The engagement was announced 18 April, 2026, between Carlo Nicoletti, only son of Mr Massimo Nicoletti and Mrs Gisella Franco, of Milan, Italy, and Rosanna Virginia Hill (born 23 November, 1989), scion of that landed gentry family formerly of Hanbury, daughter of Christopher Francis Edward Hill (born 1955), of Holfield Grange, Essex, head of that family, and his wife the former Anna Mary Butcher.
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The engagement was announced 18 April, 2026, between Alexander Charles Mackenzie (born 10 May, 1995), son of Marcus Charles Mackenzie (born April, 1965), of Putney, London, and his wife the former Joanna Pierce, & Beatrice Millicent Courage (born 14 April, 1995), scion of that landed gentry family, only daughter of Christopher John Courage (born 30 July, 1962), of Weacombe, Somerset, and his wife the former Alexandra Louise Haynes (born 17 March, 1966), a granddaughter maternally of the 10th Baron Vaux of Harrowden (1915-2002).
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Rachel Georgiana Kew, who died 22 March, 2026, aged 91, was a scion of the de Salis family, descended from the Earls of Westmorland.
She was a sister in the community of the Holy Rood, Middlesbrough, then Thirsk, and a partner in Wholeness Through Christ.
She was born 25 November, 1934, as Rachel Georgiana Fane de Salis, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Edmund William Fane de Salis (1894-1980), and his wife the former Katherine (Nancy) Williams (1896-1975), and she married in March, 1999 (div. 2001), Keith Kew (born July, 1962), son of Kenneth Frederick Kew (1926-2002), by his wife the former Elizabeth Coupland.
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Veryan Williams-Wynn, who died 8 April, 2026, aged 82, was the former wife of the late Sir David Williams-Wynn, 11th Baronet.
She was born in 1943, as Harriet Veryan Elspeth Tailyour, daughter of General Sir Norman Hastings Tailyour, KCB, DSO (1914-1979), and his wife the former Priscilla June Southby (1916-1971); and married as his 1st wife, 26 October, 1968 (div 1981), David Watkin Williams-Wynn (born 18 February, 1940), son of Sir Owen Watkin Williams-UWynn, 10th Baronet (1904-1988), and his 1st wife the former Margaret Jean Macbean (died 4 Sept, 1961).
Her former husband succeeded his father as the 11th baronet, 13 May, 1988, and died 18 Nov, 2023.
Veryan Williams-Wynn leaves issue, two sons, Sir Charles, the 12th Baronet (born 16 Sept, 1970), and Robert (born 10 Sept, 1977), and twin daughters, Lucinda and Alexandra (born 18 Dec, 1972)
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The Baron Skidelsky, economic historian, author and crossbench life peer, died 15 April, 2026, aged 86.
Robert Jacob Alexander Skidelsky, Baron Skidelsky, was born 25 April, 1939, and was an economic historian, author and crossbench life peer in the House of Lords. He is best known for his award-winning three-volume biography of John Maynard Keynes, regarded as the definitive study of the economist's life and work. Educated at Jesus College, Oxford, he held academic posts in history and political economy at several universities and was Emeritus Professor of Political Economy at the University of Warwick. Beyond academia, Skidelsky was influential in British public policy debates, serving as the founding chairman of the Social Market Foundation and writing extensively on economics, fiscal policy, and the political implications of technological change.
On 15 July 1991 he was created a life peer as Baron Skidelsky, of Tilton in the County of East Sussex.
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The engagement was announced 17 April, 2026, between Oliver Timothy Cage-White (born 1996), son of Andrew J. White, of Sandwich, Kent, and his wife the former Sarah E. Cage (born 1964), & Emily Venetia Wingfield Digby (born 1999), scion of that landed gentry family, daughter of Jack Wingfield Digby (born 1965), of Hazelbury Bryan, Dorset, by his former wife the former Caroline Denise Parish (born 1971) (now Mrs Caroline Parish, of Chagford, Devon).
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The engagement was announced 16 April, 2026, between Bertram Jack Gilliat-Smith (born 15 August, 1998), eldest son of Matthew Jolyon Gilliat-Smith (born 1959), of Kempley, Gloucestershire, and his wife the former Jennifer Jane Collins (born 1966), & Mary Elizabeth (Molly) Melville (born 11 January, 1997), descended from the Earls of Dundee, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel James Landale (Jamie) Melville (born 1963), of Great Wishford, Wiltshire, by his wife the former Sophie E. Marsh.
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The engagement was announced 16 April, 2026, between Jack Evelyn Baring Hills (born 26 July, 1998), descended from the Earls of Cromer, son of (John) George Baring Hills (born 24 March, 1966), of St Kew, Cornwall, and his wife the former Harriet Peter-Hoblyn (born 1968), & Emily Charlotte Beresford (Milly) Reynolds (born 1997), daughter of Peter John Beresford Reynolds (born 12 January, 1961), of Letcombe Bassett, Oxfordshire, and his wife the former Jessica R.L. Snell.
The 2nd Earl of Cromer > Lady Rosemary Baring > John Evelyn Hills > George Hills > Jack Hills
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The Lady (Pamela) Lemina Lawson Johnston ( née Gordon), who died 7 April, 2026, aged 84, was a scion of the Marquesses of Huntly.
She was born 17 December, 1941, daughter of the 12th Marquess of Huntly (1908-1987), and the former Hon Mary Pamela Berry (1918-1998), daughter of the 1st Viscount Kemsley (1883-1968); and married 4 April, 1970, the Hon (Ian) Harry Calthorpe Lawson Johnston (1938-2023), second son of the 2nd Baron Luke (1905-1996), and his wife the former Barbara Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe (1911-2006), scion of the baronets of that name, by whom she had issue, a son, Percy (born 6 July, 1971), and a daughter, Henrietta (born 2 May, 1973).
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The engagement was announced 15 April, 2026, between Jules Marie Nigel Irens (born Aug 1968), and Caroline Julia, Lady Dalmeny, former wife of the 7th Earl of Rosebery, and daughter of Ronald Daglish, of Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, and of Mrs William Wyatt-Lowe.
Caroline Daglish married 1stly, 18 June, 1994 (div. 2014), Harry Ronald Neil Primrose, then styled Lord Dalmeny (born 20 Nov, 1967), who succeeded, 30 June, 2024, as 7th Earl of Rosebery.
Lady Dalmeny has issue, a son, Albert, styled Lord Dalmeny (born 8 Sept, 2005), and four daughters, Lady Marina Primrose (b 28 Oct, 2002), Lady Lavinia Primrose (b 13 Oct 2003), Lady Delphi Primrose (b 13 Oct 2003), & Lady Celeste Primrose (b 13 Oct 2003).
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Iryna Cox (nee Plastun), wife of Thomas Gerrard Kennedy Cox [born 31 October, 1995], gave birth to a son, Edgar Marc Kennedy, 1 April, 2026.
Thomas Cox is a son of Simon Cox [born 10 Oct, 1962], of Hyde Park, London, and his wife the former Antonia N. Feuchtwanger [born 1963].
Iryna is a daughter of Dr Maria and Dr Victor Plastun, of Crimea.
The 1st Marquess of Stafford > Lady Anne Leveson-Gower > Granville Harcourt Vernon > Rev Evelyn Harcourt Vernon > Edward Harcourt Vernon > Egerton Harcourt Vernon > Pamela Harcourt Vernon > Simon Cox > Thomas Cox > Edgar Cox
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The engagement was announced 15 April, 2026, between Finn Thomas P. O'Brien (born 1998), elder son of Patrick O'Brien, of Hurstbourne Priors, Hampshire, and Mrs O'Brien (nee Kitching), & Elizabeth Charlotte Vane Murray (born 20 February, 1997), scion of the Earls of Eglinton & Winton, younger daughter of Andrew Henry William Vane Murray (born 29 June, 1964), of Dunley, Hampshire, and his wife the former Annabel Charlotte Pring (born 1965).
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Annabel Kathleen Brown (née Pettit, born 1992), wife of Oliver S. Brown, gave birth to a daughter, Isla Olivia, 5 April, 2026, a sister for Heidi Charlotte, who was born 21 December, 2023.
Oliver is a son of Neil Brown, of Edinburgh, who married 2022, Annabel Kathleen Pettit, daughter of Timothy John Pettit (born 28 March, 1959), and his wife the former Susan Julia Butterfield (born 1962).
The infant descends from the FitzGerald landed gentry family:-
Colonel John Sidney North Fitzgerald, CVO, MBE, MC (1893-1976) > Georgiana Mary Fitzgerald (b 5 April, 1935) > Timothy Pettit (b 1959) > Annabel Pettit (b 1992) > Isla Brown (b 2026)
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Sir Hayden Phillips, GCB, died 10 April, 2026. He was 83.
Phillips joined the Civil Service as an Assistant Principal in the Home Office in 1967, and was Economic Adviser, 1970–72, Principal 1972–74, and Assistant Secretary, and Principal Private Secretary to the Home Secretary (Roy Jenkins), 1974–76. From 1977 to 1979 he served as Deputy Chef de Cabinet to Roy Jenkins as President of the European Commission. He returned to the Home Office as Assistant Secretary from 1979 to 1981, and then as Assistant Under-Secretary of State from 1981 to 1986. From 1986 to 1988 he was Deputy Secretary in the Cabinet Office (Management and Personnel Office, subsequently Office of the Minister for the Civil Service). From 1988 to 1992 he was Deputy Secretary in HM Treasury.
He was born 9 February, 1943, son of Gerald Phillips, and his wife Dorothy, and married firstly, 1967 (divorced)Dr Ann Watkins; and married 2ndly, 11 July, 1980, the Hon Laura Clare Grenfell, MBE (born 17 July, 1950), daughter of the 2nd Baron St Just (1922-1984), and his wife the former Leslie Nast, daughter of Condé Montrose Nast.
He leaves a son and daughter from his first marriage, and a son and two daughters from his second marriage.
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Henry John Chicheley Plowden, who died 6 April, 2026, aged 69, was a scion of the Plowden landed gentry family.
He was born 12 June, 1956, son of Geoffrey Frank Chichele Plowden (born 1929), and his wife the former (Elizabeth) Anne Wellesley-Colley (1929-2016); and married in 1988, Catherine D. Stainton, daughter of Keith Monin Stainton (1921-2002), and his wife the former Vanessa Ann Heald, scion of that landed gentry family, by whom he had two daughters, Atlanta Mary Chichele Plowden (born May 1994), and Harriet Georgina Chichele Plowden (born July 2003).
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The 3rd Viscount Bridgeman died 9 April, 2026, aged 95.
Bridgeman, a peer for 43 years was one of the hereditary peers elected to the House of Lords in 1999.
Robin John Orlando Bridgeman was born 5 December, 1930, son of Brigadier the Hon Geoffrey John Orlando Bridgeman MC FRCS LRCP, (1898-1974), of Watley House, Sparsholt, Winchester, co. Hampshire ,Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon at St George's Hospital, by his wife the former Mary Meriel Gertrude Talbot (died 5 Jul 1974), only daughter of Rt Hon Sir George John Talbot, scion of the Earls of Shrewsbury. He succeeded as 3rd Viscount Bridgeman, 17 November, 1982, on the death of hus uncle the 2nd Viscount.
He married 10 December, 1966, (Victoria) Harriet Lucy Turton, scion of that landed gentry family, 3rd daughter of Ralph Meredyth Turton, of Kildale Hall, Whitby, co. York, by his wife Mary Blanche Chetwynd-Stapylton, 1st daughter of Col Bryan Henry Chetwynd-Stapylton CBE, by whom he had issue, four sons, William (1968-2000), Luke (born 1 May, 1971), (who now succeeds as 4th Viscount) Esmond (born 3 Oct, 1974), and Orlando (born 11 Apr, 1983).
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Allela Harwood Cochrane-Dyett (née Annan), who died 21 March, 2026, was the widow of Lieutenant-Colonel Rhoderick Stuart Cochrane-Dyet.
She was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, in 1940, daughter of Major John Annan by his wife the former Pamela Harwood James; and married in 1969, as his second wife, Lt-Col. Rhoderick Stuart Cochrane-Dyet (1933-2025), son of Colonel John Cochrane-Dyet.
Her husband's first wife was a scion of the Seymour Marquesses of Hertford.
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Lady Young, who died 8 April, 2026, was the widow of Lieutenant-General Sir David (Tod) Young, KBE, CB, DFC (1926-2000).
She was born in 1929 as Joanna Torin, a daughter of Major Lionel Henry Torin (1887-1967), and his wife the former Katharine Theodora Gordon-Duff (1903-2002), scion of that landed gentry family; and married 1stly, 1954, Geoffrey Oyler (1915-1981); and married 2ndly, 1988, as his second wife, Lt.-Gen. Sir David Young, KBE, CB, DFC, who died 9 January, 2000. She leaves issue from her first marriage.
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Charlotte P.E. Corona (née Dickson), wife of Alexander Tenzin (Sasha) Corona (born 27 September, 1991), gave birth to a son, Hector Luca Dickson, 24 March, 2026.
Charlotte is a daughter of Major David Dickson, of Symington, Ayrshire, who married 2023, Sasha Corona, son of Maurizio Corona, and his wife the former Camilla Ann Hulse (born 15 November, 1962), daughter of Sir Edward Jeremy Westrow Hulse, 10th Baronet (1932-2022).
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Capt Francis Philip Brooke-Popham, OBE, RN, who died 4 April, 2026, aged 97, was head of that landed gentry family.
He was born in 1928, son of Air Chief Marshal Sir (Henry) Robert Moore Brooke-Popham, GCVO, KCB, CMG, DSO, RAF (1878-1953), and his wife the former Opal Mary Hugonin (1900-1983), scion of that landed gentry family, and married 23 February, 1957, Susan Carmichael Fry (born 1939), daughter of John Fry (1907-1986), of Yelverton, Devon, by his wife the former Marjory Catherine (Kathleen) Viles (1910-1995), by whom he had issue, three daughters, Jane, Catherine, and Mary.
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The engagement has been announced between Giovanni Luca Maria (Gionzy) Damiani (born July, 1985), and Daisy Isadora Louise Knatchbull (born 5 October, 1992), scion of the Earls Mountbatten of Burma, daughter of the Hon Philip Wyndham Ashley Knatchbull (born 2 December, 1961), and his first wife the former Atalanta Cowan (born 20 June, 1962).
Daisy is a granddaughter of the 7th Baron Brabourne (1924-2005), and Patricia, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma (1924-2017).
The Damiani family are an established Italian jewellry business strongly linked to tradition and the passion for goldsmith art. They have designed and manufactured precious and unique jewels for three generations.
Gionzy Damiani is a music professional known for his work in publishing, production and song writing, linked to the Mutineer Music Group in London.
Daisy Knatchbull is a fashion designer , founder of Knatchbull, the first female only tailor on London's Savile Row.
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William Patrick Stirling Damerell died 5 April, 2026.
He was born in Wiltshire in April, 1949, son of D.V. Damerell, of Stodham Park, Liss, Hampshire; and married at Chichester, Sussex, 2 July, 1977, the Lady Mary Barbara Carnegie (born 10 February, 1953), second daughter of the 13th Earl of Northesk (1926-1994), and his wife the former Jean Margaret MacRae (1927-1989), a granddaughter maternally of the 4th Marquess of Bristol (1863-1951), by whom he had issue, three sons, Charles Carnegie S. Damerell (born 1980), Thomas Edward Carnegie Damerell (born 1982), and Robert William Carnegie Damerell (born 1985).
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The engagement was announced 11 April, 2026, between Christian Henry M. Rena (born 2002), younger son of Nicholas J.D. Rena (born Westminster, 1963), and his wife the former Rachel F. Broughton (born 1964), and the Lady Anastasia Henrietta Grace Compton (born 26 March, 2002), eldest daughter of Daniel Bingham Compton, styled Earl Compton (born 16 January, 1973), and his former wife the former Elizabeth Lucy Cardozo (now Mrs Capel Irwin, wife of Capel Robert Powell Irwin, born 1967), descended from the Brotherton Ratcliffe landed gentry family.
Lady Anastasia is a granddaughter of the 7th Marquess of Northampton.
Christian Rena has an aristocratic ancestry, descending from the Stuart Black, Pereira, and Lane Fox landed families.
George Sackville Frederick Lane Fox (1838-1918) = Annette Weld-Blundell > Helen Mary Lane Fox (1881-1957) = Maj Gen Sir Cecil Edward Pereira, KCB, CB, CMG (1869-1942) > Margaret Helen Pereira (1905-82) = Ian Hervey Stuart Black (1908-1986) > Sarah Mary Stuart Black (b 1941) = Oliver Rena (1937-2021) > Nicholas Rena (b 1963)
Christian's aunt, Francesca Rena (born 1969) married in 1993, the Hon (David) Patrick Cairns (born 27 May, 1967), second son of the 6th Earl Cairns.
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The engagement was announced 11 April, 2026, between George P. Dunn, son of Mr Frank Dunn and Mrs Angie Boyle of London, & Matilda Nancy Scott-Bowden (born 26 January, 1997), daughter of Major James Russell Scott-Bowden (born 1958), of Alderley, Gloucestershire, and his wife the former Nicola Jane Shepherd (born 1963).
Matilda is a great-granddaughter of Sir Francis Caradoc Rose Price, 5th Baronet (1880-1949)
Sir Francis Rose Price Bt (1880-1949) > Helen Price 1920-2010 > Maj. James Scott-Bowden (b 1958) > Matilda (b 1997)
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The Baron Beecham, DL, life peer, Labour party politician, died 9 April, 2026. He was 81.
Jeremy Hugh Beecham was born 14 November, 1944. He was a Labour politician and a senior figure in local government. He was leader of Newcastle City Council and the first Chairman of the Local Government Association. He was the elected Chairman of the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party (October 2005 – September 2006).
Beecham was educated at the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle upon Tyne, and University College, Oxford (1962–1965), where he obtained a first class honours degree in law. He became a solicitor. He joined the Labour Party in 1959, and was elected a councillor for Benwell, Newcastle, in the Newcastle City Council elections of 11 May 1967. He stood for Parliament without success in Tynemouth in 1970. He chaired the Social Services Committee on the council from 1973 to 1977 and was Leader of Newcastle from 1977 to 1994, chairing the Finance Committee from 1979 to 1984. In 1991, Beecham became Chairman of the Association of Metropolitan Authorities (AMA). When the AMA merged with the Association of District Councils and the Association of County Councils on 1 April 1997 to form the Local Government Association, he became the first chairman of the LGA. He was the LGA vice-chairman and continued to chair the LGA Labour Group. He was the President of the British Urban Regeneration Association. Beecham was a member of many boards and committees in Newcastle and North East England, and in advising government. Beecham was a member of the Labour Party National Executive Committee from 1998 and was its chairman in 2005-2006.
He was appointed Knight Bachelor in June, 1994.
Beecham was made a Freeman of the city of Newcastle in 1995. He was Deputy Lieutenant for the County of Tyne and Wear and Benwell and Scotswood on the City Council. He has been a council member at charity Common Purpose since 1989. He was Jewish, and a board member of the New Israel Fund in the UK.
He was raised to the peerage for life in 2010 as Baron Beecham, of Benwell and Newcastle upon Tyne in the County of Tyne and Wear. He was was introduced in the House of Lords on 28 July 2010. He sat on the Labour benches until his retirement in 2021.
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Michael Owen Lidwell died 25 March, 2026, aged 84.
He was born 24 December, 1941, the eldest son of Owen Millwood Lidwell, MA, D.Phil, BSc (1914-2010), and his wife the former Daphne Jenefer Mary Fursdon (1918-2011), scion of the Fursdon of Fursdon landed gentry family, and married in 1972, (Agnes) Naomi Allison (born 1945), daughter of Alexander Bernard Allison (1912-1999), and his wife the former Agnes Margaret Houghton (1905-2001), by whom he had issue, a son, Simon Neil (born 1973), and three daughters, Aline (born 1976), Hannah (born 1979), and Rebekah (born 1984).
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Eleanor Paton Dreyer (née Copland), died 14 March, 2026, aged 84.
She was born in 1941, a daughter of Leslie Copland, of Westmount, Quebec, and married 4 June, 1966, Martin Raymond Dreyer (born 2 November, 1942), scion of that landed gentry family, elder son of Lieutenant-Commander Raymond Garnier Dreyer, MBE, RN (1919-2006), and his wife the former Molly Eileen Travers-Drapes (1920-2012). She leaves issue, two sons, Charles William G. Dreyer, and (Jonathan) Mark A. Dreyer.
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Ian Alexander-Sinclair, who died 22 March, 2026, aged 79, was a scion of that landed gentry family.
He was born in 1946, son of Lieutenant-Commander Roderick Ian Alexander-Sinclair, RN (1911-1985), and his wife the former Margaret Hamilton-Campbell (1915-1994), and married 1972, Patricia J. Fairhead (born 1947), daughter of Alan Tyrrell Fairhead, by his wife the former Joyce Mona Varney, by whom he had issue, two sons, Charles Boyd Alexander-Sinclair (born 1978), and Samuel John P. Alexander-Sinclair (born circa 1981).
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Carla Bolton (nee Devereux), wife of Frederic William S. Bolton [born 1990], gave birth to a daughter, Vivienne Valerie Mary, 28 March, 2026.
Carla is a daughter of William Devereux, of Walshetown, Wexford, Ireland, and his wife Siobhan.
Frederic is a son of James William Bolton [born 15 June, 1957], of Clapton-on-the-Hill, Gloucestershire, descended from the Barwick baronets, and his wife the former Karin Beck-Andersen [born 1957].
Sir John Barwick, 1st Baronet > George Short Barwick > Valerie Margaret Barwick > James Bolton > Frederic Bolton > Vivienne Bolton
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The engagement was announced 10 April, 2026, between Andrew John Stevenson-Hamilton (born 23 February, 1965), of that Scottish landed gentry family, second son of James Christopher Stevenson-Hamilton, 17th of Fairholm (born 21 May, 1933), by his wife Jennifer Mary Habershon (1933-2025); & Andrea Hulme, only daughter of the late R.L.H. Hulme and Mrs M.U. Holme, of Sherborne, Dorset.
It is Mr Stevenson-Hamilton's second marriage. He married firstly in 2000, Tarm de la Fargue Wycliffe (widow of Peter Holland Jenkins, who died in 1995), and daughter of Major John Legh Wycliffe Bartholomew, of Arkleby, Cumbria, by whom he has a daughter.
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Helen Felicity Hindson, MBE, who died 13 March, 2026, aged 91, was descended from the Arthur baronets and the Barons Monteagle.
She was born 26 October, 1934, a daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Roger Uvedale Lambert, MBE (1896-1985), and his wife Muriel Froude Antrobus (1896-1985); and married 6 June, 1959, William John Hindson (1935-1982), son of Capt William Theobald Hindson, RN (1903-1992), descended from the Barons Dunboyne, by his wife the former Drusilla Chamberlaine (1908-1991), by whom she had a son, Toby and a daughter, Christina.
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The engagement was announced 10 April, 2026, between Sam John Riddell-Webster (born September, 1997), son of Major-General Michael Lawrence Riddell-Webster, CBE, DSO (born December, 1960), of Perthshire, former Governor of Edinburgh Castle, head of that landed gentry family, and his wife Sarah Mariah Clothilde Findlay (born September, 1962), and Miranda Olivia Clamp (born November, 1997), daughter of Adrian Paul Clamp (born 29 April, 1966), of London and Edinburgh, and his wife the former Amanda Louisa Cayuela de la Rosa (born 30 June, 1968).
Sam Riddell-Webster is a great-great grandson of Brig-Gen Sir Frederick Charlton Meyrick, 2nd Baronet (1862-1932), and descended from Sir Alexander Sprot, 1st Baronet (1853-1929).
Sir Alexander Sprot, Bt > Harriet Sprot > John Riddell-Webster > Michael Riddell-Webster > Sam Riddell-Webster
Sir Frederick Meyrick, Bt > Rachel Meyrick > Ruth Lithgow > Michael Riddell-Webster > Sam Riddell-Webster
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Mariette Helena, Baroness Saye and Sele, who who died 6 April, 2026, aged 90, was the widow of the 21st Baron Saye and Sele, and was for many years chatelaine of the family seat, Broughton Castle.
She was born in January, 1936, daughter of Major-General Sir Guy Salisbury-Jones, GCVO, CMG, CBE, MC (1896-1985), and his wife the former Hilda Violet Helena de Bunsen (1900-1995), scion of the de Bunsen baronets; and married at St Margaret's, Westminster, 4 December, 1958, the Hon Nathaniel Thomas Allen Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes (born 22 September, 1920 in a grace and favour apartment in the House of Lords). Her husband discarded his triple-barrelled surname (encapsulating various family cognomens), shortening it to Fiennes by deed poll in 1965. He succeeded his father in the peerage, 21 October, 1968.
Lord Saye’s forebears could be traced back to the Norman Conquest. An ancestor, Geoffrey de Say, was one of 25 barons who signed the Magna Carta and was charged with its implementation. Another ancestor, James Fiennes, fought at Agincourt and befriended the young Henry VI, serving as chamberlain of his household; he was elevated to the peerage as the 1st Baron Saye and Sele in 1447, but his wealth and influence made him a target of the Kentish rebels under Jack Cade in 1450 when he was imprisoned and beheaded.
The 2nd Lord Saye and Sele married a descendant of William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester. As a result the family inherited a fortified manor house in Oxfordshire, for which in 1406 Sir Thomas Wykeham, William’s great nephew, had obtained a licence to “crenellate and embattle”. So emerged Broughton Castle, which Richard Fiennes, the 6th Lord Saye and Sele embellished into what is still essentially the Elizabethan mansion that stands today.
The family played a significant role in the English Civil War. The 8th baron became a leader of the Parliamentarian opposition to Charles I, alongside John Pym. In 1642 his four sons all fought against the royalists at Edgehill, the first major battle of the war, just seven miles from Broughton Castle. His second son, Nathaniel Fiennes, MP for Banbury, was notable for his calls for the abolition of the episcopacy. As an officer in the parliamentary army he led the defence of Bristol against Prince Rupert in 1643. When the city surrendered he was arrested, sentenced to death and later pardoned. Nathaniel remained close to Oliver Cromwell and attended his death bed. At the Restoration he and his father were pardoned for their parliamentary sympathies.
When her husband succeeded to the ancient barony of Saye and Sele in 1968 as the 21st incumbent, he also inherited the moated Broughton Castle, set in an 1,800-acre estate, near Banbury in Oxfordshire. Described by Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, a historian, as “the finest and most complete medieval house in the county”, the actual building, which had been in his family for about 600 years, had deteriorated badly. After his father had restored the roof in 1957, the new lord and his wife Mariette overhauled the stonework and windows, and carried out extensive redecoration. He was helped by his training as a chartered surveyor and land agent.
In the early Eighties she and her husband embarked on the main structure, with a £1 million, 12-year programme, supported by English Heritage and completed in 1994. Crumbling stonework, rotting window lead and timbers riddled with deathwatch beetles were all replaced. Broughton provided the backdrop to scenes in [Shakespeare in Love,] Wolf Hall and The Crown, and the discovery on the estate of one of the largest Roman villas in Britain prompted a visit by Channel 4’s Time Team in 2021.
The 21st Baron Saye and Sele lived to a great age and died 20 January, 2024, aged 103.
Lady Saye and Sele leaves issue, two sons, Martin, the 22nd Baron Saye and Sele (born 27 February, 1961), the Hon William Fiennes (born 7 Aug, 1970), and one daughter, the Hon Susannah (born 27 Feb, 1961 twin with her brother). She was predeceased by two sons, the Hon Richard (1959-2001), and the Hon Thomas (1965-68).
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Christopher Charles Jervis Johnson-Ferguson, who died 29 March, 2026, aged 92, was a scion of the baronets of that name.
He was born 14 April, 1933, second son of Sir Neil Edward Johnson-Ferguson, 3rd Baronet (1905-1992), and his wife the former Sheila Marian Jervis (who died in 1985); and married 18 April, 1963, Sarah Loraine (Sally) Sherston-Baker (born 5 November, 1940), second daughter of Sur Humphrey Dodington Benedict Sherston-Baker, 6th Baronet (1907-1990), and his wife the former Margaret Alice Binns (who died 1994), by whom he had issue, a son, Charles (born 6 Dec, 1972), and three daughters, Victoria (born 17 Feb, 1965), Katharine (born 1966), and Lucy (born 30 June, 1974).
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The Hon Margaret Ross van Koetsveld (née Geddes), died 3 April, 2026, aged 91.
She was a scion of the Barons Geddes, and a niece of the Hon Margaret Geddes (1913-1997), who married HRH Prince Ludwig of Hesse and the Rhine (1908-1968).
She was born 5 May, 1934, in San Francisco, daughter of the 2nd Baron Geddes, KBE (1907-1975), and his wife the former Enid Mary Butler (who died 28 January, 1999); and married 6 May, 1961, (Ralph Emilius) Quintus van Koetsveld, son of Johan Emilius van Koetsveld, of Rotterdam, by whom she had three sons, Michael (born 16 March, 1963), Antony (born 20 July, 1964), and Christopher (born 11 Feb, 1969).
Her husband died in November last year aged 96.
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The engagement was announced 8 April, 2026, between Rory William Slee (born 1995), elder son of William A. Slee (born 1963), of Woodtown, Devon, by his wife the former Jane L. Every (born 1965), and Georgina Olivia P. Crawfurd (born 11 November, 1996), daughter of Edward John Payne Crawfurd (born 23 August, 1955), of Paulerspury, Northamptonshire, descended maternally from the Peake landed gentry family, and his wife the former Amy Louise Villiers Smith (born 11 October, 1963), a descendant of the Earls of Clarendon and Barons Northbourne.
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The engagement was announced 8 April, 2026, between Thomas Patrick Abel Smith (born 1993), scion of that landed gentry family, son of the late (Bertram) Robin Abel Smith (1938-2009), and his wife the former Diana Marjorie Fielder Forsell, of Rotherby, Leicestershire, & Roberta M. Siggers, daughter of Mark James Siggers (born Jan 1955), of Warfield, Berkshire, and Mrs Siggers.
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Richard Alexander Charles (Alec) Cobbe, CVO, of Newbridge House Co Dublin, and Hatchlands Park, Surrey, who died 31 March, 2026, aged 81, was a scion of that Irish landed gentry family.
Alec Cobbe was born in Dublin and studied medicine at Oxford University, where he won a prize for anatomical drawing. After a half year of clinical training in London, he relinquished his medical studies to practise as an artist. He also trained as a picture restorer at the Tate Gallery and the Courtauld Institute of Art. Between 1972 and 1981 Alec worked as a picture restorer successively at the Birmingham City Museum and Art Gallery and the Hamilton Kerr Institute of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, after which he commenced his own practice. As an artist and designer he specialised in the design of historic interiors and the reorganisation of picture hanging schemes for both public and private historic collections. His works have been the subject of several exhibitions, including at the Prince of Wales Drawing Schools in 1995, a major retrospective at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2013-14 and a show at Dublin Castle in 2014-15. Alec’s design archive has entered the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum. He has exhibited as an artist throughout his life in Paris, Dublin and London. He has also executed a large number of painted graphic designs for various clients including the Prince of Wales (later King Charles), who contributed a foreword to the Victoria and Albert Museum exhibition publication.
Some highlights of his design work include the design of the Clive Museum at Powis Castle, of the Mary Queen of Scots chambers at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the presentation of major rooms at Kenwood House and Somerset House, the Library in Lupton’s Tower, Eton College, the Sitwell Museum at Renishaw; interior design and picture hangs in numerous country houses, including Dublin Castle, Harewood House, Hatfield House, Hillsborough Castle, Knole and Petworth House.
He was born 9 January, 1945 the second son of Lieutenant Francis Charles Cobbe, RNVR (1913-1949), and his wife and cousin, the former Joan Mervyn Cobbe (1915-2005); and married 25 July, 1970, the Hon Isabel Anne Marie Henrietta Dillon (born 6 September, 1942), the eldest daughter of the 20th Viscount Dillon (1911-1979), and his wife the former Irène Marie France Merandon du Plessis (died 22 Apr, 2008), by whom he had issue, two sons, Thomas (born 26 March, 1973), and Henry (born 1975), and two daughters, Frances (born 9 May, 1971), and Rose (born 26 March, 1973, twin with brother Thomas).
His niece Elizabeth Cobbe is the Countess of Dalkeith, wife of the heir to the Duke of Buccleuch & Queensberry.
Alec Cobbe was appointed CVO in February, 2026.
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The engagement was announced 4 April, 2026, between Richard George Archibald Vestey (born 17 December, 1997), scion of the Vestey baronets, third son of George Moubray William Vestey (born 17 September, 1964), of Great Thurlow, Suffolk, and his former wife Ms Rachel Philippa Osborne, of Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, & Francesca Lily Foster Moseley (born 1999), youngest daughter of James Moseley, of Upper Oddington, Gloucestershire and his wife nee Quiggin.
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Lara Alexandra de Groat (nee Ouvaroff, born 1996), wife of Cameron J.M. De Groat, gave birth to a daughter Cordelia Aprille Ames Florence, 26 March, 2026.
Cameron is a son of Mr and Mrs M.J.M. Groat, of Wimborne, Dorset.
Lara is a daughter of Count Dominic William Ouvaroff (born December, 1966), of Wandsworth, London, and his wife the former Jennifer Baxendale.
The infant is descended from the Marquesses of Exeter:-
The 3rd Marquess of Exeter (1825-95) > Lord Francis Cecil (1851-89) > Violet Cecil (died 1953) > Aubretia Ames > Count Stephen Ouvaroff (1935-2017) > Count Dominic Ouvaroff (b 1966) > Lara Ouvaroff (b 1996) > Cordelia de Groat (b 2026)
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Clementine Mary R. (Clemmie) Lowe (born 1991, née Francklin), wife of Frederick James (Fred) Lowe (born 1991), gave birth to a son, Hector George, 16 March, 2026, a brother for Harry Alexander, born 12 March, 2024.
Clementine Lowe is a daughter of William Alexander Mavourn Francklin (born 1958), scion of that landed gentry family, and his wife the former Celina Lucinda Palmer (born 15 May, 1961), scion of the Palmer baronets, daughter of Sir Geoffrey Christopher John Palmer, 12th Baronet (born 30 June, 1936).
Fred Lowe is a son of Rupert James Graham Lowe, MP for Great Yarmouth, and his wife the former Nicola Chapman, and is descended from the Baker baronets:-
Sir George Edward Dunstan Sherston Baker, 4th Baronet > Henrietta Baker > Michael Chapman > Nicola Chapman > Fred Lowe
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India Sarah T. Agar (nee Clevely, born 1991), wife of Charles Christopher Edward Agar [born 29 July, 1989], scion of the Earls of Normanton, gave birth to a son, Inigo Basil John, 27 March, 2026, a brother for Bodie Giles Edward, who was born 15 March, 2024.
Charles Agar is a son of the Hon Mark Sidney Andrew Agar [born 2 Sept, 1948], of Hilton, Dorset, and his wife the former Arabella Clare Gilbey [born 14 July, 1953], scion of the Gilbey baronets.
India Agar is a daughter of Rupert Clevely, of River, West Sussex, and his wife the former Joanna Beatrice Taswell Greenwell [born 14 Jan, 1962], scion of the Greenwell baronets, descended from the 1st Bt.
Charles Agar is a grandson of the 5th Earl of Normanton [1910-67].
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The engagement was announced 3 April, 2026, between Carl W. Dudley (born May, 1991), the only son of Mr Roy Dudley and the late Mrs Dudley, of Milton, Staffordshire, and Sophie Jean Home Tindley (born 1993), daughter of George William Tindley (born Nov, 1958), of Bramdean, Hampshire, and his wife the former Lucinda Home Franks (born 17 March, 1964), granddaughter of Sir David Home, 13th Baronet.
Sir David George Home, 13th Baronet (1904-1992) > Anne Home (1942-1986) > Lucinda Franks (b 1964) > Sophie Tindley (b 1993).
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The engagement was announced 3 April, 2026, between Edward John Chandos-Pole Chichester (born 27 July, 1991), son and heir of Sir James Henry Edward Chichester, 12th Baronet (born 15 October, 1951), of Radbourne Hall, Ashbourne, Derbyshire, and his wife the former Margaret Anne Chandos-Pole (born 1952), and Madeleine J. Maslin, elder daughter of Mr Charlie Maslin, of Gunningrah, NSW, Australia, and Mrs Anne Maslin, of Barwon Heads, Victoria, Australia.
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Anthony Robert Edmund Pretor-Pinney, who died 23 March, 2026, aged 95, was head of that landed gentry family of Somerton Erleigh.
He was born at Bath in April, 1930, son of Lieutenant-Commander Giles Robert Pretor-Pinney, RN (1897-1942), and his wife the former Lucy Theodosia Gascoigne Fowle (1901-1980); and married in 1963, Laura Haight, daughter of George Winthrop Haight, of New York, United States, by whom he had issue, two sons, Giles Winthrop Pretor-Pinney (born 1963), and Gavin Edmund Pretor-Pinney (born 1968), and a daughter, Jennifer Clare (born 1966), wife of the Hon Jonathan Williamson (born 1965), son of the life peer the Baron Williamson of Horton.
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Margaret Vyner (nee Heathcote) died 27 March, 2026. She was 96.
She was born in London in 1929, daughter of Capt Ralph Heathcote, DSO, RN (1901-1990), of The Snab, Gressingham, Lancaster, by his wife the former Margaret Helen Richards (1906-1968); and married firstly, 7 September, 1951 (div. 1958), the then Hon Hugo John Laurence Philipps (1929-1999) (from 1993 the 3rd Baron Milford), son of the 2nd Baron Milford (1902-1993), and his wife the former Rosamond Nina Lehmann(1901-1990); and married 2ndly, 13 October, 1958 (div. 1982), Henry Vyner (1932-1996), of Studley Royal, Ripon, son of Commander Clare Vyner, RN (1894-1989), and his wife the Lady Doris Hilda Gordon Lennox (1896-1980), bridesmaid to Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon in 1923, daughter of the 8th Duke of Richmond & Gordon (1870-1935).
She leaves a daughter from her first marriage, the Hon Anna Philipps (born 17 Apr, 1954), and two daughters from her second marriage, Harriet Vyner (born 18 Aug, 1959), and Violet Vyner (born 21 March, 1962).
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The Baroness Holderness, who died 29 March, 2026, aged 98, was widow of the life peer the Baron Holderness.
She was sometime President of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation for the Disabled.
She was born in October, 1927, as Eleanor Diana Myrtle Kellett, daughter of Lieutenant Colonel Edward Orlando Kellett, DSO, FRGS (1902-1943), Irish Guards, and his wife the former Helen Myrtle Dorothy Atherley (died 16 March, 1976), and married 15 April, 1947, the then Hon Richard Frederick Wood, MP, PC, DL, (born 5 Oct, 1920), third son of the 1st Earl of Halifax, KG, GCSI (1881-1959), sometime Viceroy of India and Foreign Secretary (the 'Holy Fox') by his wife the former Lady Dorothy Augusta Evelyn Onslow (1885-1976), scion of the Earls of Onslow, CI, DCVO, sometime Extra Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.
Her husband was a Conservative politician who held numerous ministerial positions from 1955 to 1974. He was distinctive in having lost both his legs in action in North Africa during World War II. He was Conservative MP for Bridlington from 1950 to 1979. He was Parliamentary Private Secretary to Derick Heathcoat-Amory during his time successively as Minister of Pensions between 1951 and 1953, Minister of State at the Board of Trade between 1953 and 1954, and Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries between 1954 and 1955. Wood was then Joint Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance between 1955 and 1958. He was minister of Labour between 1958 and 1959 and at the minister of Power between 1959 and 1963. Wood urged Prime Minister Anthony Eden not to respond to the Suez Crisis with overt aggression, but his advice was ignored because of his father's association with appeasement and the Munich Agreement.
In 1959 Wood was sworn of the Privy Council served as Minister of Pensions and National Insurance from 1963 until the Conservative Party lost power in 1964.[3] When the Conservatives returned to power in 1970, he was Minister of Overseas Development for the duration of the Heath Government.
After he retired as an MP, her husband was raised to the peerage for life as Baron Holderness, of Bishop Wilton in the County of Humberside. From 1987 to 1991 he was an energetic chairman of the Disablement Services Authority, charged with the improvement of artificial limb services: he then served as a junior Minister on services for disabled people.
She was widowed 11 Aug, 2002.
Lady Holderness leaves issue, a son, the Hon Edward Orlando Charles Wood (born 14 Aug, 1951), and a daughter, the Hon Emma Myrtle Mary Anne (born 13 Feb, 1949), wife of Sir Edward Nicholas Brooksbank, 3rd Baronet (born 4 Oct, 1944).
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Iona Violet Astley Birtwistle (née Fraser, born 1991), wife of James N.V. Astley Birtwistle, gave birth to a son, Oswald Quintin, 24 March, 2026.
James id the second son of Mr & Mrs Pip Astley Birtwistle, of South Elmham, Suffolk.
Iona Astley Birtwistle is the second daughter of Mr Charles Torquil de Montalt Fraser, of London, by his former wife the former Hon Lucy Pearson [born 11 Apr, 1954], scion of the Viscounts Cowdray [now the Hon Mrs Lucy Beauchamp, of Fittleworth, West Sussex].
Iona is a granddaughter maternally of the 3rd Viscount Cowdray [1910-95].
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Peter Phillips, only son of the Princess Royal and the King's nephew, and Harriet Sperling, his girlfriend of two years, have announced their marriage date.
The 'royal' couple are to wed in a private ceremony in the Cotswolds this summer. Peter and Harriet will marry at All Saints' Church in the village of Kemble, near Cirencester, on Saturday 6 June, 2026.
The pair announced their engagement on 1 August 2025. Peter Mark Andrew Phillips (born 15 November, 1977), is the only son of Capt Mark Anthony Peter Phillips (born 22 September, 1948), late the Queen’s Dragoon Guards, scion of that landed gentry family, and his first wife HRH The Princess Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise, Princess Royal, KG, &c (born 15 Aug, 1950).
Harriet Eleanor Sperling (born 1980), is a daughter of the late Rupert Hugh Sanders (1944-2023) and his wife the former Mary Elizabeth Hoskins (born 1950).
Peter Phillips, nephew of the King, and Queen Elizabeth II's eldest grandchild, was first seen on the arm of a new girlfriend two years ago. Harriet, described in the Sun newspaper as "a paediatric and specialist nurse and freelance writer in her 40s" was seen with Phillips at the Badminton Horse Trials where she was introduced to Queen Camilla.
Harriet wrote in March 2024 of the struggles, and joys, of her life as a single parent bringing up her young daughter, Georgina Isabella (born in 2012). She highlighted how while 'parenting solo can be tough' it 'can also be the most beautiful, precious relationship.' Harriet said: 'In the earlier years of my journey as a single mother to my daughter, resources were scarce, and the future was uncertain. 'Yet, in the absence of material security, I discovered the strength and life that comes from true selfless love. A love that is able to be solely devoted to your child.'
Harriet's first marriage was to Antonio St John Sperling (born with the surname Di Martino in Nov 1981), who was a son of Domenico Di Martino & of Sonia Anne Agnes Sperling (1952-2017), scion of that landed gentry family, of Lattenbury Hill, St Ives, Huntingdonshire, and descended from Admiral Sir Henry Loraine Baker, 2nd Baronet, CB.
Harriet's life as a struggling single parent belies her aristocratic and distinguished ancestry. The NHS nurse was born Harriet Eleanor Sanders, her birth registered at Swindon, in the first quarter of 1980, daughter of solicitor Rupert Hugh Sanders (1944-2023), and his wife the former Mary Elizabeth Hoskins (born 1950), daughter of Richard Samuel Hoskins (1912-78), of Park Corner, Cirencester, and his wife (nee Wakefield).
Harriet's mother featured in Tatler in 1971 on their 'Girls in Pearls' page following the announcement of her engagement to Rupert Sanders, whose ancestry is rich in the landed 'beerage' and stockbroking.
Harriet's grandfather Maj Geoffrey Thomas St John Sanders (1911-86), a High Sheriff of Gloucestershire, married Eleanor De Zoete (1910-78), of the Mill House, Radwell, scion of the De Zoete stockbroking dynasty, daughter of the Old Etonian stockbroker and famed England cricketer Herman Walter De Zoete (1877-1957).
Herman De Zoete was a right-handed batsman who bowled both slow left-arm orthodox and left-arm medium pace, and played for Cambridge University in the 1890s. He was part of the De Zoete & Bevan stockbroking family who were bought out by Barclays Bank in 1986. De Zoete married in Essex in 1903, Dorothy Courage (1877-1972), scion of the Courage landed gentry family, whose fortune was based on brewing from the 18th century.
Dorothy Courage was the tenth child of Edward Courage (1832-1904), of Shenfield Place, Brentwood, Essex, and Hanover Square, London, an old Harrovian, head of the Courage landed gentry family, by his wife the former Helen Rosa Marshall (1837-96), a scion of that landed gentry family of Hardres Court, Canterbury.
Harriet has siblings: Nicholas (born 1975), Louisa (born 1976), and Rebecca (born 1986).
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