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II:-

1. Savannah Anne Kathleen Phillips, born 29 December, 2010

2. Isla Elizabeth Phillips, born 29 March, 2012

3. Prince George Alexander Louis of Wales, born 22 July, 2013

4. Mia Grace Tindall, born 17 January, 2014

5. Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana of Wales, born 2 May, 2015

6. Prince Louis Arthur Charles of Wales, born 23 April, 2018

7. Lena Elizabeth Tindall, born 18 June, 2018

8. Prince Archie Harrison of Sussex, born 6 May, 2019

9. August Philip Hawke Brooksbank, born 9 February, 2021

10. Lucas Philip Tindall, born 21 March, 2021

11. Princess Lilibet Diana of Sussex, born 4 June, 2021

12. Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli Mozzi, born 18 September, 2021

13. Ernest George Ronnie Brooksbank, born 30 May, 2023

14. Athena Elizabeth Rose Mapelli Mozzi, born 22 January, 2025

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Christopher Terence Sinclair-Stevenson 1939-2025

 Christopher Terence Sinclair-Stevenson, who died 20 January, 2025, aged 85, was a publisher, and son-in-law of the life peer Baron Broxbourne.

He was born 27 June, 1939, son of George Egbert Sinclair-Stevenson, MBE (1911-1996), late the Coldstream Guards, and the first of his four wives, Valerie Gloria J.B. Gordon (1917-1993). 

He married 10 June, 1965, the Hon Deborah Susan Walker-Smith (born 15 June, 1941), daughter of Derek Colclough Walker-Smith, MP, PC (born 13 Apr, 1910), and his wife the former Dorothy Etherton. Derek Walker-Smith was created a baronet in 1960, and raised to the peerage for life in 1983 as Baron Broxbourne. He died 22 January, 1992.

Christopher Sinclair-Smith's wife died 26 December, 2022.

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Patricia Woosnam (née Carruthers) 1928-2025

 Patricia Woosnam (née Carruthers), died 22 January, 2025.

She was born in 1928, daughter of Hughe Ward Carruthers (1900-1990), and his wife the former Yolande Elsie Lawson (1907-1995); and married 1950, Charles Richard Woosnam, CBE (1925-2012), head of that landed gentry family, son of Ralph William Woosnam (1887-1962), and his wife the former Kathleen Mary Evans-Thomas (1893-1988), scion of that landed gentry family, by whom she had issue, two sons, Richard, and James, and two daughters, Carolyn and Rosalind.

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Tuesday, January 28, 2025

Capt Anthony Philip Hallett 1945-2025

 Capt Anthony Philip Hallett died 21 January, 2025, aged 79.

He was born in Sussex in 1945, and married in 1972, Faith Mary Holland-Martin (born 15 March, 1949), scion of that landed gentry family, daughter of Cyril George Holland-Martin (1902-1983), and his wife the former Rosa Mary Philippa Chadwyck-Healey (1907-1997), scion of the baronets of that name, by whom he had issue, three sons, James Anthony (born 1976), Edward George (born 1978), and Thomas Alexander Pitfield (born 1981).

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Baroness Hanham, CBE 1939-2025

The Baroness Hanham, a Conservative life peer, has died aged 85.

The former Joan Brownlow Spark, was born 23 September, 1939, daughter of Alfred Spark and his wife the former Mary Mitchell; and married in 1964, Dr Iain William Ferguson Hanham, MRCS, LRCP, FRCP (1936-2011), son of Dr Charles David Hanham, of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, and his wife the former Margot Ferguson, by whom she had issue, a son and a daughter.

She was a member of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council from 1970, Mayor 1983-84, Leader of the Council 1989-2000; Chairman of the Town Planning Committee 1984-86. She was appointed CBE in 1987, and raised to the peerage for life as Baroness Hanham, of Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, 15 July, 1999. She served as an Opposition Whip in the Lords, and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Communities and Local Government in the Cameron government from 2010 to 2013. Freeman of the City of London (1984); Member of the Mental Health Act Commission 1983-90; non-exec member of NW Thames Regional Health Authority 1983-94; non-exec director of Chelsea and Westminster Health Care NHS Trust 1994-2000; Vice-Pres of the Commonwealth Institute, &c.

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Beryl, Baroness Alvingham (died 2025)

 Beryl, Baroness Alvingham. who died 14 January, 2025, aged 96, was the widow of Major General the 2nd Baron Alvingham, CBE, DL (1926-2020).

She was the former Beryl Elliott Williams, daughter of William David Williams, of Knowle Holt, Hindhead, Surrey, and married 31 March, 1952, the then Robert Guy Eardley Yerburgh (born 16 Dec, 1926), son and heir of the 1st Baron Alvingham (1889-1955), by his wife Dorothea Gertrude (who died 10 Feb, 1927). Her husband succeeded his father, 27 Nov, 1955, as the 2nd Baron Alvingham, and he died 29 March, 2020.

Lady Alvingham leaves issue, a daughter, Susannah (born 13 June, 1953), and a son, Robert, 3rd Baron Alvingham (who was born 10 December, 1956).

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James Anthony Gore Browne 1947-2025

 James Anthony Gore Browne died 15 January, 2025, aged 77.

He was born in 1947, the eldest son of Major Sir Thomas Anthony Gore Browne (1918-1988), Senior Government Broker, of the Old Rectory, Lydlinch, Sturminster Newton, Dorset, by his wife the former Lavinia Gertrude Georgiana Loyd (1923-1995), scion of that landed family, daughter of General Sir Henry Charles Loyd, GCVO, KCB, DSO, MC (1891-1973), and his wife the former Lady Moyra Brodrick (1897-1982), daughter of the 1st Earl of Midleton, KP, PC, DL (1856-1942), &c.

He married in 1983, Jane Anne Dickson, daughter of Colonel Seton Dickson, of Symington, Ayrshire, by whom he had issue, two sons, Frederick and Harold, and a daughter, Marina.

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Monday, January 27, 2025

Caroline Elisa Margaret Eyre 1945-2025

Caroline Elisa Margaret Eyre, who died 19 January, 2025, aged 79, was a maternal granddaughter of the 2nd Baron Acton.

She was born 7 November, 1945, the seventh child of Edward Joseph Eyre (who died 6 Oct, 1962), and his wife the former Hon Dorothy Elizabeth Anne Pelline Lyon-Dalberg-Acton (1906-1998); and married 1978 (div 1979), Alan Cooper, daughter of Albert Cooper, and resumed her maiden name after her divorce.

She was a granddaughter of the 2nd Baron Acton (1870-1924).

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Christopher Trefusis White-Thomson 1940-2025

 Christopher Trefusis White-Thomson, who died 19 January, 2025, aged 84, was a scion of the Barons Clinton, and scion of the White-Thomson landed gentry family.

He was born in 1940, son of Maj Walter Norman White-Thomson (who died 29 Sept, 1943), by his wife the former Leonora Turney (1911-2006); and was a grandson of the Rt Rev Leonard Jauncey White-Thomson (1863-1933), Bishop of Ely, and his wife the Hon Margaret Adela Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis (1866-1939), daughter of the 20th Baron Clinton (1834-1904).

He married in 1967, Juanita M Rowlands (born 1945), by whom he had issue, a son, Charles Irving (b 1969), late the Grenadier Guards, banker, and a daughter, Kate Leonore (b 1970), who married in 1998, General Sir Charles Roland Vincent Walker, KCB, DSO, ADC Gen (born 14 May 1970), who served as Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Military Strategy and Operations) from April 2021 until June 2024. He became Chief of the General Staff, the professional head of the British Army, on 15 June 2024.

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Sunday, January 26, 2025

Sir Paul Douglas Nicholson, KCVO, DL 1938-2025

 Sir Paul Douglas Nicholson, KCVO, DL who has died aged 86, was a former Lord Lieutenant of County Durham.

Nicholson was a businessman and industrialist, the Cambridge-educated qualified chartered accountant was best known as chairman of the Sunderland brewery, the Vaux Group, from 1976 only resigning after the board voted for its closure in 1999, having first joined the company in 1965. He played a prominent role in the wider business community in the North East, chairing the Tyne and Wear Development Corporation throughout its 11-year existence until 1998, having also served as chairman of the Northern Region of the CBI, from 1977 to 79.

Nicholson was knighted in 1993 for, “services to industry and the public in North East England”, and he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO), in 2011.Having served as High Sheriff of County Durham in 1980, he was appointed Lord Lieutenant, the then Queen’s representative in the county, in 1987, succeeding David Grant. He held the post until his 75th birthday in 2013, when current Lord Lieutenant, Sue Snowdon, succeeded him.

He was born 7 March, 1938, eldest of the five sons of Frank Douglas Nicholson, DL, JP (who died 1984), and his wife the former Pauline Lawson-Tancred (1916-2010), scion of the baronets of that name, and married 18 July, 1970, Sarah Bacon (born 1 June, 1947), daughter of Sir Edmund Castell Bacon, 13th/14th Baronet, KG (1903-1982), and his wife the former Priscilla Dora Ponsonby (1913-2000), scion of the Ponsonby baronets, by whom he had issue, a daughter, Lucy (born 1972).

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Sir Murray Stuart-Smith, KCMG, PC 1927-2025

 Sir Murray Stuart-Smith, KCMG, PC, a former barrister and Appeal Court judge, died 21 January, 2025, aged 97.

He was born 18 Nov, 1927, son of Edward Stuart-Smith and his wife the former Doris Mary Laughland; and married 28 March, 1953, Joan Elizabeth Mary Motion (1929-2015), daughter of Major Thomas Augustus Motion and his wife the former Lady Elizabeth Grimston (1885-1975), a long serving Woman of the Bedchamber to HM Queen Mary, daughter of the 3rd Earl of Verulam (1852-1924), and his wife Margaret Frances Graham (who died 4 Oct, 1927).

Stuart-Smith was called to the bar by Gray's Inn in 1952 and was made a Bencher 1978. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1970, and as judge of the High Court of Justice (Queen's Bench Division) in 1981. He was appointed to the Court of Appeal in 1987, and retired in 2000. He later served as President of the Court of Appeal of Gibraltar from 2007, and as Justice of the Court of Appeal of Bermuda from 2004.

In retirement Sir Murray was appointed to re-examine Lord Taylor's report into the Hillsborough disaster, together with the wider question of whether the inquest process had been satisfactory.

Sir Murray leaves issue, three sons and three daughters.

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Saturday, January 25, 2025

Daisy Elizabeth Matilda Flaux (born 11 Jan. 2025)

 Davina Barbara C. Flaux (nee Combe, born 1987), wife of Tobias Henry H (Toby) Flaux (born 1987), and scion of the Combe of Cobham Park landed gentry family, gave birth to a daughter, Daisy Elizabeth Matilda, 11 January, 2025, a sister for Henry Michael Hansard (born 9 June, 2019), and for Ludo Percy Hansard (who was born 16 July, 2021).

Toby Flaux is a son of Sir Julian Flaux, PC (born 11 May, 1955), Chancellor of the High Court, and his wife the former Matilda Gabb.

Davina Flaux is a daughter of Michael Percy Oldham Combe (born 24 June, 1945), and his wife the former Elizabeth Taylor.

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Diana Margaret Cookson (née Lacy) 1928-2025

 Diana Margaret Cookson, who died 5 January, 2025, aged 96, was descended from the Stanley Barons Sheffield.

She was born 19 October, 1928, the eldest daughter of Commander Alexander Dacre Lacy (1894-1969), and his wife the former Katherine Margaret Anne Goodenough (1902-1969), kin of the baronets of that name; and married 30 November, 1957, Ronald Frederick Stephen Cookson, by whom she had three sons, Stephen (born 1959), William (born 1961), and Richard (born 1963).

The 4th Baron Sheffield (1839-1925) > Hon Henrietta Margaret Stanley (1874-1956) > Katherine Goodenough > Diana Margaret Lacy (d 2025)

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Laurence Andrew Kenworthy-Browne 1933-2025

Laurence Andrew Kenworthy-Browne, who died 2 January, 2025, aged 91, was a scion of that landed gentry family; born in 1933, the third son of Bernard Evelyn Kenworthy-Browne (1889-1979), head of the family, by his wife the former Margaret Sybilla Hadcock (1892-1985), daughter of Sir Albert Hadcock, KBE, FRS (1861-1936). He was unmarried.

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Peter Hastings Fairlie-Cuninghame 1939-2025

Peter Hastings Fairlie-Cuninghame, who died in Australia, 16 January, 2025, aged 85, was a scion of the Fairlie-Cuninghame baronets, a grandson of the 13th Bt.

He was born 7 April, 1939, the second son of John Hastings Fairlie-Cuninghame (1899-1997), and his wife the former Margaret Ruth Woodhill (who died 1981); and married 1972 (div. 1992), Felicity Helen Service, daughter of Douglas Service, of Sydney, NSW, by whom he had issue, a son Samuel (born 1976), and a daughter, Georgina (born 1979).

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Archie Edward Willoughby Southall (born 18 Jan. 2025)

 Isabel Rose Cecilia (Izzy) Southall (nee Wintour, born 1994), wife of Ben Southall, gave birth to a son, Archie Edward Willoughby, 18 January, 2025.

Ben is the eldest son of Mr & Mrs Philip Southall, of Garriston, near Leyburn, North Yorkshire.

Izzy is the third daughter of Patrick John Wintour [born 1954], of Bromham, Wiltshire, and his wife the former Anne Elizabeth Lambton [born 25 November, 1952], scion of the Earls of Durham.

George, 2nd Earl of Durham > Hon Charles Lambton > Charles Wm Lambton > Anne Lambton > Isabel Wintour > Archie Southall

The 6th Marquess of Lansdowne > Lady Elizabeth Mary Petty-Fitzmaurice > Anne Lambton > Isabel Wintour > Archie Southall

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Parr/de Rohan engagement

 The engagement was announced 25 January, 2025, between Victor Norman H. Parr (born 1993), the youngest son of Craig H.M. Parr and Mrs Penelope A. Stephen (nee Price), of Hinckley, Leicestershire, and Princess Eleanor Grace de Rohan (born 1995), younger daughter of Prince Charles Raoul de Rohan (born 1961), of Birley, Herefordshire, and his wife Princess Charles de Rohan, the former Sarah Louise Margerrison (born 1963).


Lander/Vestey engagement

 The engagement was announced 25 January, 2025, between William James B. Lander (born 1992), the eldest son of John M. Lander, of Fetcham, Surrey, and his wife the former Anne Beeby, & Ruby Constance Vestey (born 1991), scion of the Vestey baronets, daughter of George Moubray William Vestey (born 17 September, 1964), of Great Thurlow, Suffolk, and Ms Rachel Vestey (nee Osborne), of Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

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Twiston-Davies/Dansie engagement

 The engagement was announced 25 January, 2025, between Thomas Audley Twiston-Davies (born 31 October, 1994), the only son of Audley William Twiston-Davies (born 13 November, 1950), of Kilpeck, Herefordshire, and his wife the former Hon Caroline Mary Elaine Harbord-Hamond (born 15 December, 1960), and Katherine Dansie (born 1994), daughter of Mr & Mrs Timothy Dansie, of Landermere, Essex.

Thomas Twiston-Davies is a grandson of the 11th Baron Suffield (1922-2011).

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Friday, January 24, 2025

Capt Andrew Duncan Gordon (died 2025)

Capt Andrew Duncan Gordon died at Dundee, 20 January, 2025, aged 78.

He married 1972, Lavinia Althea Bankes (born 31 December, 1949), scion of that landed gentry family, daughter of John Wynne Bankes (1916-2009), head of that landed gentry family, and his wife Althea Dykes Spicer (1918-2007), daughter of Sir Dykes Spicer, 2nd Baronet (1880-1966), by whom he had a daughter, Lucy Lavinia Gordon (born 1975).

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Ann Reith (née Morris) 1929-2025

 Ann Reith (née Morris), who died at Crieff, Perthshire, 20 January, 2025, aged 95, was the widow of the disclaimed 2nd Baron Reith, and was briefly Baroness Reith.

She was born Penelope Margaret Ann Morris, in 1929, daughter of Henry Rowland Morris, of Beeston, Nottinghamshire, and married 29 May, 1969, the Hon Christopher John Reith (born 27 May, 1928), son and heir of the 1st Baron Reith, KT, GCVO, GBE, CB, TD, PC (1889-1971), and his wife the former Muriel Katharine Odhams (who died 6 July, 1977). Her husband succeeded his father, 16 June, 1971, as 2nd Baron Reith (Peerage of the UK, cr 1940), and disclaimed the peerage for life, 21 April, 1972. Her husband died 23 October, 2016.

She leaves a son, James (born 2 June, 1971), who succeeded as 3rd Baron Reith, and a daughter, Julie (born 20 Dec, 1972).

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Adrian Neil Raeburn McAlpine DL 1944-2025

 Adrian Neil Raeburn McAlpine, DL, who died 17 January, 2025, aged 80, was a scion of the baronets of that name, and was a director of the family firm Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd.

He was born 23 December, 1944, the eldest son of Lt-Col Malcolm Hugh Dees McAlpine (1917-2012), and his wife the former Sheila Margaret Price (who died 6 Oct, 2006); and married 1983, Angela Mary Hickie (1951-2022), scion of that Irish landed family, daughter of George Charles Hickie (1917-1985) and his wife the former Elizabeth Frances Crist (1924-2014), by whom he had issue, a son Angus (born 1993), and two daughters, Antonia (born 1984), and Olivia (born 1986).

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Lady Airy, wife of Maj Gen Sir Christopher Airy (died 2025)

Lady Airy, who died 14 January, 2025, aged 89, was the wife of Major General Sir Christopher John Airy, KCVO, CBE (born 8 March 1934), who served as General Officer Commanding the London District and Major-General commanding the Household Division from 1986 to 1989.

She was the former Judith Stephenson and married Christopher Airy in 1959. She leaves one son and two daughters. Her daughter Lydia Lucinda was the first wife of the 21st Baron Teynham.

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Forte/Wright engagement

 The engagement was announced 24 January, 2025, between Charles Giovanni P.G. Forte (born London, 1992), son of the Hon Rocco Giovanni Forte (born 18 January, 1945), of Chelsea, London and Rome, and his wife the former Aliai Giovanna Maria Ricci, and Georgina M. Wright, youngest daughter of Mr & Mrs David Wright, of Kensington, London, and Auckland, New Zealand.

Charles Forte is the grandson of Charles Forte, the Baron Forte (1908-2007), life peer.

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Thursday, January 23, 2025

Capt Charles William David Worthington 1930-2024

 Capt Charles William David Worthington, who died 24 November, 2024, aged 94, was a scion of the brewing family of that name and a great-grandson of 'Daisy' Countess of Warwick, sometime mistress of King Edward VII.

Worthington was sometime chairman of Ballet Rambert.

He was born 21 February, 1930, son of William Greville Worthington, RNVR (1903-1942), and his wife the Lady Mary Diana Duncombe (1905-1943), daughter of the 2nd Earl of Feversham (1879-1916), and his wife Lady Marjorie Blanche Eva Greville (1884-1964), daughter of the 5th Earl of Warwick (1953-1923), and his wife Frances Evelyn (Daisy) Maynard (1861-1938).

He married firstly, 1956 (div 1970), Camilla Crawley (1936-2018), scion of that landed family, daughter of Maj. Cosmo Stafford Crawley (1904-1989), and his wife the former Rosemary Christie-Miller (1907-1999); and married 2ndly, 1971, Mrs Sarah Susan Peto (born 6 Aug, 1942), former wife of Michael Henry Basil Peto (later Sir Michael Peto, 4th Baronet 1938-2008), and 4th daughter of Maj Sir Dennis Frederick Bankes Stucley, 5th Baronet (1907-1983), and his wife the former Hon Sheila Margaret Warwick Bampfylde (1912-1996), daughter of the 4th Baron Poltimore (1882-1965).

From his first marriage he leaves a son, David (born 1962), and from his second marriage a daughter, Anna (born 1972).

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Wednesday, January 22, 2025

Caroline Nicola Payne (née Woodwark) 1943-2025

 Caroline Nicola Payne, who died 16 January, 2025, aged 81, was a granddaughter of the Barons Southborough.

She was born Caroline Nicola Woodwark, 28 December, 1943, daughter of Peter Antony Woodwark, RNVR ( who was killed in action, 1943), and his wife the Hon Moira Hopwood (1919-2021), daughter of the 3rd Baron Southborough (1897-1982); and married 18 February, 1966, Richard Hugh Payne (born 1941), son of Hugh Frederick Payne (1916-1965), by his wife the former Betty Mary Langslow Bishop, by whom she had issue, two sons and two daughters.

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Julian Richard Whately 1949-2025

  Julian Richard Whately, who died 20 January, 2025, aged 75, was a scion of that landed gentry family.

He was born 10 August, 1949, the son of Gerald Arthur Whately, OBE (1919-1985), and his wife the former Nina Abigail Finlayson (1921-1994); and married 1973, Clare M.S. Hallett (born 1948), by whom he has three sons, (Richard) Marcus (born 1977), Hugo Thomas (born 1979), and Benjamin William (born 1980).

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Gabriel Arthur Fitzgerald-Wilkins (born 13 Jan 2025)

Atalanta Rose Wilkins (nee Fitzgerald, born 1992), wife of Eric Arthur Wilkins (born 1987), gave birth to a son, Gabriel Arthur Fitzgerald-Wilkins, 13 January, 2025.

Eric Wilkins is the youngest son of Barry Wilkins (born 1957),  by his wife the former Helen Slyomovics.

Atalanta is the younger daughter of Edward Hamilton Fitzgerald CBE, QC (born 1953), by his wife the former Rebecca Rose Fraser (born 1957) scion of the Lords Lovat, daughter of the Rt Hon Sir Hugh Fraser, MBE (1918-84), by his wife the writer Lady Antonia Pakenham (born 1933), daughter of the 7th Earl of Longford, KG, PC (1905-2001).

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Kelly/Single engagement

The engagement was announced 22 January, 2025, between James Charles (Jamie) Kelly (born 1995), youngest son of Major James Richard Kelly, of Angus, and his former wife Susannah Maria Scott (born 1963), scion of the Scott baronets & Katharine Wallace (Kitty) Single (born 1995), youngest daughter of James Vallack (Jamie) Single (born 1959), of Midlothian, and his wife the former Suzanne Wallace Adam (born 1962).

Jamie Kelly is a grandson maternally of Sir James Walter Scott, 2nd Baronet (1924-1993).

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Elizabeth Violet Grizel Inge-Innes-Lillingston 1925-2025

 Elizabeth Violet Grizel Inge-Innes-Lillingston, died 9 January, 2025, aged 99.

She was Lady of the Manor of Thorpe Constantine and Patron of the Livings of Thorpe Constantine and Newton Regis.

She was born 5 May, 1925, a daughter of Lieutenant-General Sir William Montgomerie Thomson, KCMG, CB, MC (1877-1963), of Milton Brodie, Morayshire, and his first wife Ethel Violet Davidson (died 1927), daughter of Duncan Davidson, of Inchmarlo, Aberdeenshire; and married 2 July, 1955, as his second wife, George David Inge-Innes-Lillingston, RNVR (1923-2002), son of Commander Hugh William Innes Lillingston, RN (1878-1952), of Loch Alsh House, Ross-shire, by his wife the former Amy Margaret Milne-Home, scion of that landed gentry family, by whom she had issue, two sons, Hugh William (born 7 Sept, 1956), now of Thorpe Constantine, and Michael George (born 19 June, 1959), and a daughter, Susan Caroline (born 16 Nov, 1962).

Elizabeth Inge-Innes-Lillingston succeeded to the Thorpe Constantine estate on the death of her cousin, Hilda Mary Inge, who died unmarried 13 July, 1963.

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Hutchinson Smith/Freer-Smith engagement

 The engagement was announced 22 January, 2025, between Hugh Charles Hutchinson Smith (born 1992), son of (Charles) Rupert Hutchinson Smith, of Hinton, Shropshire, and his wife the former Belinda Jane Gurney (born 26 Apr, 1962), scion of that landed gentry family, & Harriet Catherine Freer-Smith (born 1995), daughter of Christopher L. Freer-Smith, of Warnborough, Hampshire, and his wife the former Virginia C. Cooke.

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Tuesday, January 21, 2025

Diana de Vere Cole (née Crosby Cook) 1941-2025

Diana de Vere Cole, who died 12 January, 2025, aged 83, was a figurative artist, and sometime wife of Tristan de Vere Cole (born 16 March, 1935), an English TV director believed to be an illegitimate son of the painter Augustus John.

She was born Diana Crosby Cook, 29 January, 1941, and married in 1962, Tristan John de Vere Cole, son of Mabel Winifred Mary Wright (known as Mavis) (1908-1970), who had married in 1931, (William) Horace de Vere Cole (1881-1936), son of Maj William Utting Cole (1851-1892), and his wife Mary O'Brien de Vere (1859-1930), a scion of the de Vere baronets, who claimed kinship with the de Vere Earls of Oxford. Mavis Cole became August John's mistress in the early 1930s.

Diana de Vere Cole leaves a son, Cassian de Vere Cole (born 1966).

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Matilda Esme Sancroft-Baker (born 16 Jan. 2025)

 Annabel Rose Sancroft-Baker (née Henderson, born 1989), wife of Hugh Jasper Sancroft-Baker [born 1987], gave birth to a daughter, Matilda Esme, 16 January, 2025, a sister for Felix Samuel, who was born 13 October, 2022.

Annabel Sancroft-Baker is scion of the Barons Faringdon, daughter of the Hon James Harold Henderson [born 1961], of Buscot Park, co Oxford, by his wife the former Lucinda Maria Hanson. The Hon James Henderson is the son and heir of the 3rd Baron Faringdon [born 1937].

Hugh is a son of Raymond Samuel Sancroft-Baker [born 1950], of Swalcliffe Lea, co Oxon, by his wife the former [Daphne] Caroline Adams.  Hugh's paternal grandmother was a Heron-Maxwell, of the baronets of that name.

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Monday, January 20, 2025

The Baron Rook

 The life barony recently conferred upon the Rev Dr Russell Rook has been gazetted in the name, style and title of Baron Rook.

Lord Rook, OBE - is Partner at the Good Faith Partnership and Anglican priest.

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Baron Barber of Ainsdale

The life peerage recently conferred upon Sir Brendan Barber has been gazetted in the name, style and title of Baron Barber of Ainsdale.

Lord Barber of Ainsdale is a former General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress and former chair of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service.

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Dangerfield/Beatty engagement

 The engagement was announced 20 January, 2025, between (Thomas) Henry G. Dangerfield (born 1996), only son of (Thomas) Christian Dangerfield (born 1965), of Bitterley Hyde House, Herefordshire, and his wife Camilla E.L. Milton (born 1959), & Emily Mary Violet Beatty (born 1994), scion of the Earls Beatty, the only daughter of the Hon Nicholas Beatty (born 1 April, 1961), of Salcey Lawn, Northamptonshire, and his former wife, the former Laura Mary Catherine Keen (born 1 May, 1963), now of Isther Cottage, Bath.

Emily Beatty is a granddaughter of the late 2nd Earl Beatty (1905-1972).

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Nicholas Greenaway Mills 1935-2025

 Nicholas Greenaway Mills died 12 January, 2025. He was a scion of that landed gentry family, of Little Barrington. He served in the 15th/19th Hussars.

He was born 6 Dec, 1935, the second son of Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Breynton Yarnton Mills, OBE, MC (1900-1974), by his wife Esther Greenaway Hurst (1908-1999); and married 16 June, 1962, the Hon Susan Glyn (born 10 August, 1940), daughter of the 6th Baron Wolverton (1913-1988), and his wife Audrey Margaret Stubbs (1914-2007), by whom he had issue, two daughters, Charlotte (born 30 Apr, 1964), and Maria (born 8 September, 1967).

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Saturday, January 18, 2025

Oscar David Jonathan Coldman (born 26 Dec, 2024)

Henrietta Julia Coldman (née Carthew, born 18 Jan, 1994), wife of Thomas Frederick John Coldman (born 1994), gave birth to a son, Oscar David Jonathan, 26 December, 2024.

Henrietta is a scion of the Carthew landed gentry family, daughter of Jonathan Peter Carthew (born 1961), and his wife the former Joanna Rachel Falcon (born 1962).

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Cunningham-Jardine/Nagorcka engagement

The engagement was announced 18 January, 2025, between Hamish M.C. Cunningham-Jardine (born 1997), descended from the Nairn baronets, eldest son of John Charles Cunningham-Jardine (born 11 November, 1961), of Tinwald, Dumfriesshire, and Mrs Cunningham-Jardine, & Tahlia M. Nagorcka, only daughter of Mr and Mrs Michael Nagorcka, of Hamilton, Australia.

Sir Michael Nairn, 2nd Baronet (1874-1952) > Constance Jane Nairn (b 1906) > Constance Inglis (1936-2016) > John Cunningham-Jardine (b 1961) > Hamish Cunningham-Jardine (b 1997)

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Pell/Gore engagement

The engagement was announced 18 January, 2025, between Edward Oliver S. Pell, younger son of Gerald Keith Sinclair Pell (born 5 Feb, 1946), of North Huish, Devon, and his wife the former Heather Ann Rayner (born 11 Nov, 1941), descended from the Chaworth-Musters landed gentry family, & Alice Catherine Mary Gore (born 1988), scion of the Gore baronets, daughter of William Ralph St John Gore (born 31 January, 1956), of  Pencarrow, Camelford, Cornwall, and his wife the former Mary Susan Collingridge.

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Fletcher-Price/Patitisson engagement

The engagement was announced 18 January, 2025, between Jack Fletcher-Price, son of Mr & Mrs Fletcher-Price, of Eastbourne, and Honor Emily Pattisson (born 2 Aug, 1999), youngest daughter of William Thomas Pattisson (born 1963), of Winchester, Hampshire, and his wife Frances Elizabeth (Francheska) Every (born 29 June, 1964), scion of the Every baronets.

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Nigel Geoffrey Howard Pilcher 1945-2025

 Nigel Geoffrey Howard Pilcher died 12 January, 2025, aged 79.

He was born 22 December, 1945, and his home was at Edgecliff, NSW, Australia.

He married in 1980, (Frances) Anne Monckton (born 1951), scion of the Viscounts Galway, daughter of Walter John Bruce Monckton (1918-2003), and his wife the former Betty Allen Keele (who died 1974), by whom he had issue, two sons, James Howard Monckton Pilcher (born 1983), and Henry Nigel Monckton Pilcher (born 1985).

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Crichton/Mockett engagement

The engagement was announced 18 January, 2025, between Charles Patrick Vesey Crichton (born 1992), scion of the Earls of Erne, son of the late Simon Patrick Crichton (1956-2022), and his wife the former Fiona Jane Midwood (born 1958), of Alderbury, Wiltshire, & Cosima Isabella Mockett (born 3 Sept, 1992), daughter of Timothy John V. Mockett (born 1963), of Fulham, and his wife the former Felicia A.F. Hogan.

Charles Crichton is a great-great grandson of the 4th Earl of Erne (1839-1914).

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Curran/Howard engagement

 The engagement was announced 18 January, 2025, between Barnaby Guy B. Curran (born 1994), eldest son of Dominic B. Curran (born 1962), of Ellesmere, Shropshire, and his wife the former Rosemary Ormrod (born 1962), and the Hon Amelia Alexandra Howard (born 4 May, 1996), daughter of the 5th Baron Strathcona & Mount Royal (born 24 June, 1961), of Isle of Colonsay, Scotland, and his wife the former Jane Maree Gibb.

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Cosmo Henry Atticus Bethell (born 18 Nov, 2024)

 Alice Victoria R. Bethell (nee Mills, born 1991), wife of Nicholas Bethell [born 1990], a scion of the landed gentry family of Bethell of Rise, gave birth to a son, Cosmo Henry Atticus, 18 November, 2024, a brother for Rudy Casper Ludo, who was born 25 November, 2022.

Alice is the elder daughter of Andrew Mills, of Farthinghoe, Northamptonshire, and his wife the former Vanessa A. Harford. Nicholas Bethell is the third son of Hugh Adrian Bethell [born 23 April, 1952], of Rise, East Riding of Yorkshire, by his wife the former Sarah Elizabeth St Aubyn [born 28 June, 1955], scion of the Barons St Levan. Nicholas's paternal grandfather, Richard Anthony Bethell, married 27 Sept, 1945, Lady Jane Pleydell-Bouverie [1923-2006], daughter of the 7th Earl of Radnor [1895-1968]. 

On Nicholas's maternal side he descends from the Barons St Levan, of St Michael's Mount, Penzance, and the Earls of Morley, &c.


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Tamsin Elizabeth Josephine Vestey (born 7 Jan, 2025)

Emily Vestey (nee Harris), wife of Thomas Hector Moubray (Tom) Vestey (born 1993), scion of the Vestey baronets, gave birth to a daughter, Tamsin Elizabeth Josephine, 7 January, 2025, a sister for Sebastian.

Tom Vestey is a son of George Moubray William Vestey (born 1964), of Great Thurlow, Suffolk, and Mrs Rachel Philippa Vestey (nee Osborne), of Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

Emily Vestey is a daughter of Patrick Osborne, of Currandooley, NSW, Australia.

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Friday, January 17, 2025

Major Hugh Cantlie 1932-2025

 Maj. Hugh Cantlie, FRCS, late Scots Guards, died 11 January, 2025, aged 92.

He was born in China in 1932, eldest of the three sons of Colonel Kenneth Cantlie (1899-1986), and his wife the former Phyllis Gage-Brown (1896-1965), and a grandson of Sir James Cantlie (1851-1926).

He married 26 June, 1964 (div 1967), as the third of her four husbands, the Lady Zinnia Rosemary Denison (1937-1997), daughter of the 4th Earl of Londesborough (1894-1937), and his wife the former Marigold Rosemary Joyce Lubbock (1903-1976), scion of the Lubbock baronets, by whom he had issue, a son, Charles Edgar Cantlie (born 27 Feb, 1965).

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Jennifer Mary Chettle (nee Cotton) 1943-2024

Jennifer Mary Chettle, who died 6 December, 2024, aged 81, was a scion of the Cotton baronets.

She was born 24 February, 1943, daughter of Hugh Philip Stapleton Cotton (1913-1979), and his wife the former Mary Josephine Wheeler (1915-2006); & married 5 September, 1964 (div 1983), Peter Ivan Chettle (who died 12 May, 2010), by whom she had issue, a son, Dominic (born 12 Dec, 1967), and Deborah (born 1970).

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Hazeel/Murray engagement

The engagement was announced 17 January, 2025, between James Albert Victor Hazeel (born 2 May, 1989), elder son of Francis Hazeel (born 13 February, 1945), of Cherrington, Warwickshire, and his wife the former Carolyn Robin Warrender (born 19 June, 1953), scion of the Barons Bruntisfield, & Rowena Alice Rachael Murray (born 13 June, 1993), daughter of Martin Evans and Ms Sara Murray, OBE, of London SW1.

The 1st Baron Bruntisfield > the Hon Robin Warrender > Carolyn Warrender > Jamie Hazeel

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Dame Joan Plowright, DBE 1929-2025

 Dame Joan Plowright (The Baroness Olivier), the actress, widow of the great actor Laurence Olivier, died 16 January, 2025, aged 95.

Born at Brigg, Lincolnshire, 28 Oct, 1929. Married 1stly 19, Sept1953 (div 1960) Roger Gage (1928-2018), married 2ndly 1961 Sir Laurence Oliver, who was raised to the peerage for life as Baron Olivier, and died in 1989.

Simon Baliol Brett 1943-2024

Simon Baliol Brett, who died 29 December, 2024, aged 81, an artist, wood engraver and writer, was a scion of the Viscounts Esher.

He was born 27 May, 1943, son of Major Antony Reginald Forbes Baliol Brett, MBE (1913-1981), and his wife the former Beatrice Helen Brownell (1914-1989); and was a great-grandson of the 2nd Viscount Esher (1852-1930). He married 31 August, 1974, as her second husband, Mrs Juliet Anne Shirley-Smith, daughter of Paul Hamilton Wood, OBE, by whom he had a daughter, Emily Agnes (born 4 Nov, 1977).

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Thursday, January 16, 2025

Hon Harriet Flavia Hazlitt Snow 1950-2024

 The Hon Harriet Flavia Hazlitt Snow, who died 30 December, 2024, aged 74, was a daughter of the life peer the Baron Burntwood (1910-1982), who, as Julian Snow, was Labour MP for Lichfield & Tamworth.

She was born 5 November, 1950, daughter of the then Julian Snow and his wife the former Flavia Ria Joan Blois (1914-1980), daughter of Sir Ralph Blois, 9th Baronet (1866-1950).

She was unmarried.

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Baron Evans of Sealand

 The life peerage recently conferred on Mr David Evans has been gazetted in the name, style and title of Baron Evans of Sealand.

Lord Evans is a former Labour Party Regional Director, Assistant General Secretary and General Secretary of the Labour Party 2020-2024.

Baroness Coffey

 The life peerage recently conferred upon the Rt Hon Dame Theresa Coffey, DBE, PC, has been gazetted in the name, style of title of Baroness Coffey.

Baroness Coffey served as Deputy Prime Minister from September to October 2022 in the administration of Liz Truss. She has also served as Environment Secretary, Health Secretary and Work and Pensions Secretary. A member of the Conservative Party, Coffey was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Suffolk Coastal from 2010 to 2024. 

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Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe

 The life peerage recently conferred upon Theresa Griffin has been gazetted in the name, style and title of Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe.

Baroness Griffin is the former Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for North West England.

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Baron Wilson of Sedgefield

The life peerage recently conferred upon Philip Wilson, has been gazetted in the name, style and title of Baron Wilson of Sedgefield.

Phil Wilson is the former Labour Member of Parliament for Sedgefield, and former Opposition Assistant Whip.

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Simon Thomas Ruck Keene 1958-2025

 Simon Thomas Ruck Keene, who died 5 January, 2025, aged 66, was a scion of that landed gentry family.

He was born in 1958, son of Thomas Ruck Keene (1922-2004), and his wife the former Anne Coventry Greig (1924-1991), and was unmarried.

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de Klee/Johnson engagement

 The engagement was announced 16 January, 2025, between George Frederick de Klee (born 29 April, 1993), son of Hugo Bertram de Klee (born 1957), of Ardingly, West Sussex,  and his wife the former Caroline Stephenson Clarke (born 19 September, 1956), and Molly Johnson, daughter of Rupert and Simmi Johnson, of Marnhull, Dorset.

The De Klees descend from the Dawson-Damer Earls of Portarlington, the Guthrie landed family and the Stormonth Darling landed gentry family, and the Leslie and Buxton Baronets.

The 1st Earl of Portarlington > Col the Hon George Dawson-Damer > Lady Constance Dawson-Damer > Olive Leslie > Virginia Violet Guthrie > Murray Peter De Klee > Hugo De Klee > George De Klee

Beresford/McEwen engagement

 The engagement was announced 16 January, 2025, between Lord Marcus Patrick de la Poer Beresford (born 1990), second son of the 9th Marquess of Waterford (born 23 March, 1958),  of Curraghmore House, County Waterford, by his wife the Marchioness of Waterford (nee Amanda Thompson), & Ella Kate McEwen (born 5 September, 1993), daughter of Bobby McEwen, of Upper Wanborough, Wiltshire, and his wife the former Alli Mountstephens.

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Richard Shelton-Agar 1937-2025

 Richard Shelton-Agar, who died 6 January, 2025, aged 87, was head of that landed gentry family.

He was born in 1937, son of Alan Shelton-Agar (1908-1985), and his wife the former Marion Wedderburn Parkes Dickson (1907-1992); and married in 1965, (Hilda) Rosemary Lockhart (born 1942), daughter of Prebendary Douglas Lockhart (1906-1983), and his wife the former Hilda Mary Walker (1917-2003), by whom he had issue, a son, Michael (born 1966), who succeeds as head of the landed family, and a daughter, Emma.

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Jemima Violet Athena Coles (born 8 January, 2025)

 Jessica Ann F Coles [nee Dymond, born 1991], wife of Alexander Henry Rufus Scott [Harry] Coles [born 1987], gave birth to a daughter, Jemima Violet Athena, 8 January, 2025, a sister for Octavia Louise Persephone, who was born 5 July, 2022.

Jessica Coles is a daughter of Christopher F. Dymond, and his wife the former Suzanne Jory.

Harry Coles is a son of Bruce Gordon Scott Coles [born 1946], and his wife Gerald Anne Louise Carter [born 20 May, 1956], daughter of Michael Henry Tindall Carter [1925-95], and his wife Virginia Anne Cradock-Hartopp [1922-2014], scion of the Cradock-Hartopp baronets.

--

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

The Baron Moraes, OBE

 The life peerage recently bestowed upon Claude Moraes, OBE, has been gazetted in the name, style and title of Baron Moraes, of Hawkhill in the City of Dundee.

(January 15 2025)

Lord Moraes is a former Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for London and chair of the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee.

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Margaret Curran's life peerage gazetted

 The life peerage recently awarded to Margaret Patricia Curran has been gazetted in the name, style and title of Baroness Curran, of Townhead in the City of Glasgow, 15 January, 2025.

Baroness Curran  is a former Member of Parliament for Glasgow East and formerly Minister within the Scottish Executive.

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Coryndon Peter Luxmoore 1927-2025

Coryndon Peter Luxmoore, who died 4 January, 2025, aged 97, was a scion of that landed gentry family.

He was born in 1927, son of Edward Coryndon Logan Luxmoore (1893-1970), and his wife the former Marion Georgiana Finch (1887-1991). 

 -=-

Felicity Constance Irene Rimington Wilson 1939-2024

Felicity Constance Irene Rimington Wilson (née Lawford), who died 22 December, 2024, was descended from the Pelly baronets.

She was born in 1939, daughter of Evelyn Godfrey Lawford (1893-1958), and his wife the former Dorothy Constance Morley (1907-1958). Her father was a great-great grandson of Sir John Pelly, 1st Baronet (1777-1852). She married in 1961, Reginald de Rodes Rimington Wilson (1929-1993), head of that landed gentry family, by whom she had issue, a son and two daughters.

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Tuesday, January 14, 2025

Valerio Caspar Arundell Teakle (born 2 Jan. 2025)

 Arianna Teake (nee née Leoni Sceti), wife of George Arundell Teakle (born 1991), descended from the Barons Talbot of Malahide, gave birth to a son, Valerio Caspar Arundell, 2 January, 2025.

George Teakle is the younger son of Simon James Teakle and his wife the Hon Julia Anne Tennant Arundell (born 22 January, 1959), daughter of the 10th Baron Talbot of Malahide (1931-2016).

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Timothy Hugh Pitt Miller 1937-2024

Timothy Hugh Pitt Miller, who died 31 December, 2024, aged 87, was a scion of that landed gentry family. Educated at Eton, he served in the Grenadier Guards.

He was born 5 June, 1937, the younger son of Major William Eustace Pitt Miller (1903-1990), head of that landed gentry family, and his wife Juliet Mary St Aubyn (1905-1993), scion of the St Aubyns Barons St Levan, of St Michael's Mount, Cornwall.

He was unmarried. 

-=-


 

Rundall/ del Río Tordera Sánchez engagement

The engagement was announced 14 January, 2025, between (Francis) Thomas Mansell (born 1981), the eldest son of Francis Richard Seton Rundall (born 1951), of Gloucestershire, and his wife the former Lady Rosalthe Frances Ryder (born 1954), scion of the Earls of Harrowby, & Cristina Maria del Río Tordera Sánchez, daughter of Don Francisco del Río Tordera and the late Doña María Josefa Sánchez Pintado of Toledo, Spain.

Tom Mansell is a maternal grandson of the 7th Earl of Harrowby (1922-2007).

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Anne Marie, Baroness Dunboyne 1929-2024

 Anne, Baroness Dunboyne (née Mallet), who died 31 December, 2024, aged 95, was the widow of the 28th Baron Dunboyne.

She was born Anne Marie Mallet, in 1929, the only daughter of Sir Victor Alexander Louis Mallet, GCMG, CVO (1893-1969), of Wittersham House Kent, by his wife the former Christiana Jean Andreae (1905-1984). Her father, a godson of Queen Victoria, was a diplomat, and ambassador to Stockholm and Madrid, and Counsellor at Washington acting as Chargé d'Affaires at Washington.

She married 29 July, 1950, Patrick Theobald Tower Butler, 28th Baron Dunboyne (born 27 January, 1917), son of the 27th Baron (1874-1945), and his wife the former Isolde Tower (died 26 May, 1977).

Her husband, an officer in the Irish Guards, barrister circuit judge and author, died 19 May, 2004, aged 87.

Lady Dunboyne had issue, John, 29th Baron Dunboyne (1951-2013), and three daughters, Mary, Betty and Victoria. She was the grandmother of Richard, 30th Baron Dunboyne (born 5 July, 1983).

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The 6th Viscount Knutsford 1926-2025

 The 6th Viscount Knutsford died 3 January, 2025, aged 98.

Michael Holland-Hibbert was born 27 December, 1926, son of the Hon Wilfrid Knutsford Holland-Hibbert (1893-1961), and his wife the former Isabel Audrey Fenwick (1894-1987).

He succeeded to the family honours, 8 March, 1986, on the death of his cousin the 5th Viscount. The viscountcy (Peerage of the UK) was awarded in 1895 to Henry Holland-Hibbert, secretary of state for the Colonies. He was also Baron Knutsford (Peerage of the UK, cr 1888), and a baronet (cr 1853).

The viscount, of Broadclyst House, Exeter, married 8 May, 1951, the Hon Sheila Constance Portman (1927-2018), daughter of the 5th Viscount Portman (1898-1942), and his wife the former Hon Sybil Mary Douglas-Pennant (who died 1975), daughter of the 3rd Baron Penrhyn (1864-1927), &c.

Viscount Portman leaves issue, two sons, Henry and James, and a daughter, Lucy. The elder son, the Hon Henry Thurstan Holland-Hibbert, who was born 6 Apr, 1959, succeeds to the viscountcy, barony and baronetcy. He is married to Katherine Ropner (born 16 Apr, 1964), scion of the baronets of that name, and they have issue, two sons and two daughters.

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Monday, January 13, 2025

Sir (Hardman) George Algernon Earle, 6th Baronet (1932-2025)

 Sir George Earle, 6th Baronet, died 1 January, 2025, aged 92.

Hardman George Algernon Earle was born 4 February, 1932, son of Sir Hardman Alexander Mort Earle, 5th Baronet (1902-1979), and his wife the former Maie Drage (1906-1986), and succeeded to the baronetcy on his father's death, 17 September, 1979.

He married 24 January, 1967, Diana Gillian Bligh St George (born 24 March, 1939), scion of the St George baronets, daughter of Colonel Frederick Ferris Bligh St George (1908-1970), by his wife the former Meriel Margaret Radcliffe (1908-1966), a descendant of the Earls of Macclesfield, by whom he had issue a son, Robert George Bligh Earle, born 24 January, 1970, and a daughter, Katherine, born 8 July, 1968.

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Clive/Hitchins engagement

 The engagement was announced 13 January, 2025, between Jago George Anthony Clive (born 19 January, 1997), scion of the Viscounts Boyd of Merton, eldest son of the Hon Edward George Clive (born 39 March, 1968), of Whitfield, Herefordshire, and his wife the former Tamsin Szerina Hitchens, & Thais Emily Hitchins (born 1997), daughter of Jonathan R. Hitchins, of Boddington, Gloucestershire, and his wife the former Rita D. (Cassie) Bretas Ferreira.

Jago was born surnamed Lennox-Boyd. His father assumed the surname of Clive in lieu of his patronymic, in 2003.

-=

Julius Charles Adrian Sichel (born 28 Dec, 2024)

Leonora Katherine Ziana Sichel [born 1988, nee de Ferranti], wife of Charles Julius Sylvester Sichel [born 1981], gave birth to a son, Julius Charles Adrian, 28 December 2024, a brother for Alexander and Theodore.

Charles Sichel is a son of John Henry Sylvester Sichel [born 1947], of Oxford and the Isle of Wight, by his wife the former Diana E.J. [Dee] Ferguson [born 1950].

Leonora is a daughter of Adrian Ziani de Ferranti [born 1956], of Ellisfield, Hampshire, by his wife the former Christian L. Roome [born 1957], and a granddaughter of Basil Reginald Vincent Ziani de Ferranti [1930-1988], by his wife the former Susan Sarah Gore [born 1935].

Leonora's grandmother, Susan Gore, descends from the Earls of Eglinton & Winton.

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Saturday, January 11, 2025

Birdwood/Quesnel engagement

 The engagement was announced 11 January, 2025, between Christopher Hugo Molesworth Birdwood (born 1991), kin of the Barons Birdwood, elder son of James Gresford Brodrick Birdwood (born 1955), of Shipton Moyne, Gloucestershire, and his wife Elizabeth M. Eldridge, & Thomasina Anna M. Quesnel (born 6 January, 1994) twin daughter of Jonathan Paul Quesnel (born 1961), of Sydenham, co Oxford, and his wife Philippa F.J. Le Neve-Foster (born 1962).

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Victor Bruno Nottage Palmer (born 31 Dec. 2024)

Laura Elisabeth Marie Palmer (nee Martin-Prud’homme), wife of the Hon George Gordon Nottage Palmer (born 17 Nov, 1985), gave birth to a son, Victor Bruno Nottage, 31 December, 2024, a brother for Zazu.

George is the second son of the 4th Baron Palmer (born 8 Oct, 1951), of Duns, Berwickshire, by his former wife the former Cornelia Dorothy Katharine Wadham, also of Berwickshire.

Laura Palmer is a daughter of M. and Mme Bruno Martin-Prud’homme, of Blanzaguet-Saint-Cybard, France.

-=-

Cornish/Casement engagement

The engagement was announced 11 January, 2025, between Charles Donald Cornish (born 25 Oct, 1993), son of Capt Paul Nicholas Cornish, of Cambridge, and his wife the former Fiona Elizabeth Cameron, & Rosanna Isobel (Zanna) Casement (born 16 July, 1994), scion of that Irish landed gentry family, daughter of William Rory John Casement (born 1961), of Benenden, Kent, and his wife the former Rachel Berry.

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George William John Dalrymple Hamilton (born 2 Jan, 2025)

 Sarah Elizabeth Dalrymple Hamilton (born 1990, nee Burnford), wife of Major Edward J.R. Dalrymple Hamilton, the Scots Guards (born 1986) scion of the Earls of Stair, gave birth to a son, George William John, 2 January, 2025, a brother for  Arthur Charles North, born 6 January, 2019, and for Rose Beatrice Elizabeth, born 4 June, 2020, and for twins Beatrice Cecilia Alice and Florence Henrietta Coco, born 8 October, 2022, sisters for

Maj Dalrymple Hamilton is the second son of Colonel (North) John Frederick Dalrymple Hamilton, OBE, of Bargany, Ayrshire, by his wife the former Sally-Anne How.

Sarah Dalrymple Hamilton is the elder daughter of Mr Michael J. Burnford, of Itchenor, West Sussex, by his wife the former Anne Carter.

-=-

Fulford/Wallis engagement

 The engagement was announced 11 January, 2025, between Edmund B. Fulford (born 1996), scion of that landed family of Great Fulford, second son of Francis Fulford (born 1957), of Great Fulford, Devon, and his wife the former Kishanda Tulloch, & Lucy F.M (Lulu) Wallis (born 1996), eldest daughter of Stephen Henry Wallis (born 1957), of Withersfield, Suffolk, and his wife Sophia Elizabeth Dennis (born 7 April, 1963), scion of that Irish landed gentry family.

-=-

Diana Scarisbrick (died 2024)

 Diana M.I. Scarisbrick (nee Wood) died 30 December, 2024, aged 96.

She married in 1955, Peter Ewald Scarisbrick, Grenadier Guards (born 1923, who died 27 July, 2018), son of Capt Charles Scarisbrick and his wife the former Evelyn Aird (died 27 Feb, 1957), scion of the Aird baronets, by whom she had issue, a daughter, Sophie.

Her husband was a grandson maternally of Maj. Sir John Aird, 2nd Baronet (1861-1934).

Her daughter Sophie married in 1982, the Hon John Peter Robin Hood Hastings-Bass (born 5 June, 1954), scion of the Earls of Huntingdon, son of Peter Robin Hood Hastings-Bass (1920-64), and his wife the former Priscilla Victoria Bullock (1920-2010). Sophie's husband is a younger brother of the 17th Earl of Huntingdon (born 30 Jan, 1948).

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Friday, January 10, 2025

Robert Trench Fox, CBE 1937-2024

 Robert Trench Fox, CBE, who died 25 December, 2024, aged 87, was a scion of the Barons Ashtown (descended from the father of the 1st Baron).

He was born in 1937 son of Major Waldo Trench Fox, MC (1892-1954), and his wife the former Janet Mary Kennedy (1907-87); and married in 1962, Lindsay Garrett Anderson (born 1942), daughter of Sir Donald Forsyth Anderson (1906-1973), andhis wife the former Margaret Elaine Llewellyn (1913-2002), scion of the Llewellyn baronets; by whom he had issue, two sons and two daughters.

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Sir Thomas Dunne, KG, KCVO 1933-2025

 Sir Thomas Dunne, KG, KCVO, who died 6 January, 2025, aged 91, was a long serving lord lieutenant of Hereford and Worcester and a Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter. He was the oldest of the current knights companion of the order.

Thomas Raymond Dunne was born 24 October, 1933, a scion of a landed gentry family, son of Philip Russell Rendel Dunne (1904-1965) of Gatley Park, Herefordshire, and his wife the former Margaret Anne Walker, only child of Thomas Hood Walker, of Crosbie Tower, Troon, Ayrshire, of the Johnny Walker whisky dynasty, and was educated at Eton College, and the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.

He married 17 July, 1957, Henrietta Rose Crawley (born 1937), third daughter of Maj Cosmo Crawley, of Littledene, Glynde, Sussex, by whom he had issue, two sons, Philip Martin (b 14 Aug, 1958), former Conservative MP for Ludlow, and a godson of Princess Alexandra, the Hon Lady Ogilvy; and Nicholas Dunne, who is married to Lady Jasmine Cavendish, daughter of the Duke of Devonshire, KCVO, and a daughter, Camilla Rose (b 21 Mar, 1968), wife of the Hon Rupert Soames, a great-grandson of Sir Winston Churchill, KG, &c, and Letitia Dunne (deceased).

Dunne was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Hereford and Worcester in 1977, three years after the administrative counties of Herefordshire and Worcestershire were merged to form Hereford and Worcester. In 1995, he was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order. In 1998, Hereford and Worcester reverted to its original counties, and Sir Thomas became Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire and Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire. He retired from the latter on 31 July 2001. He was Chairman of the Lord Lieutenants Association. 

In 2008, he was made a Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter, England's highest order of chivalry. 

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Thursday, January 09, 2025

Antony Rufus Little 1942-2024

Antony Rufus Little died 24 December, 2024, aged 82. He was a designer, artist and co-founder of Osborne & Little. A leading figure in the 1960s’ Art Nouveau Revival.

Born in 1942, he married 20 May, 1966, Jennifer Jane Osborne (1939-2002), daughter of Sir George Francis Osborne, 16th Baronet (1894-1960), and his second wife the former Mary Grace Horn (1903-1987).

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Christopher Brian Amery 1932-2025

 Christopher Brian Amery, late the Blues & Royals, died 8 January, 2025, aged 92.

He was a son of Richard Gregory Gill Amery (1903-1986), and his wife the former Lynda May Hodges (1900-1994); and married 13 September, 1973, Kathryn Gabriel Hely Hutchinson (born 25 March, 1944), scion of the Earls of Donoughmore, fourth of the five daughters, of Lieutenant-Col the Hon David Edward Hely Hutchinson (1911-1984), and his wife the former Barbara Mary Wyld (1913-2000), by whom he had issue, two sons, Edward (born 24 Mar, 1975), and Nicholas (born 21 Jul 1979).

Christopher's wife is a granddaughter of the 6th Earl of Donoughmore (1875-1948).

-=-


Jane Eve Phillips 1930-2025

 Jane Eve Phillips (nee Shakerley), who died 2 January, 2025, aged 94, was a scion of the Shakerley baronets.

She was born 6 April, 1930, the daughter of Maj Sir Cyril Holland Shakerley, 5th Baronet (1897-1970), and his wife the former Elizabeth Averil Eardley-Wilmot (1905-1990), scion of that landed family, and she was a sister of the society photographer Sir Geoffrey Shakerley, 6th Baronet (1932-2012), who married the Lady Elizabeth Anson (1941-2020), a cousin of Queen Elizabeth II.

She married 1 May, 1963, Capt David William Phillips, RAFVR (who died 2016), son of Capt Percival Phillips, of Paignton, Devon, by whom she had issue, a daughter, Katherine (born 16 Feb, 1966).

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Wednesday, January 08, 2025

Nicholas John Denison-Pender 1974-2024

 Nicholas John Denison-Pender, who died following an accident, 23 December, 2024, aged 50, was a scion of the Barons Pender.

He was born 30 September, 1974, the second son of James Henry Denison-Pender (born 16 April, 1942), and his first wife the former Gillian Barnett (born 14 July, 1949), scion of that landed gentry family, and married 1999, Louisa Mary Cameron (born 1976), descended from the Rugge-Price baronets, by whom he had issue, three sons, Frederick, Angus, and Thomas, and a daughter, Ella.

The 1st Baron Pender > Hon Richard Denison-Pender > James Denison-Pender > Nicholas Denison-Pender

-=-




Ivy Trafelet (born 3 Jan, 2025)

 The Lady Melissa Jane [Missy] Trafelet [nee Percy, born 1987], wife of Remy White Trafelet [born 1970], and scion of the Dukes of Northumberland, gave birth to a daughter, Ivy, 3 January, 2025, in Florida, a sister for Bluebell Rose, who was born 19 February, 2020, in New York, and twins Percy Dean and Alfred Ralph, 22 February, 2023, in Florida.

Remy Trafelet is a son of Dean M. Trafelet, former Illinois Circuit Judge, by his wife Janet.

Lady Melissa is a daughter of the 12th Duke of Northumberland, of Alnwick Castle, and Syon House, by his wife the former [Isobel] Jane Miller Richard.

Lady Melissa was previously married, 2013 [div 2016] to Thomas Alexander van Straubenzee [born 1982], scion of that landed gentry family.

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Tuesday, January 07, 2025

Bicket/McLean engagement

 The engagement was announced 7 January, 2025, between Henry James P (Hal) Bicket (born 1994), son of the late Simon A. Bicket (born 1956, d ), and of the Hon Mrs Nicholas Beatty (nee Marianne L. Coleman), of Salcey Lawn, Northamptonshire, and Annabel Louise McLean (born 1994), daughter of Ronald W. Kerry McLean, of Clapham, London, and his wife the former Amanda J. Abrahams.

Hal Bicket is a grandson of Antony Neilson Bicket (1920-2019), and his wife the former Rosemary Parr (1928-2001), and a nephew of Nicola Anne Bicket (born 1960), now the Countess of Crawford & Balcarres, wife of the 30th Earl of Crawford & Balcarres (born 24 Nov, 1958).

-=-

Capt Roger Hugh Moutray Richardson-Bunbury, RN 1934-2024

Capt Roger Hugh Moutray Richardson-Bunbury, RN, died 16 December, 2024, aged 90. He was a scion of the baronets of that name.

He was born 25 October, 1934, the younger son of Richard Richardson-Bunbury (1899-1951), and his wife the former Florence Margaret Gordon Thomson (1905-1993), and a younger brother of Sir Richard Richardson-Bunbury, 5th Baronet (1927-2017); and married 18 September, 1965, Carol Irene Arnold (born 1940), daughter of F.J.H. Arnold, MC, of Guildford, Surrey, by whom he had issue, two sons, Robert (b 15 Sept, 1968), David (b 26 Nov, 1972), and two daughters, Judith (b 7 Feb, 1967), and twin with David, Elizabeth (b  26 Nov, 1972).

His elder brother inherited the family baronetcy, 21 Oct, 1953, and died 1 Dec, 2017.

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Samengo-Turner/Trevelyan engagement

 The engagement was announced 7 January, 2025, between Milo Louis D. Samanego-Turner (born 1996), youngest son of Dominic Michael Adrian Samengo-Turner (born 1964), of Staplefield, West Sussex, and his wife the former Annabel Elizabeth Wilson, & Henrietta Prudence Angela Trevelyan (born 14 October, 1994), scion of the Trevelyan baronets, daughter of Major (Amyas) Charles Trevelyan (born 25 January, 1946), of Stanway, Gloucestershire, and his wife the former Angela Joan Pike.

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Sam Nesbitt (born 6 Dec, 2024)

Hermione Rose Nesbitt [nee Winterton, born 1987], wife of Benjamin Patrick A [Benji] Nesbitt [born 1987], gave birth to a son, Sam, 6 December, 2024, a brother for Charlie Michael, who was born 27 April, 2020.and Eddie, born 28 April, 2022.

Benjamin is a son of David Cosby Patrick Nesbitt [born 1953], by his wife the former Carol Veronica Hunter [born 1956], and Hermione is a daughter of Michael John Willoughby Winterton [born 1956], by his wife the former Olivia Hughes-Onslow [born 1960], descended from the Earls of Onslow.

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John Aidan Cuthbert 1934-2024

 John Aidan Cuthbert, who died 21 December, 2024, aged 90, was head of that landed gentry family of Beaufront Castle, Hexham. Northumberland.

He was born 10 March, 1934, son of Maj. Harold David Cuthbert (1909-1959), of Beaufront Castle, and his wife the former Bridget Sibyl Milnes-Coats (1910-2010), scion of the baronets of that name; and married firstly, 1975 (div) the Lady Victoria Lucy Diana Percy (born 19 Apr, 1949), 2nd daughter of the 10th Duke of Northumberland, KG, GCVO, TD, PC, JP (1914-1988), and his wife the Lady Elizabeth Diana Montagu Douglas Scott (1922-2012); and married 2ndly, 27 Aug, 2002, Griselda Catherine Stainton, former wife of James Francis Muir (born 11 Aug, 1948), scion of the Muir baronets, and daughter of Sir Anthony Nathaniel Stainton, KCB (1913-1988). He leaves issue from his marriage to Lady Victoria Percy, a son David Hugh (born 1987), and three daughters, Alice (b 1978), Lucy (b 1982), and Mary (b 1984).

His daughter Lucy is the wife of HRH Prince Khalid Bin Bandar Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Ambassador to the UK 

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Colonel Andrew Peter Harold Parsons (died 2024)

 Colonel Andrew Peter Harold Parsons, Scots Guards, died 18 December, 2024, aged 84.

He was a son of Capt Thomas Edward Harold Thornbrough Parsons, of Carskley, Argyll, and married 3 July, 1962, Rosemary Jane (Romy) Hubbard (born 2 September, 1942), scion of the Hubbard Barons Addington, daughter of Ralph Arthur Hubbard (1908-1983), and his wife the Hon Marian Woodruff Stanley, by whom he had issue, two sons, James (b 1964), Edward (b 1968 , dec), and Annabel (b 1969).

His wife is a granddaughter maternally of the 1st and last Baron Ashfield (1874-1948).

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Sir Anthony May, PC 1940-2024

 Sir Anthony Tristram Kenneth May, who died 30 December, 2024, aged 84, was a retired judge, who previously served as the President of the Queen's Bench Division.

 He was born 9 September 1940, and was educated at Bradfield College and Worcester College, Oxford.

On 1 October 2008, he succeeded Sir Igor Judge as President of the Queen's Bench Division. He was called to the Bar (Inner Temple) in 1967, became a Queen's Counsel in 1979, and a Recorder in 1985. He was appointed to the Queen's Bench Division in 1991, receiving the customary knighthood. In 1997, May was appointed to the Court of Appeal.

May was Vice-President of the Queen's Bench Division from 2002 to 2008, when he was appointed President of the Queen's Bench Division, when the previous president, Sir Igor Judge, became Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales. He was sworn of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom in 1998. May retired from the Queen's Bench Division in July 2011, and was succeeded as its president by Sir John Thomas.  

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Monday, January 06, 2025

Inquest into the death of Henry Keith 1998-2024

  A coroner has ruled that the death of Henry Theodore Keith who died 16 August, 2024, was a tragic accident. Mr Keith, who was 25 drowned during a late night dip with friends on the Norfolk Broads.

Henry was born 2 December, 1998, the second son of James Edward Keith (born 5 March, 1960), and his wife the former Victoria Rosemary Cook (born 1956), and was a descendant of the Mann baronets. He was unmarried.

He was a former schoolboy at one of Britain’s top public schools and drowned in the Norfolk Broads after diving into the water following a heavy drinking session with an old school friend.

Henry Keith, who attended Harrow School in north-west London, disappeared under the water during the late-night dip, despite being a strong swimmer.

A coroner concluded he may have banged his head while going into the water at Wroxham Broad on 16 August 2024. His body was found nearby two days later.

Sebastian Cator, a captain in the Royal Logistics Corps, told the hearing how his friend had undressed and entered the water headfirst. But he failed to resurface after diving off the rear of a launch that belonged to his father, just after it slowed to a halt.

The Old Harrovian said he heard a ‘scratching or tapping’ noise on the underside of the boat, adding: ‘My immediate reaction was that he was trying to play a prank on me. I walked around either edge of the boat and could not find him. ‘That was when I realised he was not playing a joke and began to panic.’

Mr Cator described how he called frantically for his friend – a director at the Organic Pig Company, which was founded in 1998 - but called emergency services after getting no response, leading to a large, multi-agency search.

Mr Keith’s body was recovered from the water in an ‘upright position’ just beneath the surface on 18 August 2024.

Mr Cator told Norfolk Coroner’s Court in Norwich of his heartache and regret about events leading up to the loss of one of his closest friends, explaining how he constantly replayed what had happened in his mind.

Asked by Mr Keith’s brother, Edward, why he didn’t jump in to look for him, he said: ‘I wanted to and I do not know why I did not. Maybe I should have done and I can only apologise for that.’

However, he added he would have been better able to help his friend from the boat if he had resurfaced.

Norfolk area coroner Yvonne Blake recorded a conclusion that the death was an accident.

But she accepted questions remained about how he came to drown when he was known to be fit and a strong swimmer.

‘He could have knocked his head on something under the water, which could have stunned him,’ she said.

The pair, who went shooting together, had begun drinking at around 3.30pm at the Swan Inn pub in Horning before heading to Mr Cator’s family’s home nearby.

His family issued an emotional tribute to him after the inquest, saying: ‘The loss of our precious Henry has created a huge void for our family and all the many friends who loved him dearly.

‘He was a caring and cheerful young man with a bright future ahead of him.’

The family thanked emergency services involved in the search for him, particularly the Hemsby lifeboat and Norfolk Lowland Search and Rescue.

They added: ‘These two organisations did not rest for a moment until he was found.’

In an earlier tribute, posted with a notice of his funeral, they said: ‘Truly he was a gift from God, taken back on a golden summer day.’

The statement described him as a ‘beloved son’ of James and Vicky and an ‘adored brother’ to his four siblings.

It added: ‘The most wonderful, unique, charming and brilliant young man, universally adored. Rest in Peace darling Henry.’

Sir Edward Mann, 1st Baronet (1854-1943) > Maj William Mann (1885-1969) > Penelope Jane Mann (died 2002) > James Edward Keith (b 1960) > Henry Keith (1998-2024)

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Baroness Randerson 1948-2025

 The Welsh Liberal Democrat politician the Baroness Randerson died 4 January, 2025, aged 76.

She was a junior minister in the Wales Office serving in the Cameron–Clegg coalition. Prior to her peerage she was an Assembly Member for Cardiff Central from 1999 to 2011 when she served in the Welsh Labour-Lib Dem administration of the 2000–2003 Welsh Assembly Government.

She was also a former Cardiff councillor for Cyncoed. In 2019 she was appointed Chancellor of Cardiff University.

Jennifer Elizabeth (Jenny) Randerson was elected in 1999 and represented Cardiff Central, beating Labour candidate Mark Drakeford for the seat. She was born 26 May, 1948.

She represented the party in the then Welsh Assembly - now the Senedd - from 1999 to 2011 and served in the Welsh Labour-Lib Dem administration of the 2000-2003 Welsh Assembly government.

Welsh Lib Dem leader Jane Dodds said her work as a minister "left an indelible mark on our politics and society".

Ms Dodds added she would be "deeply missed by her family, friends, colleagues, and the many individuals whose lives she touched through her public service".

"From free entry to Wales's national museums to the decision to build Wales Millennium Centre, Jenny dedicated her life to serving the people of Cardiff and Wales."

The former leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, Kirsty Williams told BBC Radio Wales that Baroness Randerson's influence was "significant, but, as always with Jenny, it was done in a very quiet and understated way".

She said: "Her contribution to both the Lib Dems in Wales, latterly the Liberal Democrats across the UK, but also to Welsh politics at the dawn of devolution is significant."

Williams, who met Baroness Randerson as a young activist in the Liberal Democrats in the 1990s, said she was struck by the number of younger people who had spoken of the mentorship she provided to them when she was a very busy politician herself.

Baroness Randerson began her career in education as a secondary school teacher and later as a lecturer at Coleg Glan Hafren in Cardiff.

She also served as a Cardiff councillor from 1983 to 2000, helping to grow the Welsh Liberal Democrat party's presence in the capital and leading the council's official opposition for four years.

She became the first female Liberal Democrat minister anywhere in the UK as Minister for Culture, Sport and the Welsh Language from 2000 to 2003 and was acting deputy first minister from July 2001 to June 2002.

The party said she was "instrumental in introducing a cultural strategy aimed at promoting the Welsh language".

After stepping down from the Assembly in 2011, she was appointed a life peer.

In the House of Lords, she continued her commitment to public service, notably serving as parliamentary under secretary of state for Wales.

She was the first ever female Welsh Liberal Democrat to hold ministerial office at Westminster and the first Welsh Liberal to hold a UK ministerial post since Gwilym Lloyd-George in 1945.

Beyond politics, Baroness Randerson served as Chancellor of Cardiff University and was also a patron of various charities including Wales Council for Deaf People, the Cardiff and Vale Youth Wind Band and the African Mothers' Foundation.

Cardiff University's vice-chancellor Prof Wendy Larner said she was a "longstanding friend and advocate for the university and for the benefits of higher education" and that she would be "deeply missed".

Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on Cardiff Council Rodney Berman called her a "terrific mentor" and said the party owed her a debt of gratitude.

Mr Berman added that her "contribution to Welsh life and to politics over many decades has been nothing short of immense".

On 27 January 2011, she was created a life peer and her peerage was gazetted in the name, style and title of Baroness Randerson, of Roath Park in the City of Cardiff, and was introduced in the House of Lords on 31 January 2011.

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De Klee/Dear engagement

  The engagement was announced 6 January, 2025, between Nicholas Alexander De Klee (born 1995), son of Hugo Bertram De Klee (born 1957), of Ardingly, West Sussex,  and his wife the former Caroline Stephenson Clarke (born 19 September, 1956), and Arabella Mimi Dear (born 15 March, 1995), daughter of Patrick Giles Gauntlett (Paddy) Dear (born 1961), of Shipton Moyne, Gloucestershire, and his wife the former Jane Helen (Janie) Orr Ewing (born 21 January, 1961), scion of that baronetcy family. 

The De Klees descend from the Dawson-Damer Earls of Portarlington, the Guthrie landed family and the Stormonth Darling landed gentry family, and the Leslie and Buxton Baronets.

The 1st Earl of Portarlington > Col the Hon George Dawson-Damer > Lady Constance Dawson-Damer > Olive Leslie > Virginia Violet Guthrie > Murray Peter De Klee > Hugo De Klee > Nicholas De Klee

The 7th Earl of Glasgow > Lady Augusta Boyle > Capt David Orr Ewing > Edward Orr Ewing > Janie  Orr Ewing > Arabella Dear

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Sunday, January 05, 2025

Edward Michael Pettifer 1993-2025

 The Prince of Wales has said he and the Princess of Wales are "shocked and saddened" by the death of his former nanny's stepson, Edward Pettifer, who was killed in the New Orleans attack.

Edward Michael Pettifer, born in 1993, was among 14 people killed in a vehicle attack on New Year's Day. He was Charlie Pettifer’s eldest son. 

Edward was a son of Charles Pettifer and his first wife the former Camilla Mary Wyatt (born circa 1966), scion of that landed gentry family, and descended from the Cayzer of Gartmore baronets, daughter of Michael G. Wyatt (b 1937) and his wife the former Caroline Shepley-Cuthbert (born 1941). Charlie and Camilla married in 1991. He married Tiggy in 1999.

His stepmother Alexandra "Tiggy" Pettifer, née Legge-Bourke, cared for Prince William and Prince Harry in the 1990s. Prince William said: "Our thoughts and prayers remain with the Pettifer family and all those innocent people who have been tragically impacted by this horrific attack."

This comes after palace sources said the King was "deeply saddened" by the death and has been in touch with Mr Pettifer's family.

The 1 January attack saw a 42-year-old US Army veteran drive a pick-up truck into crowds along New Orleans's famous Bourbon Street before being shot dead by police.

The New Orleans coroner gave Mr Pettifer's preliminary cause of death as "blunt force injuries", PA reports.

In a tribute, Mr Pettifer's family described him as a "wonderful son, brother, grandson, nephew and friend to so many".

Edward leaves a brother, Harry (born in 1995), and two half-brothers, Fred (born 2001), and Tom (born 2002). 

The Duke of Sussex has also been informed but will not be commenting publicly on the news.

Sir Charles Cayzer, 1st Baronet (1843-1916) > Maj Harold Cayzer (1882-1948) > Mary Cayzer (1914-1969) married Brig. Wilfrid Penfold Wyatt (1896-1966) > Michael Wyatt (b 1937) > Camilla Wyatt > Ed Pettifer

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Saturday, January 04, 2025

Foyle/De Castellane engagement

 The engagement was announced 4 January, 2025, between William Louis A.W. Foyle (born 1993), scion of that landed gentry family, son of Anthony George Eugene Foyle (born 1950), of of Carolside, Earlston, Berwickshire, and his wife the former Rose Clarke, & Rose Jane Michèle Elizabeth De Castellane (born 19 June, 1996), daughter of Comte Bernard De Castellane, Esparron-de-Verdon, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France, and his wife the Comtesse (nee Lady Charlotte-Anne Montagu Douglas Scott (born 9 January, 1956), daughter of the late 9th Duke of Buccleuch & Queensberry, KT, VRD, JP, DL (1923-2007).

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