Harrington/Pearson engagement

The engagement was announced 2 May, 2026, between Nicholas Richard John Harrington (born 1997), daughter of David William Ronald Harrington (born 1960), if Weeley, Essex, and his wife Isabella Anne Palmer (born 27 August, 1962), scion of the Palmer baronets, & Dulcie Rose Pearson (born 1996), daughter of John M. Pearson, of Tunbridge Wells, and his former wife Janet Sylvia Davey (born 1955, now Mrs David Austin, of St Just-in-Roseland, Cornwall).

Nicholas Harrington is a grandson of Sir Geoffrey Christopher John Palmer, 12th Baronet (born 30 June, 1936).

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John Malcolm Agnew Wallace 1928-2026

 John Malcolm Agnew Wallace, of Lochryan House, Stranraer, died 26 April, 2926. He was 98.

He was born in 1928, son of Major John Alexander Agnew Wallace, MC, of Lochryan House, and married 26 February, 1955, Louise Arden Haworth-Booth (1933-2021), scion of that landed gentry family, a daughter (twin) of Michael Haworth-Booth (1896-1986), head of that landed family, and his wife the former Mabel Arden Bagot (1896-1965), scion of the Barons Bagot, by whom he had issue, a son, John Benjamin Agnew Wallace (born 24 May, 1958), and two daughters, Nicola (b 22 July, 1956), and Jonica (b 10 June, 1963).

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(Sara) Norina Marie Bowlby (nee Stewart Clark) 1932-2026

 (Sara) Norina Marie Bowlby (nee Stewart Clark) who died 29 April, 2026, aged 94, was a scion of the Stewart Clark baronets.

She was born 25 April, 1932, daughter of Sir Stewart Stewart-Clark, 2nd Baronet (1904-1971), and his wife Jane Pamela Clarke (died 1993): and married 23 September, 1961, Colonel Thomas Patrick Salvin Bowlby (1931-2020), scion of that landed gentry family, son of Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Edward Salvin Bowlby, MC (1904-1983), and his wife Joan Catherine Trotter (1903-1958), scion of the Trotters of Mortonhall, and a granddaughter of the 15th Earl of Eglinton (1848-1919),  by whom she had issue, two sons, Anthony and Michael, and a daughter, Karina-Jane.

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Lane Fox/St John engagement

 The engagement was announced 2 May, 2026, between Lt Harry Patrick Lane Fox (born 1998),  scion of that landed gentry family, of Bramham Park, fourth son of Capt (George Charles) Nicholas Lane Fox (born 25 December, 1963), of Bramham Park, Wetherby, and his wife the Hon Rachel  Monica Baring (born 29 June, 1967), eldest daughter of the 2nd Baron Howick of Glendale (born 30 Dec, 1937), &  Dr Lily Joy E. St. John (born 1998), daughter of John St. John, of Hildenborough, Kent, and his wife the former Melanie Mary Ramsay, daughter of Major Neil Ramsay, of St Anns, Alyth, Perthshire.

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Hugh Robert Myddelton 1938-2026

 Hugh Robert Myddelton, who died 13 April, 2026, aged 87, was a scion of that landed gentry family, of Chirk Castle.

He was born 17 October, 1938, the second son of Lieutenant-Colonel Ririd Myddelton, LVO, DL (1902-1988), of Chirk Castle, Denbighshire, and his wife the Lady Mary Margaret Elizabeth Petty-Fitzmaurice (1910-2003), sister of the 8th Marquess of Lansdowne (1912-1999).

He was twice married, firstly, 27 July, 1967 (div), the Hon Sarah Cecily Allsopp (1944-2009), daughter of the 5th Baron Hindlip (1912-1993), and his wife Cecily Valentine Jane Borwick (1910-2000), and married 2ndly, in 1994, Mrs Gaia Servadio Mostyn-Owen, former wife of William Mostyn-Owen (1929-2011), and daughter of Luxardo Servadio (1938-2021), and his wife Bianca Prinzi.

In 2001 he is reported to have assmed the surname of Myddelton Biddulph in lieu of his patronymic.

Gaia Myddelton, a writer, was sometime mother-in-law of the Rt Hon Boris Johnson, PC, Prime Minister, 2019-2022, who married her daughter Allegra Mostyn-Owen.

Hugh Myddelton leaves issue from his first marriage,  a son, Alexander (born 7 March, 1969), and a daughter, Claerwen (born 1972).

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Paul Everard Justus Focke, KC 1937-2026

His Honour Judge Paul Everard Justus Focke, KC, died 22 April, 2026, aged 88.

He was called to the Bar at Gray's Inn , 1964 (Bencher 1992); appointed QC (1982), and was a Circuit Judge from 1997. Also Called to the Bar, NSW and to the New Zealand, 1982; QC, NSW, 1984, &c.

He was born 14 May, 1937, son of Frederick Justus Focke (1898-1959), and his wife Muriel Fisher (1904-1995); and married in 1973, the Lady Tana Marie Alexander (born 2 May, 1945), daughter of the late 6th Earl of Caledon (1920-1980), and his first wife Ghislaine Dresselhuys (1922-2000), by whom he had two daughters, Diana (born 1974), and Victoria (born 1976).

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The 14th Duke of St Albans 1939-2026

 The 14th Duke of St Albans died in London, 22 April, 2026. He was 87.

Murray de Vere Beauclerk, a direct descendant of King Charles II and Nell Gwynn, was the 14th Duke of St Albans (Peerage of England, 1684), 14th Earl of Burford (Peerage of England, 1676), and the 11th Baron Vere of Hanworth (Peerage of GB, cr 1750), and Baron Heddington.

He was the hereditary Grand Falconer of England. His predecessors were given the honour of taking a live bird of prey into the Coronation of the Sovereign. The last to do so was the 8th Duke at the Coronation of King George IV in 1821. In 1953, the eccentric 12th Duke asked the Coronation Committee to be granted permission to carry a falcon into Westminster Abbey, and, if not a live specimen, then a stuffed one. He was politely refused.

He was born 9 January, 1939, son of the 13th Duke of St Albans (1915-1988), and his first wife the former Nathalie Chatham Walker, and was styled Earl of Burford from the time of his father's succession to the peerages in 1964, until 8 October, 1988, when he succeeded as 14th Duke.

He married three times, firstly, 31 January, 1963 (1974), Rosemary Frances Scoones (born 1941), who afterwards married the 10th Viscount Exmouth; married 2ndly, 29 Aug, 1974, Cynthia Theresa Mary, Lady Hooper (died 12 May, 2002), former wife of Sir Anthony Robin Maurice Hooper, 2nd Bt (1918-1987), and daughter of Lt-Col William James Holdsworth Howard, DSO, and married 3rdly, 14 December, 2002, Gillian Anita Northam, daughter of Lt-Col Cyril George Reginald Northam.

The Duke of St Albans leaves two children from his first marriage, Charles Francis Tophan de Vere Beauclerk, styled Earl of Burford (born 22 February, 1965), who now succeeds as 15th Duke, and a daughter, Lady Emma Caroline de Vere Beauclerk (born 22 July, 1963).

A Memorial Service takes place at St Luke's Church, Chelsea, 25 June, 2026.

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Katharine Diana Hendriks (née Douglas) 1942-2026

Katharine Diana Hendriks (née Douglas), who died 23 April, 2026, aged 83, was a scion of the Douglas Earls of Morton.

She was born in 1942, daughter of Brigadier Patrick Sholto Douglas, MC (1917-1977), a grandson of the 19th Earl of Morton (1844-1935); and married in 1969, Peter Robin Campbell Hendriks (who died in 1997), son of Brigadier Nigel Campbell Hendriks (1902-1982), and his wife Hermione Leslie Case (1913-2011), by whom she had issue, a son Timothy and a daughter, Alice.

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Rt Rev The Baron Harries of Pentregarth 1936-2026

 Rt Rev The Baron Harries of Pentregarth, who died 29 April, 2026, aged 89, was, as the Rt Rev Richard Harries, Bishop of Oxford from 1987 to 2006.

Richard Douglas Harries was born 2 June, 1936, son of Brigadier William Douglas Jameson Harries, CBE (1900-1991), of Saddlers Funtington, Chichester, and his wife the former Greta Miriam Bathurst Brown (1906-1987).

 He was the Bishop of Oxford from 1987 to 2006. From 2008 until 2012 he was the Gresham Professor of Divinity.

On his retirement as Bishop of Oxford it was announced that he was to be elevated to the peerage, and in June, 2006, he was gazetted as Baron Harries of Pentregarth, of Ceinewydd in the County of Dyfed. He sat in the House of Lords as a Crossbench peer. In 2006 he was appointed to the Court of Ecclesiastical Causes Reserved for a period of five years.

Bishop Harries married in 1963, Josephine Bottomley, MA, MB, BChir, by whom he had one son and one daughter.

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Hall/Gell engagement

 The engagement was announced 30 April, 2026, between Rupert Dyson Hall (born 1991), descended from the Marquesses of Dufferin & Ava, son of Mr Edward St John Hall (born 10 January, 1960), of London, and his former wife the former Lucinda Katharine Thring (born 1963, scion of that landed gentry family, now Mrs John Ferguson, of Ham, Wiltshire), and Honor Constance Virginia Gell (born 29 October, 1998), daughter of (Philip) Adrian J.H. Gell (born 1960), of All Stretton, Shropshire, by his wife the former Henrietta Jane Rachel Loyd (born 31 January, 1959, now Mrs Henrietta Gell, of Tarrant Gunville, Dorset), scion of the Loyd landed gentry family, daughter of Major Peter Wyndham Loyd (1923-1974), and his wife the former Sally Elizabeth Jane Inglis (1931-2020), descended from the Nairn baronets.

The 3rd Marquess of Dufferin & Ava (1875-1930) > Lady Veronica Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood (1910-1971) > Marie Antoinette Hornby (1932-2020) > Edward St John Hall (b 1960) > Rupert Dyson Hall (b 1991)

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Son for the Earl and Countess of Bective

 Florence Lucy Taylour, styled Countess of Bective (born 1993, nee Greensted), wife of Thomas Rupert Charles Christopher Taylour, styled Earl of Bective (born 18 June, 1989), gave birth to a son and heir, Rafferty (Raffy) Taylour, 22 April, 2026.

The infant will use the courtesy title Baron Kenlis.

Lord Bective is the son and heir of the 7th Marquess of Headfort (born 10 February, 1959), of Oxfordshire, and his late wife the former Susan Jane Vandervell (1960-2008).

Lady Bective is a daughter of Jonathan (Jack) Greensted (born 1963), also of Oxfordshire, and his wife the former Shelley Edgson (born 1960).

The Marquess of Headfort is a peer of the UK as Baron Kenlis. The marquessate was created in 1800 in the Peerage of Ireland.

It was the fourth marquess who famously wed, in 1901, the Irish Gaiety Girl Rosie Boote (1878-1958). The marriage of the peer  with the comely actress caused something of a stir in Edwardian high society.

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Lord Claud Anthony Hamilton 1939-2026

 Lord Claud Anthony Hamilton, who died 27 April, 2026, aged 86, was a scion of the Dukes of Abercorn.

He was born 8 July, 1939, the second son of the 4th Duke of Abercorn (1904-1979), and his wife the Lady Mary Katherine Crichton (1905-1990), Mistress of the Robes to HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and scion of the Earls of Erne, daughter of Henry Viscount Crichton (1872-1914), and his wife Lady Mary Cavendish Grosvenor (1883-1959), daughter of the 1st Duke of Westminster (1825-1899).

Known as Lord Anthony he was a first cousin of John, 8th Earl Spencer (1924-1992), and thus a cousin twice removed of the Prince of Wales and Duke of Sussex.

Lord Anthony was a former High Sheriff of County Fermanagh, appointed in 1990, and became a JP for the county in 1991. 

The Old Etonian joined the Irish Guards as a Lieutenant in 1957. His home was at Killyreagh House, Enniskillen.

He married 7 April, 1982, Catherine Janet Faulkner, daughter of Sir James Dennis Compton Faulkner, CBE, VRD, DL (1926-2016), and his wife the former Janet Cunningham (who died in 1994), and a niece of the Baron Faulkner of Downpatrick, PC (1921-1977), the sixth and last Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, by whom he had issue, a son, Alexander (born 8 June, 1987), and a daughter, Anna (born 23 Aug, 1983).

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Peter Mackelcan Woodroffe 1927-2026

  Peter Mackelcan Woodroffe died 13th April, 2026. He was 98.

He was born in 1927, son of Kenneth Derry Woodroffe (1892-1972), and his wife the former Raby Alfreda Mackelcan Kroenig-Ryan (1902-1991),, and he married in Chelsea, London, in 1973, Amanda Aloysia Nicolette Forbes (born 4 April, 1950), daughter of Henry Forbes (1914-2002), and his wife the former Pamela Aloysia Tate (1923-2021), scion of the Tate baronets, by whom he had issue, two sons, Justin (born 1977), and Clifford (born 1979).

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Hillgarth/de Guzmán engagement

 The engagement was announced 29 April, 2026, between Sebastian Alan Henry Philip Hillgarth (born August, 1985), eldest son of Justin Francis Mariano Sebastian Hillgarth (born Nov, 1947),  and his late wife Nobil Donna Antonella Carlotta Maria Grabau di Livorno e di Volterra (born Dec. 1952), of Geneva, Switzerland, & Inés de Guzmán, eldest daughter of the late Don José Miguel de Guzmán Rendueles and of Doña María Covadonga Gutiérrez Merino, of the Principado de Asturias, Spain.

Sebastian Hillgarth is a grandson of Capt Alan Hugh Hillgarth (1899-1978), and his wife the Hon Mary Sidney Katharine Almina Gardner (1896-1994), daughter of the 1st & last Baron Burghclere (1846-1921), and his wife Lady Winifred Anne Henrietta Christina Herbert (1864-1933), daughter of the 4th Earl of Carnarvon (1831-1890).

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Penelope Mary Albinia Naylor (nee Buxton) 1939-2026

 Penelope Mary Albinia Naylor, who died 2 April, 2026, aged 87, was a scion of the Buxton baronets.

She was born 28 March, 1939, third daughter of Major John Fowell Buxton (1902-1970), and his wife the former Katherine Mary Bacon (1908-2000), daughter of Sir Nicholas Henry Bacon, 12th and 13th Baronet (1857-1947); and married 27 January, 1966, Richard Christopher Naylor (born 1936), son of Thomas Humphrey Naylor (1890-1966), and his wife Dorothy Isabel Holt (1902-1986), daughter of Sir Richard Holt, 1st Baronet, MP (1868-1941); by whom she had issue, a son, Thomas (born 1 March, 1967), and a daughter, Harriet Albina (born 1970).

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Timothy Miles Farmiloe 1935-2026

 Timothy Miles Farmiloe died 22 April, 2026. He was 91.

He was born 22 February, 1935, second son of Miles Bligh Damer Farmiloe (1903-1983), descended from the Barons Congleton, by his wife the former Cynthia Joyce Holt (died 1990).

The 3rd Baron Congleton > Colonel Hon Arthur Parnell > Bertram Damer Parnell > Myles Bligh Damer Parnell, who assumed the surname of Farmiloe in lieu of his patronymic > Timothy Miles Farmiloe

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Mark Gregory Littledale 1976-2026

Mark Gregory Littledale died 14 April, 2026, aged 49.

He was born in 1976, son of Gregory Bruno Littledale (1932-2004), and his second wife the former Naomi Abigail Martin. He was a descendant of the Stapleton family, and descended from the Bertie Earls of Abingdon.

Willoughby Bertie, 3rd Earl of Abingdon > Lady Mary Bertie > Thomas Stapleton > Bryan John Stapleton > Gregory Stapleton > Marie Josephine Stapleton > Gregory Bruno Littledale > Mark Littledale

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David Wynne-Morgan 1931-2026

 David Wynne-Morgan, former Daily Mail journalist, PR executive, has died aged 95.

He was born 22 Feb, 1931, and married at Kensington in April, 1966, as her second husband, Mrs Sandra Clare Douglas-Home (born circa 1940), former wife of Cecil Robin Douglas-Home (1932-1968), scion of the Earls of Home, and daughter of Wing Commander Saville Paul (1909-1964), and his wife the former Rosa Judith Stephens (1911-2001).

Sandra Paul, a mannequin, had married 1stly, 9 July 1959 (div. 1965), the abovementioned (Cecil) Robin Douglas-Home, who had a brief and passionate liaison with the late Princess Margaret. 

After divorcing Wynne-Morgan Sandra Paul married as her 3rd husband, in Oct 1971 (div.) Nigel John Grandfield (1938-1998), and she married 4thly, at Winchester, in July, 1975, Michael Howard, QC (later the Baron Howard of Lympne, PC, QC, sometime leader of the Conservative Party, &c.)

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The Baron Hunt of Chesterton, CB, FRS 1941-2026

The Baron Hunt of Chesterton, CB, FRS, who died 20 April, 2026, aged 84, was a life peer, a meteorologist,  who was the Director General and Chief Executive of the British Meteorological Office from 1992 to 1997. 

Julian Charles Ronald Hunt was born in India, 5 September, 1941, son of a diplomat Roland Hunt and his wife the former Pauline Garnett.

Hunt was raised to the peerage for life in 2000, as Baron Hunt of Chesterton, of Chesterton in the County of Cambridgeshire, and he sat as a Labour peer in the House of Lords until 30 October 2021.

He was the leader on the Labour group of Cambridge City Council in the 1970s, and Professor of Climate modelling in the Department of Space and Climate Physics and Department of Earth Sciences at University College London. In 1989 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. He was appointed CB in 1998.

He married in 1965, Marylla Shepherd, daughter of Rupert Shepherd, by whom he had three children, a son, Sir Tristram Hunt, a former Labour MP who was knighted earlier this year, and two daughters, Matilda, a doctor, and Jemima, a journalist and novelist.

He was a distant cousin of another life peer, the Baron Hunt of Fawley (1905-1987).

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The 5th Baron Derwent, LVO 1930-2026

The 5th Baron Derwent, LVO, of Hackness Hall, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, died 21 April, 2026. He was 95.

Lord Derwent was educated at Eton and served as a 2nd Lieutenant in the King's Royal Rifle Corps, and as a lieutenant in the Queen Victoria's Rifles (Territorial Army.)

He was 3rd Secretary, in the Diplomatic Service from 1954  to1955. He was awarded the Chevalier, Legion of Honour in 1957, and served as 2nd Secretary, Foreign Office, 1957, and was 1st Secretary, Foreign Office, 1962. Lord Derwent was a director of N.M Rothschild from 1969 to 1985.

Derwent was appointed an Officier de l'Ordre Nationale du Mérite in 1978.1 He was managing director of Hutchison Whampoa (Europe) Ltd, 1985-98. He was appointed LVO, a honour in the personal gift of the sovereign.

Robin Evelyn Leo Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone was born 30 October, 1930, son of the 4th Baron Derwent (1901-1986), CBE, sometime Deputy Speaker, House of Lords, and his wife the former Marie Louise Henriette Picard (who died 3 November, 1985); and he succeeded to the barony (cr Peerage of the UK, 1881), and to the family baronetcy (cr 1795), upon his father's death, 2 January, 1986.

He married 12 January, 1957, Sybille Marie Louise de Simard de Pitray (who died 1 Aug, 2023), daughter of the  Vicomte de Simard de Pitray, and his wife Jeanine Hennessy, by whom he had issue, one son the Hon Francis Patrick Harcourt Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone (born 23 Sept, 1965), and three daughters, the Hon Emmeline (born 3 Nov, 1958), the Hon Joanna (b 1 March, 1962), and the Hon Isabelle (b 26 Nov, 1968).

His only son now succeeds to the baronetcy and barony.

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Lady Georgina Jocelyn Pelham 1942-2026

 The Lady Georgina Pelham, who died 25 April, 2026, aged 83, was a scion of the Earls of Chichester.

She was born 7 June, 1942, daughter of Capt the 8th Earl of Chichester (1912-1944), of the Scots Guards, who died in an accident on active service, 21 February, 1944, and his wife the former Ursula von Pannwitz (1911-1989, and married in 1974, Helios Alberto Caranci, by whom she had issue, a son, Helios (born 1983), and twom daughters, Cecilia (born 1976), and Ursula (born 1978).

Her mother married 2ndly, 1 8 May, 1957 (div. 1971),  Ralph Gunning Henderson.

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Toogood/Parsons marriage

 The marriage took place, 25 April, 2026, at Holy Trinity Church, Bembridge, Isle of Wight, between William Richard Stanley Toogood (born 1 June, 1996), son of Mark William Toogood (born 1964), of the Isle of Wight, and his wife the former Katharine Margaret Chetwynd (born 24 June, 1965), scion of the Viscounts Chetwynd, and Rebecca Victoria Parsons (born 1994), daughter of Ian Parsons, of Bristol, and his wife the former (Brenda) Alison Pittaway (born 1958).

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Leeming/Shaharuddin engagement

The engagement was announced 25 April, 2026, between Andrew Michael Leeming (born 23 May, 1996), younger son of Antony Richard Leeming (born 22 June, 1950), of Skirsgill Park, Penrith, descended from the Tempest landed gentry family, by his wife the former Lady Elizabeth Mary Cecilia Bowes Lyon, LVO (born 23 December, 1959), scion of the Earls of Strathmore & Kinghorne, & Safura Shaharuddin, younger daughter of Mr Shaharuddin Zainuddin and Mrs Hafsa Hasan of Kuala Lumpur.

Andrew Leeming is a grandson maternally of the late 17th Earl of Strathmore & Kinghorne (1928-1987), and is a second cousin once removed of HM King Charles III.

Lady Elizabeth Leeming is an Extra Lady-in-Waiting to HRH The Princess Royal.

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Major Toby Clements Gore 1927-2026

 Major Toby Clements Gore, who died 15 April, 2026, aged 98, was a scion of the Gore baronets.

He was born 28 December, 1927, son of Brigadier Adrian Clements Gore, DSO (1900-1990), of Horton Priory, Ashford, Kent, by his wife the former Enid Aimée Cairnes (1902-1997), and married 28 July, 1959, (Isolde) Marian Macintosh (1936-1996), by whom he had issue, four daughters, Fiona (b 1960), Juiet (b 1962), Tessa (1967-1994), and Stephanie (b 1969).

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Vivienne Mary Patricia Cresswell ( née Esmonde) 1945-2026

 Vivienne Mary Patricia Cresswell, who died 19 April, 2026, aged 81, was a scion of the Esmonde baronets, descended from Sir James Esmonde, 7th Baronet.

She was born 22 March, 1945, the third daughter of Owen James Esmonde (1905-1993), and his wife Eira Margaret Antonia Mackenzie (1913- ), scion of the Mackenzie baronets; & married 1970, Charles Timothy Cresswell (born 1941), son of Charles Patrick Skeffington Cresswell (1912-1992), and his wife the former Sidney Nancy Steyning Beard (1911-2007), by whom she had issue, two daughters, Laragh (born 1973), and Dominie (born 1975).

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Henry Vevers Phythian-Adams 1939-2026

 Henry Vevers Phythian-Adams, scion of that landed gentry family, has died aged 87.

He was born 31 March, 1939, the second son of the Rev William John Telia Phythian-Adams, DSO (1888-1967), head of that family, and his wife the former Adela Noel Evelyn Robinson (1901-1983), and was educated at Rossall and Queen's College, Cambridge, and Leicester University. He married in April, 1974, Margaret Mary Ashby (1937-2018), daughter of Lt-Col A.E. Ashby, of Lamonby, Skelton, Cumbria, by whom he had issue, a son, Thomas Ashby B. Phythian-Adams (born 1982), and a daughter, Mary Anne G. Phythian-Adams (born 1977).

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Major Richard Colin Bonham Sampson 1950-2026

Major Richard Colin Bonham Sampson, died 4 April, 2026. He was 76.

He was born 10 February, 1950, son of Major Richard Claude Sampson (1916-2000), and his wife Rosemary Anne Collingridge (1924-2022); and married 26 January, 1985 (div. 2008), Mariana Victoria Magdalen Bray (born 26 January, 1956), daughter of Francis Arthur Michael Bray, DSC (1921-2004), and his wife Victoria Seely (b 1933- died 11 February, 2026), daughter of Sir Victor Basil John Seely, 4th Baronet (1900-1980), by whom he had issue, three sons, George (b 29 Jan, 1986), Charles (b 26 Oct, 1988), and Hugo (b 7 May, 1991).

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Dorothy Frances Fleming 1955-2026

Dorothy Frances Fleming, who died 29 March, 2026, aged 70, was a scion of that landed gentry family of Nettlebed.

She was born 21 June, 1955, the youngest daughter of Major Richard Evelyn Fleming, MC, TD (1910-1977), and his wife the Hon Dorothy Charmian Hermon-Hodge (1913-2001), daughter of the 2nd Baron Wyfold (1880-1942). She was a niece of the 'James Bond' writer Ian Fleming (1908-1964). She was unmarried.

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Andrew Michael Smiley 1952-2026

 Andrew Michael Smiley, who died 17 April, 2026, aged 73, was a scion of the Smiley baronets.

He was born 30 November, 1952, the second son of Major Charles Michael Smiley, CVO (1910-1991), and his wife Lavinia Pearson (1919-1991), scion of the Viscounts Cowdray; and married at Chelsea, in October, 1975, (Sarah) Caroline Coade (born 1956), daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Courtenay Coade (1917-1967), and his wife the former Pauline Violet Ramsden (1927-2002), by whom he had two daughters, Charlotte Sarah (born 1983), and Sarah Miranda (born 1986).

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Rev David Burton Evans 1935-2026

The Rev David Burton Evans died 11 April, 2026. He was 91.

Born circa 1935, son of Thomas Evans, of Shrewsbury, he married 27 September, 1975, Charlotte Antonia Caulfeild (born 17 April, 1939), scion of the Viscounts Charlemont, daughter of Wade Toby Caulfeild (1902-1991), and his wife Philippa Mary Brocklebank (1911-1996), scion of that landed gentry family. No issue of the union.

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The King has made three new appointments to the Order of the Garter on St George's Day

 His Majesty the King has marked St George's Day 2026 by appointing three distinguished members of the House of Lords to the ancient and prestigious Order of the Garter.

England's senior order of chivalry has been bestowed upon historian and former journalist the Baron Hennessy of Nympsfield (born 28 March, 1947). Lord Hennessy is a historian and academic specialising in the history of government. Since 1992, he has been Attlee Professor of Contemporary British History at Queen Mary University of London.

The accolade has also been awarded to the former cabinet secretary the Baron O'Donnell, GCB (born 1 October, 1952), the former senior civil servant and economist, who between 2005 and 2011 (under three Prime Ministers) served as the Cabinet Secretary, the highest official in the British Civil Service.

The third appointment is filled by the former chief justice the Baron Burnett of Maldon, PC (born 28 February, 1958), Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales from 2017 to 2023.

These St George's Day honours bring the number of non royal Knights of the Garter to twenty three. There remains one vacancy in the order of chivalry founded by King Edward III in 1348, reportedly inspired by the tales of King Arthur. The order’s Knights and Lady companions are chosen personally by the sovereign.

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Boyle/Lang engagement

 The engagement was announced 22 April, 2026, between Jocelyn William Rupert Boyle (born 6 April, 1998),  scion of the Earls of Cork & Orrery, third son of Rupert Lancelot Cavemdish Boyle (born 19 September, 1960), of Laxton, Northamptonshire, by his wife the former Sarah Daphne Berry, & Samantha K. Lang, middle daughter of Mr Martin Lang and the late Mrs Alison Lang, of the Cayman Islands.

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Baroness Grainger, DBE

THE KING has been pleased by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the Realm dated 20 April 2026 to confer the dignity of a Barony of the United Kingdom for life upon Dame Katherine Jane Grainger, D.B.E., by the name, style and title of BARONESS GRAINGER, of Garelochhead in the County of Dunbartonshire.

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Nicoletti/Hill engagement

 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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Burch/Lobanov-Rostovsky engagement

The engagement was announced 18 April, 2026, between Marcus James Burch (born 2 August, 1995), youngest son of Jeremy Ian Burch (born 1962), of Cardiff, Wales, and his wife the former Elisabeth Ann Thomas (born 1965), & Princess Sophia Chariclea Lobanov-Rostovsky (born 10 April, 1996), daughter of Prince Dimitry Lobanov-Rostovsky (born 14 September, 1962), of Wimbledon, London, and his wife the former Jonkvrouw Marina Cecilia Wladimiroff (born 26 April, 1966).

Princess Sophia is descended from the Trench Barons Ashtown.

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Mackenzie/Courage engagement

 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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Laing/Graham-Campbell marriage

 The marriage took place, 18 April, 2026, at St Mary's Cathedral. Glasgow, between Henry Laing, son of Mr and Mrs Rodney Laing, of Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire, and Emily Marguerite Graham-Campbell (born 11 September, 1997), daughter of Robert John Graham-Campbell, 11th of Shirvan (born 14 Aug, 1964), of that Scottish landed gentry family, of Hamilton, Lanarkshire, by his wife, the former Henrietta Heneage (born 1965), scion of that landed gentry family.

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Rachel Georgiana Kew (nee Fane de Salis) 1934-2026

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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Fuller/Tollemache engagement

The engagement was announced 18 April, 2026, between Peter Jack Fuller (born 1997), son of Stephen R. Fuller, of Lewes, East Sussex, and his wife the former Helen M. Gubbin, & Alice Mary Tollemache (born 11 September, 1997), elder daughter of Sir Richard John Tollemache, 8th Baronet (born 4 May, 1966), of Buckminster, Leicestershire, and his wife the former Amanda Louise Phillips (born 1965).

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Bourke-Borrowes/Drysdale engagement

 The engagement was announced 18 April, 2026, between Hubert Alexander Robert Bourke-Borrowes (born 10 June, 1985), son of Kildare Hubert Bourke-Borrowes (born 20 September, 1942), of North Aston, Oxfordshire, and his second wife the former Sarah Louise McCready (born 1952), & Veronica Mary Drysdale (born 12 March 1991), daughter of Robert Drysdale, of Logie, Fife, and his former wife the former Rachel Rosa Smyth-Osbourne (born 31 May, 1961), scion of that landed gentry family (now Mrs Rachel Halvorsen, of Adstone, Northamptonshire).

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Smith/Colliver engagement

 The engagement was announced 18 April, 2026, between George Hector Courtney Smith (born 29 July, 1993), first son of Christopher Hugh Courtney Smith (born 1961), of Thornhill, Stirlingshire, and his wife the former Charlotte Elizabeth Kerr-Smiley (born 17 January, 1963), scion of the Smiley baronets, and Chloe Iona Colliver (born 1993), daughter of the late Neil Anthony Colliver (1960-1995), and Mrs Judith Colliver (nee Smith), of Kew, London.

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The Baron Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony, PC 1943-2026

 The Baron Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony, PC, who died 16 April, 2026, aged 82, was a lawyer and one of the first 11 Supreme Court of the United Kingdom Justices and was the first High Court judge to be appointed directly to that court when it came into existence on 1 October 2009.

He was appointed to the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong on 11 April 2011 as a non-permanent judge. He was previously Master of the Rolls and Head of Civil Justice in England and Wales. He retired from the Supreme Court in September 2017.

Anthony Peter Clarke was born 13 May, 1943. 

On 15 April 2009, it was announced that he would be created a life peer, & was gazetted on 29 May 2009 with the title of Baron Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony, of Stone-cum-Ebony, in the County of Kent, and took his seat as a crossbencher in the House of Lords on 1 June 2009.

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Veryan Williams-Wynn 1943-2026

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 1939-2026

 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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Cage-White/Wingfield Digby engagement

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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Gilliat-Smith/Melville engagement

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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Hills/Reynolds engagement

 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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Lady (Pamela) Lemina Lawson Johnston 1941-2026

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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Irens/Dalmeny engagement

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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Edgar Marc Kennedy Cox (born 2026)

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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O'Brien/Murray engagement

 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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Baroness Geraint (died 2026)

Baroness Geraint, who died 10 April, 2026, aged 93, was widow of the life peer the Baron Geraint.

She was the former (Mary) Olwen Hughes, of Tregaron, Dyfed, and married in 1957, the then Geraint Wyn Howells (born 15 April, 1925), son of David John Howells, of Brynglas, Ponterwyd, Cardiganshire.

Her husband was Liberal MP for Cardigan, 1974-1988, and Lib Dem MP for the same constituency until 1992. He was Chairman of the Welsh Liberal Party 1972-74, and President 1974-78. Liberal Spokesman on Wales 1985-87, Lib Spokesman on Agriculture, 1989-1992, and raised to the peerage for life in 1992 on leaving the Commons. His peerage was gazetted as Baron Geraint, of Ponterwyd, co Dyfed.

Baroness Geraint was widowed 17 April, 2004. She leaves issue, two daughters, Gaenor and Mari.

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Isla Olivia Brown (born 2026)

 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 (Gerald) Hayden Phillips, GCB 1943-2026

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 1956-2026

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 1930-2026

 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-Dyet (née Annan) 1940-2026

 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 1929-2026

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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Hector Luca Dickson Corona (born 2026)

 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-Topham, OBE, RN 1928-2026

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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Damiani/Knatchbull engagement

 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 1949-2026

 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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Lady Anastasia Compton engaged to Christian Rena

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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Dunn/Scott-Bowden engagement

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 1944-2026

 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 1941-2026

 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) 1941-2026

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 1946-2026

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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Vivienne Valerie Mary Bolton (born 2026)

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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Stevenson-Hamilton/Hulme engagement

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 (nee Lambert) 1934-2026

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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Riddell-Webster/Clamp engagement

 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 1936-2026

  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 1933-2026

 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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Hon Margaret Ross van Koetsveld 1934-2026

 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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Slee/Crawfurd engagement

 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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Abel Smith/Siggers engagement

 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 Cobbe, CVO 1945-2026

 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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Vestey/Foster Moseley engagement

 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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Cordelia Aprille Ames Florence De Groat (born 2026)

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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Hector George Lowe (born 2026)

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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Inigo Basil John Agar (born 2026)

 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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Dudley/Tindley engagement

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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Chichester/Maslin engagement

 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 1930-2026

 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 1929-2026

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 1927-2026

 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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Oswald Quintin Astley Birtwistle (born 2026)

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 and Harriet Sperling name the day

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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The Baron Haskins 1937-2026

The Baron Haskins, life peer, died 30 March, 2026, aged 88.

He was a businessman, latterly Chairman of Northern Foods from 1980-2002. He was raised to the peerage as Baron Haskins, of Skidby in the County of the East Riding of Yorkshire, on 25 July 1998.

Christopher Robin Haskins, a former chair of the Humber Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and of Northern Foods, was born in Dublin, 30 May, 1937. He joined Wakefield-headquartered Northern Foods – then known as Northern Dairies in 1962 – becoming a director of the firm in 1967, deputy chairman in 1974, then chairman from 1980 to 2002.

During 2001, at the height of the foot and mouth disease epidemic, he became Prime Minister Tony Blair's 'rural tsar'. Lord Haskins retired from the Lords on 1 December 2020.

Sometime a member of the Labour Party. A dedicated supporter of the Humber region, Lord Haskins used his Humber LEP role to widely promote the region’s interests and ensure the views of its businesses were represented in government. He won the Ambassador award at TheBusinessDesk.com’s Business Masters Awards in 2015.Many tributes have been paid to him, with friends and colleagues describing him as an “inspirational leader”.

 He married in 1959, Gilda Horsley (born 1936),  daughter of Alec Stewart Horsley (1902-1993), and his wife the former Ida Seward Howitt, by whom he had two sons.

James Mayo Alastair Gunn 1925-2026

James Mayo Alastair Gunn died 20 March, 2026, aged 100.

He was born in Bristol in July, 1925, a son of Henry Somerville Gunn (1882-1966), and his wife the former Margaret Aileen Constance Wise (1893-1976); and married 1stly, 10 December, 1949 (div. 1968), as her first husband, Jill Rosalind Bruce (1927-2017), scion of the Earls of Elgin & Kincardine, fourth daughter of Capt. Charles Bruce (1883-1958), and his wife the former Joan Woodiwiss (1900-1984), scion of that landed gentry family; & married 2ndly, 1982, Rosemary Hunter (born circa 1952), daughter of Michael Henry Hunter (1927-1988), and his wife the former Rosemary Claire Bull (1928-2011).

From his first marriage he leaves issue, two sons, Henry and David, and two daughters Nicola and Ann, and from his second marriage he leaves a son, Alastair, and a daughter, Claire.

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Nigel Kenneth Cayzer (nee Galliers-Pratt) 1954-2026

 Nigel Kenneth Cayzer, who died in France, 21 March, 2026, aged 71, was descended from the Cayzer baronets.

He was a businessman and chairman of two London-listed funds: Aberdeen Asian Smaller Companies Investment Trust and Oryx International Growth Fund. He served as chairman of the cancer care charity Maggie's from 2005 to 2014.

 Cayzer began his career working in the stock exchange for L Messel & Co. In 1986 he became a non-executive director of Caledonia Investments, a UK-listed investment trust company. In 1989 he became chairman of Allied Insurance Brokers (AIB). In 1991 the holding company's name was changed from Allied Insurance Brokers to Oriel. Oriel subsequently became the UK's leading motor warranty company.

In 1993 he oversaw the acquisition by the Oman National Insurance Company (ONIC) of an 18.7% stake in Oriel. The following year he established and became chairman of the Oryx JIA, an open-ended fund quoted on the Muscat Securities Market and invested principally in equities in Oman and other countries in the GCC. He held this position until 2007. He was a non-executive director of the Alliance Housing Bank SAOG between 1998 and 2006, and is the current chairman of the Oryx International Growth Fund.

He was born 30 April, 1954, the second son of Anthony Malcolm Galliers-Pratt, CBE (1928-1998), and his wife Angela Cayzer (1926-2014), daughter of Sir Charles William Cayzer, 3rd Baronet (1896-1940).

In 1982 he assumed the surname of Cayzer in lieu of his patronymic on being named as heir to the property of his uncle, Sir James Cayzer, 5th Baronet. 

He married 8 May, 1986, Henrietta Caroline Rose Sykes (born 12 May, 1957), younger daughter of Sir Mark Richard Tatton Sykes, 7th Baronet (1905-1978), of Sledmere, by whom he had issue, two sons, Arthur (born 24 March, 1988), and John (born 30 Oct, 1996), and two daughters, Virginia (born 17 Jan, 1990), and Angelica (born 11 Sept, 1992).

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John Christopher Levett-Prinsep 1946-2026

 John Christopher Levett-Prinsep, who died 24 March, 2026, aged 79, was a scion of that landed gentry family. He was born in 1946, son of Edward John Levett-Prinsep (1914-1979), and his wife the former Irene Hartley (1919-2015); and married in 1968, Deirdre McLean (born 1945), by whom he had issue, two sons, Richard (born 1975), and Michael (born 1978).

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Baroness Nickson 1936-2026

 The Baroness Nickson, who died 22 March, 2026, aged 90, was the wife of the Baron Nickson, KBE (born 27 November 1929), a businessman, & a former crossbench peer and a former President of the Confederation of British Industry. He was Chairman of the Clydesdale Bank, Scottish & Newcastle, Scottish Enterprise and the Government's Senior Salaries Review Body.

She was the former Eira Govett, born in Westminster, January, 1936, a daughter of John Romaine Govett (1897-1956), of Manor House, Newton Stacey, Hampshire, and his wife the former Angela Mary Mostyn Pritchard (1909-1979); and was three times married, firstly, 6 Aug, 1955, to John Robert Findlay (1927-2016), scion of that landed gentry family of Findlay of Boturich, son of James Buchanan Findlay, CBE, of Carnell, Ayrshire, by his wife the former Mary Sancroft Findlay-Hamilton, scion of that landed gentry family; married 2ndly, 1983, John Drysdale, and married 3rdly, in 2013, the life peer the Baron Nickson.

She leaves three sons from her first marriage, James Anthony (born 14 Oct, 1957), Michael Andrew (born 22 March, 1960), and Alasdair John (born 13 May, 1963).

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Robert Gwyn Palmer (died 2026)

 Robert Gwyn Palmer died 14 March, 2026.

He was a son of J. Gwyn Palmer, of Treboeth, Glamorgan, and married at Cirencester, in December, 1991, Juliet Ann Favell Van Oss (born 8 March, 1961), daughter of Peter Humphrey Alexander Van Oss (1936-2020), a descendant of the Earls of Waldegrave, and his wife the former Susan Antonia Bazley (born 5 May, 1937), scion of the Bazley baronets.

He leaves issue, two daughters, Xanthe Hope (born 12 Feb, 1995), and Syrie Favell (born 20 May, 1997).

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Peppiatt/McFarlane engagement

 The engagement was announced 28 March, 2026, between Dominic Andrew Slingsby Peppiatt (born 19 March, 1997), eldest son of Giles Ernest Peppiatt (born 1964), of Mursley, Buckinghamshire, and his wife the former Katherine Candida Innes (born .30 May, 1967), scion of the Inness of Edingight baronets, & Clementine Josephine McFarlane (born circa 1998), elder daughter of Alastair D.J. McFarlane (born 1963), of Southend-on-Sea, Essex, and Mrs Cassandra McFarlane (nee Martinez), of Clovelly, Devon.

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Elliott/Dujardin engagement

 The engagement was announced 28 March, 2026, between Hector Edmund Murray Elliott (born 16 November, 1996), eldest son of Rupert Elliott, of Sandhurst, Kent, by his wife the former Catherine Jane Lawrence (born 24 November, 1964), scion of the Lawrence baronets, and Anna Jane Dujardin (born 1998), daughter of Mark Dujardin, of Cambridge, and Mrs Katrina Dujardin (nee McKenzie), of London and Edinburgh.

Sir Walter Lawrence, 1st Baronet (1857-1940) > Henry Lawrence (1891-1959) > Walter Lawrence (b 1935) > Catherine Lawrence (b 1964) > Hector Elliott

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Cecilia Catherine Holding Curtis (born 2026)

Chloe Chandra Curtis (nee Holding, born May, 1984), wife of George Edward Curtis (born 31 Oct, 1980), gave birth to a daughter, Cecilia Catherine Holding, 26 March, 2026, a sister for Matheson.

George Curtis is the son and heir of Sir Edward Philip Curtis, 8th Baronet (born 25 June, 1940), of Ludlow, Shropshire, and his late wife the former Catherine Mary Armstrong (who died 16 January, 2015).

Chloe Curtis is a daughter of John E. Holding, of Long Crendon, Buckinghamshire, and Mrs Holding.

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Ivo Archer William Campbell Adamson (born 2026)

  Hannah Gillian Campbell Adamson [born 1988, (née de Haan), wife of James William Campbell Adamson (b 1989), scion of the Adamson landed family, of Strathcaro, gave birth to a son, Ivo Archer William, 17 March, 2026, a brother for India Vivien, who was born 19 September, 2021, and for Sophia Gillian, who was born 6 October, 2023. 

James Campbell Adamson is a son of Hugh A. Campbell Adamson [born 1954], of Stracathro, Angus, by his wife the former Hon Alison Mary Elliott (b 1957), daughter of the life peer Baron Elliott of Morpeth.

Hannah Campbell Adamson is a twin daughter of Archer de Haan [born 10 June, 1950], and Mrs Vivien de Haan [nee Whittall, born 1961], of Bromfield, Shropshire.

The infant descends from the Earls of Plymouth:-

Ivor Windsor-Clive, 2nd Earl of Plymouth [1889-1943] > Lady Gillian Windsor-Clive [died 1961] > Archer de Haan [b 1950] > Hannah de Haan [b 1988] > Ivo Campbell Adamson [b 2026]

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Lakin/Pike engagement

 The engagement was announced 26 March, 2026, between Hugo Alexander Lakin (born 1995), scion of the Lakin baronets, son of Michael Simon Lakin (born 26 January, 1955), of Iping, West Sussex, and his wife the former Amanda Shaw, and Katherine Louise (Katie) Pike (born 1995), daughter of Matthew William Joseph Pike (born 10 Oct, 1964), of Milland West Sussex, by his wife the former Sarah Louise Rance.

Hugo Lakin is a great-grandson of the 2nd Viscount Cowdray (1882-1933), and a descendant of Sir Michael Lakin, 1st Bt (1846-1931).

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Rhind-Tutt/Letts engagement

The engagement was announced 25 March, 2026, between George Frederick Rhind-Tutt (born 1998), son of the late Philip A. Rhind-Tutt (b 1953, d.?), and his wife Linda J. Bromwich (born 1961), & Eveleen Iona T. Letts (born 1998), daughter of Quentin Richard Stephen Letts (born 6 February, 1963), of How Caple, Herefordshire, and his wife the former Lois Henrietta Rathbone (born 1965).

Eveleen Letts is descended from the Stephen family, and from a sister of the 1st and last Baron Mount Stephen, GCVO (1829-1921), the first Canadian to be elevated to the peerage.

William Stephen (1801-1891) = Elspeth Smith > George Stephen, 1st Baron Mount Stephen (1829-1921)

William and Elspeth were also parents of Eleanora Simpson Stephen (1835-1916), who married James Cantlie (1836-1924), and were parents of Mary Stuart Cantlie (1868-1916), who married Prof John George Adami (1862-1926), and were parents of Colonel George Donald Stephen Adami (1900-49), who married Ione Katrine Johnstone, and were parents of Jocelyn Elizabeth Adami (b 1934), who married Richard Francis Bonner Letts (1928-2010), and were parents of Quentin Letts (above).

George Rhind-Tutt is a cousin of the English actor Julian Rhind-Tutt (b 20 July, 1967)

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Sir Hildebrand Harold Harmsworth, 3rd Baronet 1931-2026

 Sir Hildebrand Harold Harmsworth, 3rd Baronet, died 6 March, 2026. He was 94.

He was born 5 June, 1931, son of Sir Hildebrand Alfred Beresford Harmsworth, 2nd Bt (1901-1977), and his wife the former Elen Billenstein (who died 29 December, 2005); and succeeded to the baronetcy (created in 1922), on the death of his father, 15 November, 1977.

He was a great-nephew of the 1st Viscounts Northcliffe and Rothermere.

He married 10 August, 1960, Gillian Andrea Lewis (b circa 1939, died 8 August, 2005), by whom he had issue, a son and two daughters. The son, (Hildebrand Esmond) Miles Harmsworth (born 1 September, 1964), succeeds as 3rd baronet.

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Fane/Humphrey engagement

 The engagement was announced 25 March, 2026, between Andrew William Mildmay Fane, OBE (born 9 August, 1949), of Woodbridge, Suffolk, scion of the Earls of Westmorland, the elder son of Major Robert William Augustus Fane (1913-1989), and his wife the former Elinor Valerie Borthwick (1915-2008), scion of the Borthwick baronets, & Mrs Valerie Mae Humphrey (born 1960), of Los Angeles, Hampshire and London. 

Andrew Fane married firstly, 1989, Dame Clare Lucy Marx, DBE, DL, FRCS (born 15 March, 1954, died 27 November, 2022), sometime President of the Royal College of Surgeons.

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Sir Richard Caesar Hawkins, 9th Baronet 1958-2026

 Sir Richard Caesar Hawkins, 9th Baronet, died in South Africa, 23 February, 2026. He was 67.

He was born 29 December, 1958, a younger son of Sir Humphrey Villiers Caesar Hawkins, 7th Baronet (1923-1993), and his wife the former Anita Funkey, and was a younger brother of Sir Howard Caesar Hawkins, 8th Baronet (1956-1999), and he succeeded to the baronetcy on the death of his brother, 2 April, 1999.

He married in 1992, Ernestine Ehrensperger, daughter of Johannes Ehrensperger, by whom he had a son, Jonathan Caesar, born 23 June, 1992.

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Hon Louis Francis Edward Seymour (born 2026)

Poppy Alexandra Seymour, styled Baroness Seymour (born 7 September, 1990), wife of Sebastian Edward Seymour, styled Baron Seymour (born 3 February, 1982), gave birth to a son and heir, the Hon Louis Francis Edward Seymour, 14 January, 2026.

Lord Seymour is the son and heir of the 19th Duke of Somerset (born 30 December, 1952), and the Duchess of Somerset (nee Judith-Rose Hull, born 1952).

Lady Seymour is a daughter of John A. Wilcox, of West London, and his wife the former Gillian J. Saggers (born 1 March, 1954).

The infant is in direct line of succession to the Dukedom of Somerset.

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Peter Ringrose Latham 1949-2026

 Peter Ringrose Latham, died 10 March, 2026, aged 76.

He was born 6 May, 1949, scion of that landed gentry family of Oak Knoll, the second son of Brigadier Henry Beveridge Latham (1892-1977), and his wife the former Evelyn Helen Anne Arbuthnot (1912-1986), who was a scion of the Arbuthnot and Anstruther baronets. 

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Lady Marina Windsor and Nico Macauley name the day

Lady Marina Windsor, a granddaughter of the Duke of Kent and the late Duchess of Kent, has set the date for her marriage to her aristocratic  fiancé, Nico Macauley.

The couple plan to marry on 20 June, 2026, just a couple weeks after the marriage of the Princess Royal's son, Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling. It is not known where Marina and Nico will wed, but both are Roman Catholics, and so the churches traditionally associated with descendants of the House of Windsor can be ruled out.

It is not known when Lady Marina and Nico started dating though the socialite cousin of the King was first linked to the cyber security account executive in 2023, when she posted a selfie with Nico to mark his 30th birthday. Lady Marina recently has shared images on Instagram featuring Nico in a loving embrace at last year’s Glastonbury festival.

Nico Julian Macauley (born 6 April, 1993), is the elder son of the late William Francis Macauley (born 30 Sept, 1953), and his wife the former Nicola Jane Thompson. Nico's father died 16 June, 2019, aged 65. He was a grandson of the newspaper magnate, William Berry, 1st Viscount Camrose (1879-1954).

Nico was educated at the top Catholic school Ampleforth College in Yorkshire and at Newcastle University.

Nico's grandfather, William Perine Macauley (who died in 1990), of Ballward House, County Wicklow, married 7 April, 1948, the Hon Diana Phyllis Berry (1924-94), fourth daughter of the 1st Viscount Camrose. 

The 1st Viscount Camrose started his working life as a journalist and established his own paper, Advertising World, in 1901. Berry made his fortune with the publication of the First World War magazine The War Illustrated, which at its peak had a circulation of 750,000. In partnership with his younger brother, Gomer Berry, 1st Viscount Kemsley (the elder brother was Seymour Berry, 1st Baron Buckland), he purchased The Sunday Times in 1915 and was its editor-in-chief until 1937. In 1919 the pair also purchased the Financial Times.

In 1924 the Berry brothers and Sir Edward Iliffe set up Allied Newspapers and purchased the Daily Dispatch, the Manchester Evening Chronicle, the Sunday Chronicle, the Sunday News, and the Sunday Graphic, as well as a string of other newspapers across the country. In Cardiff they merged four newspapers into the Western Mail. In 1927 they purchased The Daily Telegraph from the 2nd Harry Levy-Lawson, 1st Viscount Burnham, with William Berry becoming its editor-in-chief. In 1937 they purchased its rival, The Morning Post.

In 1926, the Berry brothers/Allied Newspapers purchased Amalgamated Press (AP), which had been started by Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe, in 1901 (Harmsworth had died in 1922).

Berry bought out his partners in 1937 and amalgamated The Morning Post with The Daily Telegraph, with himself as chairman and editor-in-chief. His sons Seymour, the 2nd Viscount, and subsequently Michael, continued to run the newspaper until 1986; in addition, Seymour was Vice Chairman of Amalgamated Press from 1942 to 1959 (when AP was acquired by the Mirror Group).

Camrose provided financial assistance to Sir Winston Churchill after the Second World War. He and ten other wealthy well-wishers each donated £5,000 to the Churchills, allowing them to keep their home, Chartwell, on the condition that it would be presented to the nation upon their deaths.

One of Nico's great-aunts, Sheila, Countess of Birkenhead (nee Berry) (1913-92), was a lady-in-waiting to Lady Marina's great-grandmother and namesake, Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent from 1949 to 1953. Another of Nico's great-aunts was Shelagh (nee Macauley), Countess of Lisburne (who died in 2016), wife of the 8th Earl of Lisburne, a television executive. Nico's father was a first cousin of Lady Juliet Townsend, DCVO, a Lady-in-Waiting to Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon from 1971 to 2002.

Nico's cousin, Valerie McNair-Scott was wife of the 8th Earl of Longford. She died 22 January, 2023. Another cousin is the actor Joshua Sasse (born 9 December, 1987).

Lady Marina Charlotte Alexandra Katharine Helen Windsor (born 30 September, 1992), is a great-great granddaughter of King George V and a second cousin once removed of King Charles III. She is the second child, and eldest daughter of the Earl and Countess of St Andrews. Her father is the elder son and heir of HRH The Duke of Kent, who is a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II.

Lady Marina’s only brother is Edward, styled Baron Downpatrick, who will one day succeed to the dukedom of Kent. Marina’s sister, Lady Amelia, is a mannequin. Both Edward and Amelia are single. 

Nico's parents married in Westminster, 5 February, 1992. They have a younger son, Alexander Ronnie Macauley born in 1995.

Lady Marina is a Roman Catholic and excluded from the line of succession to the Throne.

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Veronica Rosetta de Courcy Parsons 1923-2026

Veronica Rosetta de Courcy Parsons (nee Glover), died 11 March, 2026. She was 103.

She was born in Bermuda, 25 January, 1923, daughter of Major-General Sir Guy de Courcy Glover, CB, DSO, MC (1887-1967), descended from the Barons Kingsale, and his wife the former Vera Phoebe Salter (1891-1983); and married 16 April, 1945, (Arthur) Christopher Parsons (born 2 June, 1919), scion of the Earls of Rosse, 1st son of Arthur David Clere Parsons (1881-1955), and his wife the former Doris Cookson (1885-1970), scion of that landed gentry family, by whom she had a son, Sir John Christopher Parsons, KCVO (born 21 May, 1946), sometime Deputy Keeper of the Privy Purse and Deputy Treasurer to HM Queen Elizabeth II, and two daughters, Rosemary Anne (born 12 May, 1948), and Daphne Phoebe (born 21 May, 1951).

Her husband died 24 October, 1999.

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Anita Lorna, Baroness Burgh 1937-2026

 Anita Lorna, Baroness Burgh, who died 14 March, 2026, aged 88, was the first wife of the late 7th Baron Burgh.

She was born in 1937, as Anita Lorna Eldridge, daughter of Frederick Clements Eldridge (1900-1973), of Gillingham, Kent, by his wife the former Alice Louisa Milner, and married 29 August, 1957 (div 1982), as his first wife the then Hon Alexander Peter Willoughby Leith (born 20 March, 1935), son and heir of the 6th Baron Burgh (1906-1959), and his 1st wife the former Elizabeth Rose Vincent (who died 1981).

Her husband succeeded his father, 26 May, 1959, as 7th (or ninth) Baron Burgh, a peerage created by Writ of Summons, 1 Sept, 1487, or sitting in Parliament, 2 Dec, 1529. He died 14 July, 2001.

Baroness Burgh, a novelist, was divorced from Lord Burgh in 1982. She leaves issue, two sons, Gregory, 8th Baron Burgh (born 16 March, 1958), and the Hon Patrick Leith (born 16 Apr, 1964), and a daughter, the Hon Rebecca Leith (born 17 Dec, 1959).

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