Marie-Thérèse, Viscountess Sidmouth (died 2025)

Marie-Thérèse, Viscountess Sidmouth, who died 23 January, 2025, aged 97, was the second wife of the late 7th Viscount Sidmouth.

She was born Marie-Thérèse Sheridan, daughter of Sir Joseph Alfred Sheridan (1882-1964), sometime Chief Justice of Kenya, by his wife the former Muriel Macaulay; and married 1stly, 11 July, 1950, Francis Anthony Baring Pollen (1926-1987), scion of the baronets of that name, son of Arthur Joseph Lawrence Pollen (1899-1968), and his wife the Hon Daphne Baring (1904-1986), daughter of the 3rd Baron Revelstoke (1864-1934). She married 2ndly, 2 October, 1993, as his second wife, John Addington, 7th Viscount Sidmouth (born 3 Oct, 1914), son of the 6th Viscount Addington (1887-1976), and his wife the former Gladys Mary Dever Hughes (who died 14 Apr, 1983). The 7th Viscount Sidmouth died 30 January, 2005.

From her first marriage she leaves issue, a son, John Pollen (born 23 Aug, 1959), and four daughters, (1) Mary Clare (born 2 June, 1951), who is Countess of Oxford & Asquith; (2) Katherine (born 25 July, 1954), Roseanna (born 25 Oct, 1956), and Mary Louise (born 29 June, 1969).

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Lady Ellinor Caroline Gordon Lennox 1952-2025

 The Lady Ellinor Caroline Gordon Lennox, who died 24 January, 2025, aged 72, was the eldest child of the late 10th Duke of Richmond and Gordon (1929-2017), of Goodwood, Sussex, and the late Duchess of Richmond and Gordon (nee Susan Monica Grenville-Grey 1932-2023). She born 28 July, 1952, and was unmarried, and is survived by her brother, Charles, 11th Duke of Richmond and Gordon, and sisters, Lady Maria, Lady Naomi and Lady Louisa.

Lady Ellinor's funeral takes place at Boxgrove Priory, 18 February, 2025.

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Mills/Russell engagement

 The engagement was announced 31 January, 2025, between Nicholas Harwood Bertram Mills (born September, 1990), son of Christopher Harwood Bernard Mills (born 4 November, 1952), and his wife the former Lynne T.V. Egan, of Chieveley, Berkshire, & Rose Isobel Aliki Russell (born 1991), scion of the Dukes of Bedford, younger daughter of Alexander Charles Thomas Wriothesley Russell (born 28 June, 1950), and his wife the former Elizabeth Diana (Libby) Manners (born 4 October, 1959), scion of the Dukes of Rutland.

Rose Russell is a granddaughter maternally of Lord John Manners (1922-2001), and a great-granddaughter of the 9th Duke of Rutland (1886-1940), and is a granddaughter paternally of the diplomat Sir John Russell, GCVO, CMG (1914-84), who was a descendant of the 6th Duke of Bedford (1766-1839)

Rose Russell's aunt, Lucy Manners, was Lady-in-Waiting to Sarah, Duchess of York.

Nicholas Mills is descended from Bertram Mills (1873-1938), the circus owner.

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Athena Rose Foyle Fotopoulos (born 27 Jan. 2025)

 Antonia Leonora D. Foyle Fotopoulos (née Foyle, born 6 July, 1988), wife of Evangelos Fotopoulos, gave birth to a daughter, Athena Rose Foyle Fotopoulos, 27 January, 2025.

Evangelos Fotopoulos is a son of Mr and Mrs Michael Fotopoulos, of Johannesburg, South Africa.

Antonia is a scion of the Foyle landed gentry family, the younger daughter of Anthony George Eugene Foyle (born June, 1950), of Earlston, Berwickshire, and Mrs Foyle.

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The Baron Davies of Stamford, 1944-2025

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

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

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

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

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

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Hubert Andrew Thebo 1930-2025

 Hubert Andrew Thebo, of Bethseda, Maryland, United States, died 15 January, 2025. He was 94.

He was born in Washington DC, 2 December, 1930, son of Hubert Andrew Thebo, and his wife Loretta Grace; and married in 1963, Barbara Beatrice Forbes (born 1934), scion of the Lords Forbes (descended from the 17th Lord Forbes), daughter of Ernest Twisden Forbes (1902-1966), and his wife the former Mavis Amy Ingham (who died 1973), by whom he had one daughter, Christine Forbes Thebo (who was born 16 March, 1967).

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Sir Edward Fairfax Studd, 4th Baronet 1929-2025

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

He was a Coldstream Guards officer, and company director.

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

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

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

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Anthony Havelock Hudson 1946-2025

 Anthony Havelock Hudson died 21 January, 2025.

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

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Cholmeley/Streeter engagement

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

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Lord Johnstone to wed Sarah Sherlock

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

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

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

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Jennefer Minnis Haworth 1928-2025

 Jennefer Minnis Haworth, who died at her home in the Bahamas, 11 January, 2025, aged 96, was a scion of the Haworth baronets.

She was born Jennefer Haworth, 5 December, 1928, the elder daughter of Sir Arthur Geoffrey Haworth, 2nd Baronet (1896-1987), and his wife the former Emily Dorothea Gaddum (who died 1980); and married 12 Aug, 1952, Herbert Milton Minnis, OBE, son of Austin Minnis, of Calabash Bay, Bahamas, by whom she had six children.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2. Isla Elizabeth Phillips, born 29 March, 2012

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

4. Mia Grace Tindall, born 17 January, 2014

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

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

7. Lena Elizabeth Tindall, born 18 June, 2018

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

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

10. Lucas Philip Tindall, born 21 March, 2021

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

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

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

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

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Christopher Terence Sinclair-Stevenson 1939-2025

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

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

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

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

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Patricia Woosnam (née Carruthers) 1928-2025

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

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

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Capt Anthony Philip Hallett 1945-2025

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

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

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Baroness Hanham, CBE 1939-2025

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

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

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

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Beryl, Baroness Alvingham (died 2025)

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

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

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

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James Anthony Gore Browne 1947-2025

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

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

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

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Caroline Elisa Margaret Eyre 1945-2025

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

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

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

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Christopher Trefusis White-Thomson 1940-2025

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

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

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

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