David Miles Backhouse 1939-2025

David Miles Backhouse, who died 23 June, 2025, aged 86, was a scion and heir presumptive to the Backhouse baronetcy held by his kinsman.

He was born 30 January, 1939, 1st son of Major Jonathan Backhouse (1907-1993), and his wife the former Alice Joan Woodroffe (1910-1984); and married 18 January, 1969, (Sophia) Ann Townsend, daughter of Colonel Clarence Henry Southgate Townsend, CBE, MC (died 1953), and his wife the former Sophia Eleanor Kidston-Montgomerie (born 1909), scion of that landed gentry family, by whom he had issue, a son, Benjamin Jonathan Backhouse (born 11 July, 1974), who is now heir presumptive to the family baronetcy, and a daughter, Cilla Gael (born 20 January, 1972).

-=-

John William Jeffrey, MBE 1934-2025

John William Jeffrey, MBE, died 26 June, 2025, aged 91.

He was a son of William George Jeffrey (1906-1990), of Market Harborough, Leicestershire, and his wife the former Helen Blanche Clarke; and married 1stly, 2 February, 1963, the Hon Oonagh Elizabeth Gibson (1935-1991), daughter of Vice-Admiral the 3rd Baron Ashbourne, CB, DSO, RN (1901-1983); and married 2ndly, 1992, Mrs Shirley Marion Reynolds. From his first marriage he leaves a son, Paul, and a daughter, Kate.

-=-

Ludo George Jelle Smyly (born 2025)

 Sanderijn M. Smyly (nee Wuelen Kranenberg), wife of Hugo Richard Seymour Smyly [born 15 June, 1990], descended from the Barons Buckland, gave birth to a son, Ludo George Jelle, 12 June, 2025, a brother for  Violet Elisabeth Noortje, who was born 29 June, 2023.

Hugo Smyly is the eldest son of Captain [Richard] Mark Smyly [born 1943], of the 16th/5th Queen's Royal Lancers, of Kingston Lisle, Oxfordshire, and the Hon Harriet Lucy Smyly [nee Beckett, born 18 February, 1961].

Sanderijn Smyly is a daughter of Mr and Mrs Ruurd Weulen Kranenberg, of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Hugo Smyly is a grandson paternally of Col. Dennis Douglas Pilkington Smyly, DSO, of the 16th/5th Queen's Royal Lancers, who married  1939, the Hon Dorothy Margaret Berry, one of the five daughter of the 1st Baron Buckland [1877-1928]. 

Hugo Smyly is a grandson maternally of Brigadier the 4th Baron Grimthorpe [1915-2003], of Westow Hall, York, and his wife the former Lady Elizabeth Lumley, DCVO [1925-2020], sometime Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, daughter of the 11th Earl of Scarbrough, KG [1896-1969].

-=-

Archie Alexander Leslie Melville (born 2025)

Serena Daisy Lockwood Leslie Melville (nee Clay, born 17 May, 1993), wife of George William Leslie Melville (born 1993), scion of the Earls of Leven & Melville, gave birth to a son, Archie Alexander, 7 May, 2025.

 Serena Leslie Melville is the middle daughter of Mr Jeremy Mark Lockwood Clay (born 1961), of Kent, and his wife the former Caroline S. Bird.

George Leslie Melville is the second son of James Hugh Leslie Melville (born 5 November, 1960), of Fife, and his wife the former Clare Jean Heywood-Lonsdale (born 15 July, 1961), scion of that landed gentry family.

George's mother, Clare, is a cousin of the Duchess of Devonshire.

-=-

Fitzalan Howard/Mathieson marriage

The marriage took place on 15 June 2025, at Islington Town Hall, between William John Fitzalan Howard (born 4 March, 1995), scion of the Dukes of Norfolk, eldest son of Alexander Rupert Fitzalan-Howard (born 29 February, 1964), of Sudbury, Derbyshire, and his wife the former Hon Joanna Elizabeth Venables-Vernon (born 30 September, 1965), and James Robert C. Mathieson (born 1996), second son of Mr George R.M. Mathieson, of Ludham, Norfolk, and his wife the former Carole J. Birch.

-=-

Gregorie/Astor engagement

The engagement was announced 28 June, 2025, between Fergus George Harwood Gregorie (born 1998), son of Hamish Harwood Gregorie (born 1964), of Igtham, near Sevenoaks, Kent, and his wife the former Belinda Jane Stanford Ivens (born 1967), & Lucy Valentine Astor (born 21 February, 1998), scion of the Barons Astor of Hever, elder daughter of James Alexander Waldorf Astor (born 16 September, 1965), of Bucklebury, West Berkshire, and his wife the former Janine Valentine.

-=-

Hunter Blair/Briggs marriage

The marriage took place 21 June, 2025, at St Cuthbert's Church, Straiton, between Ronan Patrick Hunter Blair (born 1995), son and heir of Sir Patrick David Hunter Blair, 9th Baronet (born 12 May, 1958), and his wife the former Marguerite O'Neill, and Dr Emily Jane Eliza Briggs (born May 1994), daughter of Peter E. Briggs, and his wife the former Stephanie Batty.

-=-

Ellanah Patricia Mary Pullinger (born 2025)

Rosanna Mary Pullinger (born 30 Dec, 1991, nee Hedley), wife of John Martin Horsley (Jack) Pullinger (born 1985), gave birth to a daughter, Ellanah Patricia Mary, 8 June, 2025.

Jack Pullinger is a son of Anthony Pullinger (born 1955), and his wife the former Henrietta Mary Conyngham Corfield (born 1958), scion of that landed gentry family.

Rosanna Pullinger is a daughter of Nicholas Edward John Hedley (born 1962), and his wife the former Elizabeth Diana Noel McCarthy (born 1962), and a granddaughter of Capt Gordon Shafto Hedley, and his wife the former Gabrielle Anne Mary Schillizzi (born Oct 1936), scion of that landed gentry family, and descended from the Earls Waldegrave.

-=-

Kerstin Sofie Paton-Smith (died 2025)

 Kerstin Sofie Paton-Smith died 12 June, 2025, aged 49.

She was a daughter of Klas Nyberg and wife of Harry Paton-Smith, descended from the Scottish landed family of Grant of Rothiemurchus and the Buxton baronets. She is survived by her husband, and son Henry Anders Ludovic (born 2014).

-=-

 

Patricia Anne Ringrose-Voase c1934-2025

Patricia Anne Ringrose-Voase died 16 June, 2025, aged 90.

She was born circa 1934, daughter of Commander Charles Skinner Bushe, RN (1902-1962), and his wife Lucinda Patricia, and married 7 April, 1958, Lieutenant-Commander Christopher John Ringrose-Voase, MBE, RN (1929-1990), head of that landed gentry family, son of John Reginald Ringrose-Voase (1903-1956), and his wife the former Florence Marjorie Grandage (1903-1970). She had issue, two sons, Anthony and Christopher, and two daughters, Lucinda and Alexandra.

-=- 

Juliet Diana Margaret Jowitt (nee Brackenbury) 1940-2025

 Juliet Margaret Diana Jowitt (nee Brackenbury), JP, DL, who died 19 June, 2025, aged 84, was a scion of the Brackenbury landed gentry family.

She was born in August, 1940, a daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Henry Langton Brackenbury, OBE (1903-1979), and his wife the former Eleanor Trewlove Springman (1907-1971); and married in 1963, (Frederick) Thomas Benson Jowitt (1933-2020), son of William Thomas Benson Jowitt (1901-1941), and his wife the former Margaret Jean Law (1906-1992), by whom she had issue, a son, William and a daughter, Susannah.

-=-

Hoare/Booth-Clibborn engagement

The engagement was announced 27 June, 2025, between Oscar George St John Hoare (born 16 July, 1998), elder son of Christopher Henry St John (Toby) Hoare (born 1960), of Notting Hill, and his wife the former Hon Sarah Jane Dixon-Smith (born 16 Dec, 1960), daughter of the life peer the Baron Dixon-Smith (born 30 Sept, 1934), & Edwina Loyse Vera Beville Booth-Clibborn (born 23 December, 1994), eldest daughter of Charles Beville Booth-Clibborn (born 1963), of Kensington, and his wife the former Leonie Frein von Oppenheim (born 1966).

-=-

 

Derek Aan Whiting, OBE 1931-2025

Derek Alan Whiting, OBE, died 23 June, 2025, aged 93.

He was born in 1931. He married firstly, 4 April, 1962, as her first husband, the Lady Frances Esmé Curzon (1939-2020), daughter of the 5th Earl Howe, CBE, VD, PC (1884-1964),and his second wife the former Joyce Mary McLean Jack; married 2ndly, 14 December, 1972, (Angela) Clare Forbes (born 1945), daughter of Sir Archibald Finlayson Forbes (1903-1989), and his wife the former Angela Gertrude Ely.

He leaves two sons from his marriage to Lady Frances, (1) Francis (born 15 Aug, 1965), and (2) Alexander (born 27 June, 1967).

-=-

Mary Bridget Rowan Hamilton 1932-2025

Mary Bridget Rowan Hamilton (née Blakiston Houston), has died aged 93.

She was born 8 August, 1932, a scion of the Blakiston baronets, the eldest daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel John Matthew Blakiston Houston (1898-1984), and his wife the former Lettice Arden Stobart (1905-1982), scion of that landed gentry family.

She married 4 September, 1956, Capt Gawaine Leslie Rowan Hamilton (1923-2014), scion of that Irish landed gentry family, third son of Brigadier Gawaine Basil (Guy) Rowan Hamilton, DSO, MC (1884-1947), and his wife the former Phyllis Frances Blackburn, a granddaughter maternally of the 13th Earl of Strathmore & Kinghorne (1824-1904), and thus a cousin of HM Queen Elizabeth, consort of King George VI.

Mrs Rowan Hamilton, who was widowed 6 February, 2014, leaves issue, a son, (James) Hamish John (born 6 May, 1961), and a daughter, Catherine Nicola Blanche (born 2 Aug, 1957), and was predeceased by a son, Patrick Gawaine (born 1 Feb, 1964, died 6 Feb, 2000).

-=-

Heathcoat Amory/McIntyre engagement

 The engagement was announced 26 June, 2025, between Benjamin David Heathcoat Amory (born 22 August, 1983), fourth son of Sir Ian Heathcoat Amory, 6th Baronet (born 3 February, 1942), and his wife the former (Frances) Louise Pomeroy (born 20 October, 1947), scion of the Viscounts Harberton, & Zoe McIntyre, daughter of Michael McIntyre by his wife Anne.

-=-

 

Nicholas Clements 1957-2025

Nicholas Clements died 10 June, 2025, aged 68.

He was a son of Arthur Clements, CBE (1926-2016), & married in 1996, Fenella Jane Barton (born 10 March, 1965), daughter of (Malcolm) Peter Speight Barton, DL (born 1937), and his wife the former Julia Margaret Lindsay (1941-2022), scion of the Earls of Crawford & Balcarres., by whom he had issue, two sons, Oliver and Dominic and a daughter, Lucinda.

-=-

Edward (Ned) Soames (born 2025)

 Antonia Lucy Diana Soames [née Harington, born 1991 ], wife of Arthur Christopher Soames [born 1990], scion of that landed gentry family, gave birth to a son, Edward (Ned), 18 June, 2025, a brother for Clementine, who was born 5 August, 2022.

Antonia Soames, a scion of the Harington baronets, is a goddaughter of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, and a cousin of Kit Harington, the Game of Thrones actor, daughter of Jonathan Edward McCalmont Harington [born 14 March, 1955], of Barnwell, Northamptonshire, by his wife the former Susan Antonia Fenwick [born 1960], a school friend of the then Lady Diana Spencer.

Arthur Soames, is a son of the Hon Rupert Christopher Soames [born 18 May, 1959], of Cuddington, Buckinghamshire, by his wife the former Camilla Rose Dunne, scion of that landed family, and is a grandson of the late Baron Soames [1920-87], and a great-grandson of Sir Winston Churchill, KG [1874-1965]

-=-

Hon Venetia Daphne Forbes 1933-2025

The Hon Venetia Daphne Forbes died 17 June, 2025. She was 91.

She was born Venetia Daphne Weeks, 29 August, 1933, the second daughter of Lieutenant-General the 1st and last Baron Weeks, KCB, CBE, DSO, MC (1890-1960), and his wife the former Cynthia Mary Irvine (1896-1985); and married 1stly, 10 April, 1954, Peter Troubridge (born 6 June, 1927), son of Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Hope Troubridge, KCB, DSO (1895-1949), and his wife the former Lily Emily Kleinwort (1900-1983), scion of the Kleinwort baronets. Her husband succeeded to the baronetcy (cr 1799), 16 December, 1963, and died in 1988. She married 2ndly, 18 April, 1995, Capt William Frederick Eustace (Derick) Forbes, 7th of Callendar (1932-2025), head of that Scottish landed family, son of Lt-Col William Dudley Henry Charles Forbes 6th of Callender (1902-1977), and his wife the former Elizabeth Vesey, scion of the Viscounts De Vesci.

The Hon Venetia Forbes leaves issue from her first marriage, a son, Sir Thomas Troubridge, 7th Baronet (born 23 January, 1955), and two daughters, Amanda (born 26 May, 1957), and Camilla (born 14 Sept, 1961).

-=-

John Dru Montagu 1932-2025

 (John) Dru Montagu, who died 4 June, 2025, aged 93, was a scion of the Earls of Sandwich.

He was born 22 May, 1932, son of the Hon William Drogo Sturges Montagu (1908-killed in action 1940), by his 1st wife the former Tanis Eva Bulkeley Guinness (1908-1993), scion of the banking arm of the Guinness brewing dynasty.

Montagu's home for some years was Hall Place, West Meon, Hampshire, former home of the 3rd Baron Ashcombe, and where HM Queen Camilla spent her childhood. Dru Montagu served as a Lieutenant, Royal Navy. He married 1stly, 24 May, 1958, Sarah Maria de Palacio, daughter of Manolo de Palacio, of Madrid; married 2ndly, 1977, Maria Elena 'Minnie' Buckmaster, daughter of Richard Guy Buckmaster, by his wife the former Helen Jacqueline Leche .

From his first marriage he leaves four daughters, Sarah (Bridget) Doon (born 2 Jan, 1961), Claire Mary (born 1962), and Sarah Tanis (Sarita) (born 6 May, 1965). From his second marriage he leaves a son, (Paul Patrick) Drogo (born 1979), and a daughter, Kyra (born 1978).

Dru Montagu was a grandson of the 9th Earl of Sandwich (1874-1962), and his wife the former Alberta Sturges (1877-1951).

-=-

Lt-Col Patrick Michael Richard Stacpoole 1930-2025

Lieutenant-Colonel Patrick Michael Richard Stacpoole, who died 18 June, 2025, aged 94, was head of that Irish landed gentry family.

He was born 5 September, 1930, son of Lt-Col Richard Hassard Stacpoole, MC (1896-1973), and his wife the former Helen Muriel Clare Morphy (1901-1978), and succeeded his father, 10 March, 1973. He married 4 January, 1958, Susan Saguenay Catherine Robertshaw (born 1937), daughter of Vice Admiral Sir Ballin Illingworth Robertshaw, KBE, CB (1902-1971), & his first wife the former Hannah Catherine Luard (1910-1948), scion of that landed gentry family, by whom he had issue, three sons, Richard (born 17 Dec, 1959), Mark (born 1961), and James (born 1964).

-=-