Sara, Viscountess Allenby 1942-2023

 Sara, Viscountess Allenby, widow of the 3rd Viscount, died 14 October, 2023. She was 80.

She was born 28 December, 1942 as Sara Margaret Wiggin, scion of the Wiggin baronets, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Milner Wiggin (1907-1994), and his wife the former Margaret Frances Livingstone-Learmonth (1914-1999), scion of that Scots landed gentry family; and married 29 July, 1965, the Hon Michael Jaffray Hynman Allenby (born 20 April, 1931), son and heir of the 2nd Viscount Allenby (1903-1984), and his wife the former Gertrude Mary Lethbridge Champneys (1905-1988), scion of that landed gentry family. Her husband served as Lieutenant-Colonel in the Royal Hussars (Prince Albert's Own), formely 11th Hussars. He fought in the Malayan Campaign between 1953 and 1956. He was Aide-de-Camp to the Governor of Cyprus between 1957 and 1958. He was Brigade-Major of the 51st Brigade, Hong Kong between 1967 and 1969. He was Commander of the Royal Yeomanry (Territorial Army) between 1974 and 1977.1 He was General Staff Officer and Instructor of the Nigerian Staff College, Kaduna between 1977 and 1979, and succeeded his father as 3rd Viscount Allenby, 17 July, 1984. He died 3 October, 2014.

Viscountess Allenby leaves a son, Henry, 4th Viscount Allenby, who was born 29 July, 1968.

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Latest descendant of the Royal House of Windsor ...

 Amy Rose Lascelles [born 26 June, 1986], scion of the Earls of Harewood, and partner of Mr Matthew Michael Bolton born 1990], gave birth to a daughter, Bailey Blue, circa 23 October, 2023, a sister for Marlow Fox [Lascelles] Bolton, who was born 20 July, 2020.

Amy Lascelles is the second daughter of the Hon [Robert] Jeremy Hugh Lascelles [born 14 February, 1955], by his first wife the former Julie Baylis [born 19 July, 1957], and is a granddaughter of the late 7th Earl of Harewood, KBE [1923-2011], by his first wife the former Maria Donata (Marion) Nanetta Paulina Gustava Erwina Wilhelmina Stein [later Mrs Jeremy Thorpe] [1926-2014].

The infant is a great-great granddaughter of HRH The Princess Mary, Princess Royal, Countess of Harewood, CI, GCVO, GBE [1897-1965], and a great-great-great granddaughter of HM King George V [1865-1936], and HM Queen Mary [1867-1953].

Matt Bolton is a son of Kevin M. Bolton, and his wife the former Patricia A. Best.

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McFarlan/Fitzalan Howard engagement

The engagement was announced 28 October, 2023, between Donald McAndrew Hamilton McFarlan (born 30 September, 1993), only son of the late Donald Richmond McQueen McFarlan (1952-2012), and his wife Mrs Kate Patricia McFarlan (born 1957, nee Hamilton), of Charlton, Sussex, and the Lady Isabel Serena Mary Fitzalan Howard (born 7 February, 1994), second and youngest daughter of the 18th Duke of Norfolk, GCVO, DL (born 2 December, 1956), of Arundel Castle, Sussex, and of his 1st wife Georgina Susan, Duchess of Norfolk (born 30 January, 1962, nee Gore).

The Duke of Norfolk is the Earl Marshal and Premier Duke in the Peerage of England.

Donald McFarlan is descended maternally from the Irish landed family of Hamilton, of Leix, and the extinct Earls of Leitrim

The 2nd Earl of Leitrim (1768-1854) > Rev Hon Francis Nathaniel Clements (1812-70) > Louisa Clements (1843-1939) > George Francis Clements Hamilton (1879-1900) > Ronald Marsden Clements Hamilton (1899-1953) >  Peter Napier Hamilton (b 1923) > Kate Patricia Hamilton (b 1957) > Donald McFarlan (born 1993) 

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Christopher Roger (Kit) Berkeley (born 2023)

 Isabel K. Berkeley (nee Stoddart), wife of Robert Francis Berkeley [born  1989], scion of that landed family, gave birth to a son, Christopher Roger (Kit), 12 October, 2023.

Isabel is the eldest daughter of Mr & Mrs Mark Stoddart, of Cholsey, Oxfordshire, and Robert Berkeley is the son of the late Roger Maurice Berkeley [1961-2011], by his wife the former Victoria Selmon [now of Milstead, Kent].

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Charles Cornelius Maconochie Welwood 1939-2023

Charles Cornelius Maconochie Welwood, who died 22 October, 2023, aged 84, was head of the Scots landed gentry family of that name. He was a grandson maternally of the 10th Earl of Carlisle.

He was born in 1939, son of Laurence Robert Maconochie Welwood (1902-1978), and his wife the Lady Elizabeth Henrietta Howard (1903-1969), scion of the Earls of Carlisle; and married 4 May, 1964, Valerie Eileen Upson (1939-2012), daughter of Harold Kenneth Upson, of Kenya, by whom he leaves issue, a son, Robert James (born 4 February, 1967), who succeeds as head of the landed gentry family.

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A son for James & Alizée Middleton

 Alizée Middleton (nee Thevenet), wife of James William Middleton [born 15 April, 1987], a descendant of the Conyers baronets, has given birth to a son, Inigo.

James is the only son of Michael Francis Middleton [born 23 June, 1949], by his wife the former Carole Elizabeth Goldsmith [born 31 January, 1955].

Alizée Middleton [born circa 1990], is a daughter of Jean-Gabriel Louis Thevenet [1959-2021].

James is the brother of HRH The Princess of Wales, GCVO, and descends from the Conyers baronets.

Sir Thomas Conyers, 9th Baronet [1731-1810] > Jane Conyers [1758-1813] > Jane Hardy [1795-1864] > Anthony Liddle [1817-57] > Jane Liddle [1839-81] > John Harrison [1874-1918] > Thomas Harrison [1904-76] > Dorothy Harrison [1935-2006] > Carole Goldsmith [b 1955] > James Middleton [b 1987] > Inigo Middleton [b 2023]

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Robie David Corbett Uniacke 1935-2023

 Robie David Corbett Uniacke, who died 13 October, 2023, aged 88, was head of the Irish landed gentry family of that name; born in 1935, son of Lieutenant-Colonel Robie Dennis Woodgate Uniacke (1905-1942), Royal Tank Regiment, killed in action at Tobruk, 2 June, 1942, and his wife the former Edith Barbara Corbett (1905-2000). 

He married firstly, 1957, Jennifer Sally Cunningham (1936-1968), daughter of Commander Maxwell Cunningham, RN, and his wife the former Elsie Veronica Havelock Groves; married 2ndly, 10 March, 1972 (div), as her second husband, the Hon Susan Geraldine Verney (1942-2009), former wife of Jeremy James Wagg, and daughter of the 20th Baron Willoughby de Broke (1896-1986), and his wife the former Rachel Wrey (1911-1991), scion of the Wrey baronets; and married 3rd, in Oct, 1991, (Sarah) Carinthia Alston-Roberts-West (born 1951), the model, actress, photographer, scion of that landed gentry family, daughter of General Sir Michael Montgomerie Alston-Roberts-West, GCB, DSO** (1905-1978), and his wife the former Christine Sybil Oppenheim (1913-2000), descended from the Barons Dunboyne.

From his first marriage he had issue, a son, Robie Patrick Maxwell Uniacke (born 8 Oct, 1960), who succeeds as head of the landed gentry family, and a daughter, Camilla Alexandra (born 1959), and from his second marriage he had a son, Caspar John (born 14 March, 1973), and a daughter, Kate Rachel (born in 1975, and died 10 July, 1979).

The funeral takes place at Stonefall Crematorium, Harrogate on 7 November, 2023.

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Theodore Holland Beaumont (born 2023)

Elizabeth Louise Beaumont (nee Holland, born 1990), wife of Richard Christian Beaumont [born 27 May, 1989], scion of the Viscounts Allendale, gave birth to a son, Theodore Holland, 13 October, 2023.

Richard Beaumont is the second son of the Hon Hubert Wentworth Beaumont [born 13 Apr, 1956], of County Kildare, Ireland, and Katherine Emma [Kate] Beaumont [nee Abel Smith, born 11 March, 1961], of Nottinghamshire.

Elizabeth Beaumont is a daughter of Michael G. Holland, of Bramcote, Nottinghamshire, and his wife the former Margaret H. Osborne.

Richard Beaumont, a grandson of the late life peer the Baron Beaumont of Whitley [1928-2008] is also a descendant of Queen Victoria. 

Queen Victoria [1819-1901] > Prince Leopold [1853-84] > Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone [1883-1981] > Lady May Abel Smith [1906-94] > Richard Abel Smith [1933-2004] > Kate Abel Smith [b 1961] > Richard Beaumont [b 1989] > Theodore Holland Beaumont (born 2023)

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The Baron Elder 1950-2023

 Lord Elder, a Labour politician and life peer, died 24 October, 2023. He was 73.

Thomas Murray Elder was educated at the Kirkcaldy High School and graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a Master of Arts in economic history. He was a childhood friend of former Labour leader Gordon Brown.

From 1972 to 1980, Elder worked for the Bank of England. From 1984 to 1992, he was a member of the Scottish Labour Party, and since 1988 its General Secretary. He was also a Labour member of the Executive of the Scottish Constitutional Convention (1989-1992). After this, Elder became the chief of staff to MP John Smith, a post he held until 1994. He was a special adviser to Donald Dewar, Secretary of State for Scotland, at the Scottish Office from 1997 to 1999. He was created a life peer as Baron Elder, of Kirkcaldy in Fife on 19 July 1999.

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David Holford Benson 1938-2023

 David Holford Benson, who died 17 October, 2023, aged 85, was a scion of the landed gentry family of Stanway House.

He was born 26 February, 1938, the second son of Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Reginald Lindsay (Rex) Benson, DSO, MVO, MC (1889-1968),  of Cucumber Farm, Singleton, near Chichester, Sussex, and his wife, Leslie (1907-81), former wife of Condé Montrose Nast (1873-1942), and daughter of Albert Volney Foster (1877-1950), of Lake Forest, Illinois, United States, and his wife the former Grace Isabelle Lindsay (1886-1908); and married 17 October, 1964, the Lady Elizabeth Mary Charteris (born 2 July, 1941), eldest child of the 12th Earl of Wemyss & March (1912-2008), and his 1st wife the former Mavis Lynette Gordon Murray (1911-1988), by whom he had issue, a son, Matthew James (born 26 June, 1966), and two daughters, Henrietta Katherine (born 29 March, 1969), and Katharine Emma (born 7 May, 1972).

He died on his 59th wedding anniversary. 

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Granddaughter for the Earl of Lindsay ....

 HRH The Duchess of Noto (nee Lady Charlotte Diana Lindesay-Behtune, born 12 May, 1993), wife of His Royal Highness Prince Jaime of Bourbon Two Sicilies, Duke of Noto [born at Madrid, 26 June, 1992], gave birth to a daughter, HRH Princess Francesca Sofia of Bourbon Two Sicilies, in London, 13 October, 2023.

The Duke of Noto is the eldest son of HRH Prince Pedro Juan Maria Alejo Saturnino y todos los Santos, Duke of Calabria (born Madrid, 16 October, 1968), by his wife HRH The Duchess of Calabria [nee Sofia Landaluce y Melgarejo, born Madrid, 23 Nov, 1973].

The Duchess of Noto is a scion of the Earls of Lindsay, the third and youngest daughter of James Randolph Lindesay-Bethune, 16th Earl of Lindsay [born 19 November, 1955], by his wife the former Diana Mary Chamberlayne-Macdonald [born 12 September, 1961], scion of that landed gentry family.

(* from Wikipedia: Prince Pedro is currently one of two claimants to the headship of the House of the Two Sicilies, since the death of his father on 5 October 2015. The other claimant is Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro. Pedro is claimant to the Sovereignty of the Constantinian Order, Grand Master of the Order of Saint Januarius, President of the Council of the four Spanish Military Orders of Santiago, Calatrava, Alcántara and Montesa, and Grand Commander of the Military Order of Alcántara.He also bears the official dignity of Grandee of Spain as the son of an Infante of Spain.

The death of his grandmother in 2017 additionally made him the heir general of the Kings of Navarre (co-sovereign of Andorra), Castile, and Aragon, of Edward the Confessor and David I of Scotland, and genealogical representative of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Louis XIII of France, Louis XVI of France and Charles X of France from whom he descends directly through the latter’s grand-daughter Louise Marie Thérèse of Artois. He graduated with honours in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Castilla-La Mancha and completed his military service in the Spanish Royal Guard.

Professionally, he has worked as a structural engineer, and manages the family estate, La Toledana, in Ciudad Real, Spain as well as other landed estates in Spain.)

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Lieutenant-Colonel (John) Hugh Pitman, OBE 1935-2023

 Lieutenant-Colonel (John) Hugh Pitman, OBE, who died 11 October, 2023, aged 88, was a scion of that landed family, a descendant of Sir Isaac Pitman, who invented the shorthand system of writing, and sometime commanding oficer of the Blues and Royals.

He was born 6 August, 1935, son of Capt John Pitman (1907-Killed in action, 1943), and his wife the former Elizabeth Cattanach Donaldson (1908-1997); and was a brother of Lavinia Pitman (born 18 Apr, 1941), wife of the 5th Baron Fermoy (1939-1984), uncle of Diana, Princess of Wales.

He married firstly, in 1961 (divorced 1991), Rosemary Alice Dickinson (1940-2010), scion of that landed gentry family, daughter of Robert Joicey Dickinson (1901-81) and his wife the former Alice Penelope Barnett (1907-85); and married 2ndly, in 1991, (Helen) Ruth White (born 1957), daughter of Albert Edward White, and his wife the former Jane Hutchison.

His first wife, Rosemary, married 2ndly, as his second wife, 7 February, 1996, Brigadier Andrew Henry Parker Bowles, OBE (born 27 Dec, 1939), one of his fellow Blues & Royals officers, and former husband of Her Majesty Queen Camilla, son of Derek Henry Parker Bowles (1915-77), and of Dame Ann Parker Bowles, DCVO (1918-1987), &c.

Lt-Col Pitman is survived by three children from his first marriage, Henry (born 28 Oct, 1962), William (born 13 Jun 1965), and Thomas (born 5 Jul 1969), and three children from his second marriage, Alexander (born 15 Feb 1992), Christopher (born 21 Nov, 1993), and Ella (born 24 July, 1999). A daughter from his first marriage, Sophie, was born and died in March, 1964.

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Yule/Lawson engagement

 The engagement was announced 21 October, 2023, between Alastair J. Yule, son of Mr and Mrs Andrew Yule of La Fouly, Switzerland, and Tess Lawson (born 30 August, 1988), scion of the Lawson baronets, daughter of Sir Charles John Patrick Lawson, 4th Baronet (born 19 May, 1959), of St Mawgan, Cornwall, and his wife the former Lady Caroline Lowther (born 11 March, 1959), daughter of the late 7th Earl of Lonsdale (1922-2006), and his wife, and kinswoman, the Hon Jennifer Lowther (1932-2021), scion of the Viscounts Ullswater.

Tess Lawson is a niece of the 9th Earl of Lonsdale (born 9 July, 1957).

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Bailey/Kelly engagement

The engagement was announced 21 October, 2023, between William Nicholas Corner Bailey (born 7 January, 1993), a descendant of the Brown and Vestey baronets, son of Mark Corner Bailey, of Great Massingham, Norfolk, and his former wife the former Jane Elizabeth Clifton-Brown (now Mrs Jane Nehsam, of Cowlinge, Suffolk, born 31 Oct, 1954), and Jessica R. Kelly, daughter of Mr and Mrs Paddy Kelly, of Buncrana, Donegal, Ireland.

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Anne Veronica Theresa Ponsonby (née Maynard) 1924-2023

 Mrs Myles Ponsonby, who died 3 October, 2023, aged 98, was the widow of a scion of the Barons De Mauley.

In the Second World War she was an SOE coder and telegraphist.

The former Anne Veronica Theresa Maynard was born 23 December, 1924, a daughter of Brigadier Francis Herbert Maynard, CB, DSO, MC (1881-1979), sometime ADC to King George VI, and his wife the former Ethel Elizabeth Bates (1881-1978); and married 20 May, 1950, Myles Walter Ponsonby, CBE (1924-1999), scion of the Barons De Mauley, son of Victor Coope Ponsonby (1887-1966), and his wife the former Gladys Edith Walter (1895-1964); by whom she had issue, a son, Air Vice Marshal John Maurice Maynard Ponsonby, OBE, FRACS (1955-2022), and two daughters, Belinda Mary (born 5 May, 1951), and Emma Christina (born 29 Oct, 1959).

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Etta Cara Star Holdsworth Hunt (born 2023)

 Beth M. Holdsworth Hunt [nee Horne], wife of Piers Richard Holdsworth Hunt [born 1980], gave birth to a daughter, Etta Cara Star, 4 October, 2023, a sister for Lena Mary, who was born 14 February, 2021.

Beth Holdsworthn Hunt is a daughter of Mr & Mrs John Horne, of St Saviour, Jersey.

Piers, a descendant of the Barons Braybrooke, is the younger son of Mr Christopher Holdsworth Hunt [born 2 August, 1942], of Holland Park, London, and his 2nd wife Mrs Joanne Lesley Starr Minoprio, née Reynolds.

Piers Holdsworth Hunt is a grandson of Maj. Peter Holdsworth Hunt [1917-96], and his first wife the former Monica Neville [who died 1969], scion of the Braybrooke barons. Monica married 12 May, 1955, the third of her four husbands, and as his third wife, Lt-Col Thomas William Arnold Anson, styled Viscount Anson [1913-58], son and heir of the 4th Earl of Lichfield [1883-1960].

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The Baroness Empey, MBE (died 2023)

 Lady Empey, MBE, who has died in a Belfast hospice was the wife the Ulster politician, the Lord Empey, a life baron.

The former Stella Ethna Donnan, she married in 1977, Reginald Norman Morgan Empey, OBE (born 26 October, 1947), who was appointed OBE (1994), knighted in 1999, and raised to the peerage for life, in 2011, as Baron Empey, of Shandon in the City and Borough of Belfast.

Her husband best known as Reg Empey, is a Unionist politician from Northern Ireland, who was the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 2005 to 2010. He was the chairman of the Ulster Unionist Party from 2012 to 2019. Empey was also twice Lord Mayor of Belfast and was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for East Belfast from 1998 to 2011.

Lady Empey, who was appointed MBE in 2007 for services to the community in Northern Ireland, leaves issue, a son the Hon Christopher Empey, and a daughter the Hon Julie-Anne.

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Donald Cameron of Lochiel, CVO, DL 1946-2023

Donald Cameron of Lochiel, CVO, DL, 27th Chief of the Clan Cameron, died 20 October, 2023. He was 77.

Donald Angus Cameron was born 2 August, 1946, son of Sir Donald Hamish Cameron, 26th Chief of the Clan Cameron, Knight of the Thistle (1910-2004), and his wife the former Margaret Doris Gathorne-Hardy (1913-2006), scion of the Earls of Cranbrook.

He was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders (TA) in 1966, and was later a chartered accountant (FCA, 1971); he served as president of the Highland Society of London charity 1994-96. In 1986, he was appointed a Deputy lieutenant of Inverness-shire, and later served as the Lord Lieutenant of Inverness-shire from 2002 until 2021. In 2017, he was appointed a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order. He and his wife were great friends of the King and Queen, and His Majesty stood sponsor at the christening of Cameron's daughter, Catherine.

Upon the death of his father, 26 May, 2004, he assumed the chiefship of Clan Cameron, becoming the 27th Lochiel. 

He married 1 June 1974, at St. Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh, the Lady Cecil Nennella Therese Kerr, OBE (born 22 April, 1948), daughter of the 12th Marquess of Lothian, KCVO (1922-2004), by his wife Antonella Newland (1922-2007). They had four children, Catherine Mary (born 1 May, 1975), ,the Rt Hon Donald Cameron, MSP (born 26 Nov, 1976), who now succeeds as 28th Chief of the Clan, Lucy Margot Therese (born 5 July, 1980), a goddaughter of the Princess Royal, and Emily Frances (born 18 January, 1986).

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Atticus Jeremy Hamilton Wills (born 2023)

Lucy Eleanor Wills (born 1987, nee Brooke), wife of Benjamin James Hamilton Wills [born 1988], scion of the Barons Dulverton, 15 March, 2023, a brother for Flora Mary Hamilton, who was born 4 March, 2021.

Benjamin is a son of the late Capt Jeremy Robert Hamilton Wills [1955-2015], by his wife the former Alison Mary Malkin [born 1954], of Charlbury, co Oxon, & Lucy is a daughter of Michael W. Brooke, of London, by his wife the former Susannah R. Williams-Ellis [born 1955], scion of that landed gentry family, daughter of John Richard Baldwyn Williams-Ellis [1923-89].

Benjamin Wills is a great-grandson of the 1st Baron Dulverton [1880-1956].

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Henrietta Croker Poole (née Walford) 1940-2023

Henrietta Croker Poole (née Walford), died 11 October, 2023, aged 82. She was a scion of the Walford landed gentry family.

She was born in 1940, daughter of Geoffrey Hugh Walford (1902-1968), and his 2nd wife the former Ursula Barnett (1904-1980), scion of that landed gentry family; and married 4 September, 1965, (Arthur) Anthony Croker Poole (who died 30 July, 2021, aged 85), son of Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Edward Croker Poole [1900-1980], and his wife the former Jean Margaret Balfour Watson [died 2001], descended from the Balfour-Melville landed gentry family.

Her husband was a brother of Sarah [Sally] Croker Poole [born 28 January, 1940] now Princess Salimah Aga Khan, the fashion model, who married [1] 25 June, 1959 [div 1968] Lord James Charles Crichton-Stuart [1935-82], scion of the Marquesses of Bute, and [2] 1969 [div 1995], His Highness The Aga Khan [born 13 Dec, 1936].

She leaves a son Rupert (born 1966), and a daughter, (Emma) Eugenie (born 1970).

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