The King's first appointment to his family order

 The King’s new Family Order has been worn for the first time by the Queen at the state banquet for the Emperor of Japan this evening.

Queen Camilla stepped out wearing the diamond-encased miniature portrait of her husband topped with a tiny gold and enamel Tudor crown and suspended on a pale blue silk bow on her left shoulder for the glittering event in the Buckingham Palace ballroom.

The unveiling of the new King Charles III’s Family Order comes nearly two years after the King's accession. 

Family Orders badges are worn at formal evening occasions by female members of the royal family and personally bestowed by the sovereign, and are a sign of the importance of the wearer within the royal household.

The King will have privately presented the Order to his “darling wife” and Queen consort, Camilla – whom he praised in his first televised address as monarch for her “steadfast devotion to duty on which I have come to rely so much”.

The couple faced the challenge together this year of the King being diagnosed with cancer and having ongoing treatment, with the Queen urging her husband to take it easy but revealing he “won’t slow down and won’t do what he’s told”.

More than one Family Order can be worn at the same time and Queen Camilla was also wearing the late Queen Elizabeth II’s which is mounted on a chartreuse yellow ribbon, below that of the King’s.

King George IV started the tradition of presenting Family Orders – miniature portraits of the sovereign set in diamonds suspended from a ribbon – to female members of the family more than 200 years ago.

But the King has modernised some of the elements of his own, while keeping to the traditional appearance. His miniature portrait is painted on a synthetic material called polymin, rather than on ivory as was the tradition, and the diamonds are spare ones – existing loose jewels from the Royal Collection rather than newly acquired.

Polymin is a translucent treated plastic sheet similar in texture to ivorine, which is a synthetic ivory made from cellulose nitrate.

The diamonds are brilliant-cut and have a total weight of 10.41 carats – and the Order, designed by the Crown Jeweller Mark Appleby, was crafted in 18 carat white and yellow gold which was already in royal possession.

The King personally selected the pale blue colour of the ribbon which is based on the bow on the Family Order of his great-grandfather King George V.

Sovereigns presenting jewelled portraits of themselves have tended to use different-coloured ribbon from other monarchs.

King George V’s was pale blue, George VI’s was rose pink, and Queen Elizabeth II’s was chartreuse yellow.

The painting of the King – depicting the monarch wearing the uniform of Admiral of the Fleet, the Sash of the Royal Victorian Order, the Garter Star and Thistle Star and the Garter Collar and Neck Orders of the Order of the Bath and the Royal Victorian Order – was by portrait miniaturist Elizabeth Meek.

Meek previously painted a miniature portrait of the King when Prince of Wales in 2005, and the new image was based on a photographic portrait by Hugo Burnand, taken in 2023.

Before 1820, the sovereign’s portrait set in a jewelled frame had been worn by both ladies and gentlemen at Court, but especially by female members of the royal family.

Queen Camilla was given the late Queen’s Family Order by her mother-in-law on her 60th birthday in July 2007.

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother used to wear the Orders of both her daughter and late husband King George VI, while Queen Elizabeth II wore George VI’s Order and George V’s Order together.

The silk bow was made by the milliner Philip Treacy.

The Order’s reverse, in yellow gold, has an engine-turned ground engraved with a sunray pattern, superimposed with the King’s crowned cipher.

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The Emperor of Japan appointed a Knight of the Garter

 His Majesty the King has appointed the Emperor of Japan to be a Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.

The Emperor and Empress of Japan arrived in London today at the start of their State Visit to the United Kingdom. At the state banquet at Buckingham Palace this evening, Emperor Naruhito wore the Garter star and sash for the first time.  New members join the Order, England's highest order of chivalry, at the sole discretion of the sovereign.

The Garter Star, which signifies membership in the Order of the Garter, is "worn on full dress uniforms, court dress, morning coat, full evening dress coat, or dinner jacket," per the Journal of Heraldry, and it was first introduced by King Charles I in 1629. "At first, the star was embroidered, but fairly soon it was made of silver and enamel, and in some cases acquired diamonds and rubies. In 1946 the original Stuart shape was re-introduced," the Journal notes. On Garter Day, which takes place every June, members wear their insignia as they parade from Windsor Castle to St George's Chapel.

Emperor Naruhito joins four other Japanese emperors to have received the Garter; his father, Emperor Akihito, was appointed to the Order, the 985th member, by the late Queen Elizabeth II in 1998. King George V appointed two different Emperors to the Garter—Emperor Hirohito, in 1929, and Emperor Yoshihito, in 1912—and King Edward VII appointed Emperor Meiji (Naruhito's great-great-grandfather) in 1905.

Emperor Naruhito is the 1,022nd individual to be appointed to the order since the creation of the order by King Edward III, and the seventh knight to be created in the reign on King Charles III.

Also today, Emperor Naruhito presented the King with the Collar of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum, the highest honor in Japan. (He was awarded it back in October 1971, but had yet to formally receive the Collar.)

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Sarah Ursula Scoular (née Spencer-Nairn) 1937-2024

 Sarah Scoular, who died 16 June, 2024, aged 87, was a scion of the Spencer-Nairn baronets.

Sarah Ursula Spencer-Nairn was born 13 June, 1937, elder daughter of Major Michael Alastair Spencer-Nairn, TD (1909-2002), and his wife the former Ursula Helen Devitt (1912-2011), scion of the Devitt baronets; and was a granddaughter of Maj Sir Robert Spencer-Nairn, 1st Baronet (1880-1960); and married 28 April, 1967, John Richard Scoular (1931-2020), son of the Rev John Greenshields Scoular, by whom she had issue, a son, Alastair (born 24 Dec, 1972), and a daughter, Anys (born 1978).

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Sir Andrew Milne-Watson, 4th Baronet 1944-2024

  Sir Andrew Milne-Watson, 4th Baronet, died 20 June, 2024. He was 79.

He was proprietor of A.D.R. Associates Ltd from 1993; sales and management trainee, Sidney Flavel and Co Ltd 1965-68; management trainee East Midlands Gas Board 1968-69; with Ogilvy & Mather, 1969; Account Manager, 1970; Account Director 1973-79; Managing and Client Service Director, Mathers Advertising Ltd 1979-82; Phoenix Advertising Ltd 1982-84; Deputy Chairman, Lewis Broadbent Advertising Ltd 1984-87; founded: Minerva Publications Ltd  1987-89; MW Communications Ltd 1989-90; Director of Advertising  and Marketing, Inc Publications 1990-1993; Liveryman, Grocers' Co. 

Andrew Michael Milne-Watson was born 10 November, 1944, son of Sir Michael Milne-Watson, 3rd Baronet, CBE (1910-1999), and his wife the former Mary Lynette Gunion Bagnall (1914-1993), and succeeded to the baronetcy on his father's death, 27 April, 1999.

The baronetcy was created in 1937 for his grandfather David Milne-Watson, DL (1869-1945), 'gas industrialist'.

Andrew Milne-Watson married firstly, 3 April, 1970 (div 1981) Beverley Jane Gabrielle Cotton, daughter of Philip Cotton, of Majorca; and married 2ndly, 1983, as her second husband, Gisella Tisdall (born 1948), daughter of Hans John K. Tisdall (1910-1997), and his wife the former Isabel C.A. Gallegos (1911-2007).

Sir Andrew leaves issue from both marriages. His son from his first marriage, David Alastair Milne-Watson (born 24 August, 1971), now succeeds as the fifth baronet.

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Stopford Sackville/Pops marriage

 The marriage took place 22 June, 2024, at St Peter's Church, Lowick, Northamptonshire, between  Luke Mordaunt Stopford Sackville (born 3 June, 1993), scion of the Earls of Courtown, only son of Charles Lionel Stopford Sackville (born 14 February, 1961), of Lowick, Northamptonshire, and his former wife the former Shona McKinney (born 6 Apr, 1960 - now Mrs Shona Wilkinson, of Battersea, London), & Miss Anna L. Pops, only daughter of Mr and Mrs Richard Pops, of Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States.

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Viscount Melgund and Kirsty Ramshaw marry

  The marriage took place 22 June, 2024, at Ellingham Hall, Northumberland, between Gilbert Francis Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, styled Viscount Melgund (born 15 August, 1984), son and heir of the 7th Earl of Minto (born 1 Dec, 1953), of Minto, Hawick, Roxburghshire, and the Countess of Minto (nee Diana Barbara Trafford, born 1953); and Kirsty Ramshaw (born 1989), daughter of Paul Ramshaw, of Jarrow, Tyne & Wear, and his wife the former Karen Hayes.

Viscount Melgund is heir to the earldom of Minto (Peerage of the UK,  cr 1813), to the viscountcy of Melgund (Peerage of the UK cr 1813), the Barony of Minto (Peerage of GB cr 1797), and the baronetcy of Headshaw (cr Nova Scotia, 1700).

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Capt Sir David Younger, KCVO 1939-2024

 Captain Sir David Younger, KCVO, who died 14 June, 2024, aged 85, was Lord Lieutenant of Tweeddale from 1994 to 2014. He retired on reaching the age of seventy-five.

(John) David Bingham Younger was born 20 May, 1939, son of Maj Oswald Bingham Younger, MC, and his wife the former Dorothea Elizabeth Hobbs, and was educated at Eton and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

He married in 1962, Anne Rosaleen Logan, by whom he had a son and a daughter.

Younger was commissioned into the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in 1959, and served in Borneo and Singapore before joining the Directorate of Military Operations at the Ministry of Defence in 1967. He retired from the Army in 1969 and was with Scottish and Newcastle Breweries from 1969 to 1979 before becoming one of the founding partners of the Broughton Brewery in 1979.

In 1969 he became a member of the Royal Company of Archers, which is the Queen's Bodyguard for Scotland, and was its Secretary from 1993 to 2007. He was vice-president of the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland in 1994, and became Vice-Lord Lieutenant of Tweeddale in 1992, before becoming Lord Lieutenant in 1994.

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Fergus Brodie Maitland Jewell (born 2024)

Alexandra Heriot-Maitland [born 1989], scion of the Earls of Lauderdale, wife [?] of Calum Jewell, gave birth to a son, Fergus Brodie Maitland, 13 May, 2024.

Alexandra is a 5 x gt-granddaughter of the 6th Earl of Lauderdale [who died in 1744], and is the third daughter of Mr Patrick Richard Heriot-Maitland [born 23 April, 1947], of Dunning, Perthshire, by his wife the former Marilyn Lois Grant.

 Calum Jewell is the younger son of Mr Stanley Jewell, and Mrs Ann McKinsley, both of Dunfermline.

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Toshiko, Baroness Marks of Broughton (died 2024)

 Toshiko, Baroness Marks of Broughton, died 15 June, 2024. She was the 3rd wife of the 2nd Baron Marks of Broughton.

The former Toshiko Shimura, she married Michael Marks, 2nd Baron Marks of Broughton, as the third of his five wives, in 1976. They divorced in 1985.

The 2nd Baron Marks of Broughton died 9 September, 1998.

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Fielder/Hewitt engagement

  The engagement was announced 19 June, 2024, between Edward T.F. Fielder (born 1994), descended from the Viscounts Falmouth, son of the late Nigel Roger Fielder [1958-2012], of Bolney, West Sussex, and his wife the former Diana Mary Boscawen [born 14 July, 1962], and Isobel C. Hewitt, daughter of Mr and Mrs Christopher Hewitt, of Harbridge, Hampshire.

Edward Fielder has descents from the Dukes of Manchester, Hamilton, and Montrose.

William Montagu, 7th Duke of Manchester > Lady Mary Louise Elizabeth Montagu > Lady Mary Louise Douglas-Hamilton > Lady Mary Helen Alma Graham > James Townshend Boscawen > Diana Mary Boscawen > Georgina Louise Fielder.

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Hon Mrs David Erskine 1928-2024

 The Hon Mrs David Erskine, who died 12 June, 2024, aged 96, was a scion of the Earls of Harewood, a daughter of Sir Alan 'Tommy' Lascelles.

The former Caroline Mary Lascelles was born 15 February, 1928, the younger daughter of the Rt Hon Sir Alan Frederick 'Tommy' Lascelles, PC, GCB, GCVO, CMG, MC (1887-1981), & his wife the former Hon Joan Frances Vere Thesiger (1895-1971), daughter of the 1st Viscount Chelmsford.

Her father, the formidable Tommy Lascelles, served as assistant private secretary to King George V, 1935, and to King George VI 1936-43, Private Secretary to King George VI 1943-52, Keeper of the King's Archives 1943-52, Private Secretary to Queen Elizabeth II 1952-53, Keeper of the Queen's Archives 1952-53, &c.

Sher married firstly, 20 May, 1949, the Hon Antony Alfred Lyttelton (born 23 Oct, 1920), son of the 1st Viscount Chandos (1893-1972), and his wife the former Lady Moira Godolphin Osborne (1892-1976), daughter of the 10th Duke of Leeds (1862-1927). Her 1st husband succeeded his father as 2nd Viscount Chandos, 21 January, 1972, and died 28 November, 1980.

As Caroline, Viscountess Chandos, she married 2ndly, in 1985, as his second wife, the Hon David Hervery Erskine (born 5 November, 1924), scion of the Earls of Mar & Kellie, 3rd son of Major Lord Erskine (1895-1953), by his wife the former Lady Marjorie Hervey (1898-1967), daughter of the 4th Marquess of Bristol (1863-1951), and a yr brother of the 13th Earl of Mar & Kellie (1921-93).

Caroline Erskine leaves issue from her first marriage to Viscount Chandos, two sons, Thomas and Matthew, and two daughters, Laura and Deborah. Her elder son is the 3rd Viscount Chandos.

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Amelia Rosemary Hind (born 2024)

 Venetia Hind (nee Trotter, born 1991), wife of Capt Edward John M. Hind [born 1992], of the 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards, gave birth to a daughter, Amelia Rosemary, 23 May, 2024.

Capt Hind is a son of Mr Michael C. Hind, of Denbighshire, by his wife the former Angela Marshall.

Venetia Hind is a daughter of Mr Peter M.H. Trotter, of Aldsworth, Gloucestershire, and Mrs Janet Trotter [nee Buchanan-Dunlop, scion of that landed gentry family], of Andoversford, Gloucestershire.

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Jill Vivienne Wellesley (née Burton) 1927-2024

Mrs Richard Wellesley, who died 11 June, 2024, aged 96, was the widow of Major Richard Wellesley, scion of the Dukes of Wellington.

She was born in 1927, as Jill Vivienne Burton, daughter of Group Capt Eric Burton, RAF, and his wife the former Jessie Vivienne Freeman; and married in 1970, as his second wife, Major Richard Wellesley (born 22 June, 1920), son of Wing Commander Lord George Wellesley (1889-1967), and his first wife the former Louise Nesta Pamela FitzGerald (1889-1946), scion of the FitzGerald baronets, knights of Kerry. Her husband, a grandson of the 4th Duke of Wellington, died 27 April, 1984, aged 63. No issue.

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The Garter service at St George's Chapel, Windsor

 The King and Queen, the Prince of Wales and other members of the royal family have taken part in the annual Garter Day service at Windsor Castle today, 17 June, 2024 - but despite her appearance at the Trooping the Colour, the Princess of Wales was absent from the ceremony.

The celebration commemorating the ancient Order of the Garter traditionally takes place on the Monday after the Birthday Parade and on the day before the commencement of Royal Ascot week,  as the busy royal summer period begins in earnest. 

Today, members of the royal family who are Ladies and Knights of the Order of the Garter – the country's oldest and most senior Order of Chivalry – processed down the hill from the Berkshire castle's State Apartments to St George's Chapel, dressed in white ostrich feather plumed hats and dark blue velvet robes. They include the Duke of Edinburgh, the Princess Royal, and the Duke of Gloucester. 

The procession was watched by crowds of onlookers, which included the Duchess of Edinburgh, who in other years has been joined by the Princess of Wales.  After the ceremony, the King and Queen Camilla and members of the royal family departed by carriage and returned to the castle.

The Duchess of Gloucester was invested today as a Royal Lady of the Garter. The former Birgitte van Deurs, 77, has been a member of the Royal Family since marrying Prince Richard, King George V's youngest grandson, in 1972.

Lord Lloyd-Webber, the composer and impresario, Lord Kakkar, emeritus professor of surgery at University College London and Air Chief Marshal the Lord Peach, were installed as Knight Companion. Founded in 1348 by King Edward III, the Order of the Garter is awarded by the sovereign for outstanding public service and achievement.

It is limited to 24 Knights or Ladies Companion, in addition to the King and the Prince of Wales and several "supernumerary members", including some foreign monarchs such as the Emperor of Japan, the King of Spain, the King of Norway, the King of Sweden, Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands, her son, the King of the Netherlands and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. Recipients of the honour are chosen because they have held public office, contributed to national life or served the sovereign personally.

The appointment of Knights and Ladies of the Garter is the King's gift and is made without consulting ministers. The investing of new companions with the Order's Insignia is a key feature of the annual ceremony and is done by the monarch.

The Pages of Honour in attendance on the King and Queen were the Hon Guy Aylmer George Tryon, son and heir of the 4th Baron Tryon, and Charles Hugh Valentine van Cutsem.

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Julia Mary Budworth (nee Bowles) 1932-2024

 Julia Mary Budworth (nee Bowles), who died 19 May, 2024, aged 92, was part-owner of The Lady magazine.

Julia Mary Bowles was born in March, 1932, daughter of George Frederic Stewart Bowles, and his wife the former Madeline Mary Tobin, and was a cousin of the famed 'Mitford Sisters', Nancy, Pamela, Diana, Unity, Jessica, and Deborah.

She married in 1952, David Dutton Budworth (1920-1974), scion of that landed gentry family, son of Major-General Charles Edward Dutton Budworth, CB, CMG, MVO (1869-1921), and his 2nd wife the former Helen Blewitt.

She leaves issue, four sons, Ben, Richard, Adam and William. Another son, Alexander, pre-deceased her.

From the Times 17 June 2024: Julia Budworth took enormous pride in her role as the grande dame of The Lady and fought a vocal and very public battle to uphold the magazine’s traditional standards against the tide of modernisation. The Lady was founded in 1885 as “a journal for gentlewomen” by her grandfather Thomas Gibson Bowles. She was born in the flat above the magazine’s offices in Covent Garden and grew up immersed in the code of good manners and proper behaviour that it championed in its pages.

The magazine was where the aristocracy advertised for maids, nannies and other domestic servants. A typical ad read: “Titled Sir and Lady, without children, require a butler and housekeeper for a couple position in a beautiful country house on their estate in Yorkshire. The suitable couple will be responsible for the smooth running of the house, chauffeuring when required, care of fine antiques, fabrics and furniture, and must be knowledgeable in laundering full clothing and care of ­silver.”

When Budworth was growing up, The Lady’s contributors included her cousin Nancy Mitford…

[Her son] Ben ­appointed Rachel Johnson, sister of ­Boris, as the magazine’s editor. Over the previous 125 years, The Lady had steered a serene and stately path under only eight editors, but the ninth came in with a mission to shake up the magazine and make a noise…

…The daughter of Madeleine (née Tobin) and George Frederic Stewart Bowles, she was born Julia Mary Bowles in London in 1932. Her father had taken over The Lady on the death of his father in 1922 and nursed the magazine through the 1929 crash and the Depression. “He kept it going and they lived over the shop because they had very little money,” Budworth said…

…As a child she escaped the smoke in the company of her cousin Debo, the youngest of the six Mitford sisters and whose father, David Mitford, Baron Redesdale, had at one time been general manager of The Lady. Debo, the future Duchess of Devonshire and chatelaine of Chatsworth, was 12 years older and pushed her cousin’s pram when she was an infant. Later she taught her to ride and to milk a cow on the Hebridean island of Inch Kenneth, which the Mitford family owned.

They were together on the island in 1939 when the Second World War was declared. At the time, Debo’s sister Unity was in Munich under Hitler’s patronage and another sister, Diana, was about to be interned with her husband Oswald Mosley, the leader of the British fascists…

…Julia herself married David Budworth, who ran an engineering company, in 1952. He died in 1974 when the plane he was piloting crashed due to a technical fault. She is survived by their four sons, Ben, Richard and Adam, both barristers, and William, who works in security. A fifth son Alexander predeceased her…

Julia Budworth, magazine part-owner, was born in March 1932. She died of old age on May 19, 2024, aged 92

Albie Stewart Richard Mitchell-Innes (born 2024)

Charlotte Elizabeth Mitchell-Innes [born 1985, née Groves], wife of Peter Stewart Mitchell-Innes [born 1985], scion of that landed family, gave birth to a son, Albie Stewart Richard, 10 June, 2024, a brother for Jasper William David, who was born 8 February, 2017, and for Lyla Diana Helen, born 13 December, 2019. 

Peter is a son of Ian Stewart Mitchell-Innes [born 1947] by his wife the former Diana Brooke Dean. 

Charlotte is a daughter of Richard William Lewis Groves [born 1957], by his wife the former Helen Mary Keppel Charteris [born 1956], scion of the Earls of Wemyss & March.

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Mark de la Poer Beresford 1962-2024

 Mark de la Poer Beresford, who died 31 May, 2024, aged 61, was a scion of the Marquesses of Waterford.

He was born 13 July, 1962, the second son of John George de la Poer Beresford (born 9 August, 1927), and his wife the former Jeanne Frances Steward; and married firstly, 1989, Sophie Grissa, and married 2ndly, 2006, Mary Bellhouse. He leaves two children from his first marriage, a son, Justin (b 9 Sept, 1989), and a daughter, Heloise (born 11 Apr, 1992).

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Lt-Col Robin James Stirling Bullock-Webster, OBE 1944-2024

Lieutenant-Colonel Robin James Stirling Bullock-Webster, OBE, who has died aged 79, was a career soldier who spent almost 30 years in the Irish Guards. He was head of the Bullock-Webster landed gentry family.

He was born 22 November, 1944, the only son of Capt Sandro Ansell George Stuart Bullock-Webster, RM (1919-2007), and his wife the former Joan Stirling Joll (1921-2012), descended from the Stirling baronets. He married 1stly, 1971, Susan Nicola Darby (1948-1979), daughter of Peter James Darby (1917-2008), and his wife the former Pamela Joan Poyer Lewis (1919-2010), scion of that Welsh landed gentry family; married 2ndly, 1980, Maria, Countess Cowley (nee Maria Della Buenaño), widow of the 6th Earl Cowley (1946-1975), and daughter of Enrique Buenaño.

His only son, James Richard Henry Llewelyn Bullock-Webster (born 21 Apr, 1981), succeeds as head of the landed gentry family.

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Clara Amélie MacHale (born 2024)

 Isabella Louise MacHale (nee Kerr-Smiley, born 19 February, 1990), wife of Thomas E. MacHale, gave birth to a daughter, Clara Amélie, 2 June, 2024, a sister for Clementine Thea, who was born 4 May, 2023.

Thomas MacHale is the younger son of Mr & Mrs Joseph MacHale, of Wonston, Hampshire.

Isabella MacHale is a scion of the Smiley baronets, elder daughter of Mark Alexander Kerr-Smiley [born 30 March, 1961], of Kensington, London, and his wife the former Manuela Maria Raquez.

Sir Hugh Smiley 1st Bt-->Peter Kerr-Smiley [1879-1943]-->Cyril Kerr-Smiley [1906-80]-->Peter Kerr-Smiley [b 1934]-->Mark Kerr-Smiley [b 1961]-->Isabella Kerr-Smiley [b 1990] > Clara MacHale [b 2024].

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Dexter Reuben Chastel de Boinville (born 2024)

 Serena Louise Chastel de Boinville [nee Cookson, born 1986], wife of Nicolai (Nico) Chastel de Boinville, gave birth to a son, Dexter Reuben, 1 June, 2024, a brother for Antigoni Shaunagh, born 3 July, 2019, and for Iola Angela, born 24 June, 2021.  

Nico Chastel de Boinville, jockey, is a scion of that landed family, of Walkern Hall, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, son of Mr Simon Murdoch Chastel de Boinville, of Baughurst, Hampshire, and the late Mrs Shaunagh Chastel de Boinville (d 2016).

Serena Chastel de Boinville is descended from the Barons Hemphill, daughter of Robert Edwin Cookson (descended from the Viscounts Falmouth), by his wife the former Hon Angela Mary Martyn Hemphill (b 1953), daughter of the 5th Baron Hemphill.

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Algernon Wilfred Cornell Scrope (born 2024)

Rosanna [Posie] Scrope [nee Staveley] wife of [Simon] Harry Richard Scrope [born 1974], head of the landed gentry family of Scrope of Danby, has given birth to a third son, Algernon Wilfred Cornell (Algie), 27 May, 2024, a brother Maximus Simon Parkinson, born 30 April, 2022, and for Henry Miles Titus 'Milo', born 28 August, 2023.  

Harry is the only son of the late Simon Egerton Scrope [1934-2010], of Danby on Yore, and his wife the former Jennifer Jane Parkinson, descended from the extinct Barons Bingley.

Rosanna Lorna Scrope [born 1988], scion of the Staveley landed gentry family, is a daughter of the late Simon Henry Staveley [1949-98], and his wife the former Judy O. Willis Fleming [b 28 June, 1954], scion of that landed gentry family, of Willis Fleming, of Stoneham.

Harry Scrope is a grandson maternally of the late Sir Kenneth Parkinson, Kt [1908-81], sometime chairman of Yorkshire Post Newspapers, and his wife the former Hon Dorothy Lane Fox [1909-80], a daughter of the 1st and last Baron Bingley [1870-1947].

The Scrope family (pronounced "Scroop") are seated at Danby, the family's 1,500-acre estate in North Yorkshire. The family descend from one of Edward the Confessor's Norman favourites, and were thus already settled in England at the time of the Conquest. The family motto, Devant si je puis (Forward if I am able), is a sardonic allusion to their name,which means "crab" in the Norman dialect. Establishing themselves in Wensleydale in the 12th century, Scropes distinguished themselves on the Crusades and in the Hundred Years War, were regularly summoned to medieval parliaments as barons, and have produced five Garter knights, and an Archbishop of York.

The Scrope coat of arms, Azure a bend or, was one of the earliest to be adopted and, to amateurs of heraldry, is a celebrated curiosity. Campaigning in Scotland in 1385, Richard, Lord Scrope of Bolton, was aghast to see it borne by a fellow knight, Sir Richard le Grosvenor. The matter was tried in the Court of Chivalry – John of Gaunt, Harry "Hotspur" and Geoffrey Chaucer all giving evidence on Scrope's behalf.

Depositions were conveniently heard in York Minster, the family burial place, where the Scrope arms were prominently on display, as they were – in glass, alabaster and stone – in more than 40 other churches in Yorkshire. The court's decision in favour of Scrope has long rankled with the Grosvenors. Hugh Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster, was to name his famous racehorse (the 1880 Derby winner) Bend Or, and it was also his nickname for his grandson, the 2nd Duke, whose chestnut hair reminded him of the horse. For their part, the proud Scropes sport a distinctive family tie, based on their arms, of blue with diagonal gold stripes.

Harry Scrope descends from a junior branch of the family which succeeded to the headship in 1630. Christopher Scrope was by that time a convicted recusant and knew better than to press his claim to the titles and estates. Christopher's son seated himself at Danby-on-Yore, in the heart of the Scrope country, which the family had acquired through an heiress in 1576. Largely rebuilt in the 16th century, Danby Hall incorporates one of the most southerly examples of a peel tower, dating from the early 14th century. A small chamber at the top of the "old Tower" served as a chapel, the only place of Catholic worship for miles around. In the early 1800s a capacious priest's hole was rediscovered at the back of a fireplace. Generations of Scropes were barred, as Catholics, from public office. Their sons were sent abroad, with false identities, for their schooling. Forbidden to own any horse worth more than £5, they depended on kindly Protestant neighbours to hold them in their own names. The Scrope who bred Danby Cade, a famous 18th-century racehorse, was not his legal owner. "Penal times" ended with the passing of the Catholic Relief Act in 1829. Scrope of Danby petitioned in vain for the earldom of Wiltshire, but retained the heraldic supporters (a pair of Cornish choughs) that the family claim by prescription – supporters being an honour usually afforded only to peers and knights grand cross under Royal Warrant.

Rosanna Scrope is a granddaughter of Capt [William Arthur] Miles Staveley [1913-81], scion of the Staveleys of North Stainley Hall, Ripon, and his wife the former Nancy Constance Cail [1914-2007].

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Beatrice Veronica Sophia Spink (born 2024)

The Lady Iona Margaret Sophia Spink (nee Murray, born 13 March, 1992), wife of Capt Barnaby Frederick J Spink (born 1992), gave birth to a daughter, Beatrice  Veronica Sophia, 31 May, 2024.

Capt Spink is a son of [Andrew David] Jonathan Spink [born Oct 1960], of Kimbolton, and his wife the former Kathryn Anne Armstrong [born 1963].

 Lady Iona is a daughter of the 8th (and ninth) Earl of Mansfield and Mansfield (born 17 October, 1956) of Scone Palace, Perthshire, and the Countess of Mansfield (nee Sophia Mary Veronica Ashbrooke (born 22 January, 1959).

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Lord Ashton of Hyde appointed Master of the Horse

 His Majesty The King has appointed Lord Ashton of Hyde, PC, to succeed Lord De Mauley as Master of the Horse.

The Master of the Horse was once an important official of the sovereign's household, though the role is largely ceremonial today. The master of the horse is the third dignitary of the court, and was always a member of the ministry (before 1782 the office was of cabinet rank), a peer and a privy councillor. All matters connected with the horses and formerly also the hounds of the sovereign, as well as the stables and coachhouses, the stud, mews and previously the kennels, are within his jurisdiction.

Lord Ashton of Hyde,  a former Conservative chief whip in the Lords, is a Gloucestershire neighbour of the King, living at Moreton-in-the-Marsh, half an hour's drive from Highgrove.

Thomas Henry Ashton was born 18 July, 1958, son of the 3rd Baron (1926-2008), and his wife the former Pauline Brackenbury (who died 4 Nov, 2014). He married 31 Oct, 1987, Emma Louise Allinson, by whom he has issue, four daughters, Harriet, Isobel, Flora and Matilda.

Lord Ashton of Hyde will replace the serving Master of the Horse, the 7th Baron de Mauley (born 30 June, 1957) , whose final major duty will be to ride in this weekend’s Trooping the Colour ceremony as holders of the post are present when the Royal Mews supports state occasions.

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Baroness Manningham-Buller appointed Chancellor of the Order of the Garter

 The King has appointed the first female Chancellor of the Order of the Garter in history, the former head of MI5 Baroness Manningham-Buller.

The Order of the Garter, which was founded by King Edward III in 1348, is the oldest and most senior Order of Chivalry, with members appointed personally by the monarch for their contribution to public life.

Baroness Manningham-Buller, LG, DCB (born 14 July, 1948), was made a Lady Companion of the Garter by the late Queen Elizabeth II in April 2014. She became Director General of the MI5 in October 2002 and, in that capacity, led the Security Service's response to the 7 July 2005 London bombings. Following her retirement in April 2007, she became a crossbench life peer in 2008.

Buckingham Palace said the King has been “graciously pleased” to appoint Baroness Manningham-Buller to the office on the retirement of the 5th Duke of Abercorn, KG (born 4 July, 1934), who has held the office since 2012.

Elizabeth Lydia Manningham-Buller is a daughter of the 1st Viscount Dilhorne (1905-80), sometime Lord Chancellor, and his wife, Lady Mary Lilian Lindsay (1910-2004), daughter of the 27th Earl of Crawford & Balcarres (1871-1940). She is the first female Chancellor since the office’s inception in 1475. The role was held by the bishops of Salisbury and Oxford for nearly 500 years, before changing in 1937 to be someone selected from the existing Knights Companion of the Order.

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Yule/Lawson marriage

  The marriage took place 8 June, 2024, 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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Fortescue/MacDonald marriage

 The marriage took place, 8 June, 2024, at Biggar Kirk, Lanarkshire, between Capt Thomas Edmund Horatio Fortescue, Coldstream Guards (born 30 July, 1993), scion of the Earls Fortescue, the elder son of John Andrew Francis Fortescue (born 27 March, 1955), of Wincombe, Dorset, and his wife the former Phoebe Anne Cecilia Burridge (born 25 July, 1959), & Louisa A.R. MacDonald, daughter of Lt Col and Mrs Angus MacDonald, of Muirburn, Peeblesshire. 

Capt Tom Fortescue's father is heir pres to the 8th Earl Fortescue (born 10 May, 1951)

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Sir Martin Wakefield Jacomb 1929-2024

Sir Martin Jacomb, who has died aged 94, was a barrister and merchant banker who became founder chairman of BZW, the investment banking arm of Barclays, and a key adviser to the government on the privatisation of British Telecom; he went on to be chairman of Prudential, Canary Wharf and the British Council.

Martin Wakefield Jacomb was born 11 November, 1929, son of Hilary Jacomb and his wife Felice, and was educated at Eton and Worcester College, Oxford.

At various times he was a member of the court of the Bank of England, an adviser to the US Federal Reserve, deputy chairman of Commercial Union and a director of Marks & Spencer, British Gas, RTZ, Christian Salvesen and The Telegraph. He served on the boards of the Royal Opera House, the OUP, the National Heritage Memorial Fund, and was Chancellor of Buckingham University. He was knighted in 1985.

In later years he occasionally contributed to the business pages of The Spectator – and to Daily Telegraph obituaries. Into his nineties, though notably stooped, he remained active in City and political debate. He voted Remain in the EU referendum, “but only because the EU will collapse unless reformed, and I would like the UK to lead the reformation”.

He married 30 Apr, 1960, Evelyn Helen Heathcoat Amory (born 4 June, 1939), scion of the baronets of that name, elder daughter of Richard Frank Heathcoat Amory (1903-57), and his wife the former Hon Margaret Irene Gaenor Scott-Ellis (1919-2002), daughter of the 8th Baron Howard De Walden (1880-1946), by whom he had issue, a daughter Emma (born 15 May, 1961), and two sons, Matthew (born 11 June, 1963), and Thomas (1964-2023).

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Lloyd/Offord engagement

The engagement was announced 7 June, 2024, between Orlando William F. Lloyd (born 12 Jan, 1992), younger son of Mr Peregrine M.A. Lloyd (born c. 1956), of Kingston Lisle, Oxfordshire, and his wife the former Annabel Cynthia Higgins (born 1958), & Cecily Katherine Offord (born 1992), younger daughter of Peter Nicholas Offord (born 1949), of Bickleigh, Devonshire, and his wife the former Elizabeth Laura Gascoigne (born 31 July, 1958), scion of that landed gentry family, daughter of Crispin Gascoigne (1929-2001), and his wife the Hon Elizabeth Ann Harcourt (1932-2020), daughter of the 2nd (and last) Viscount Harcourt (1908-1979).

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Duke of Westminster and Olivia Henson marry

 The Duke of Westminster is marrying Olivia Henson today at Chester Cathedral. The Prince of Wales is acting as one of the duke’s ushers.

Crowds lined the streets of Chester to cheer the arrival of the duke, his bride with her father, and the Prince of Wales. Princess Eugenie, Mrs Jack Brooksbank is one of the 400 guests.

The bride looked magnificent in a gown by London-based designer Emma Victoria Payne and she completed her bridal look with the Faberge Myrtle Leaf Tiara, one that Grosvenor brides wear on their wedding day. Olivia was wearing blue velvet shoes - 'something borrowed and something blue'.

A spokesman for the duke said: “The Duke and Miss Henson have taken a great deal of care in planning the wedding, putting their own personal stamp on all the arrangements and have made a conscious effort to involve local and regional suppliers in several aspects of the day.”

While the Prince of Wales is playing a key role in today's event, the majority of the Royal Family will miss the big day. The King and Queen have been in Normandy for the events surrounding 80th anniversary of D-Day. His brother the Duke of Sussex is not in Chester, with mixed reporting on whether he actually got an invitation or not. The wedding comes amid a long-running rift between the princes.

The Duke is one of Britain’s wealthiest men, with his calculated wealth of just over £9.7 billion putting him 13th on the 2022 Sunday Times Rich List. Once considered one of the country's most eligible bachelors.

The couple are surprisingly low-key, and have released just one photograph of themselves together - until now. On 7 May, exactly one month before the nuptials took place, the duke and his bride-to-be visited a number of charities in Chester to see the projects that his organisation, the Westminster Foundation, is funding.

The young duke is a fourth cousin once removed of the King. They both have Romanov blood, the duke via his mother Natalia, and the King via the late Prince Philip's Romanov descent.

A spokesperson for the Duke and Miss Henson said: “The couple have chosen the cathedral for both its beauty and long association with the Grosvenor family, including to the Duke personally. Cheshire is the Grosvenor family’s ancestral home and as Miss Henson’s connection to the region continues to grow, they are keen to plan their wedding there.”

The duke's parents, the 6th Duke and Natalia Phillips married at Chester Cathedral, 7 October, 1978, and the Royal Family were there to celebrate the union of one of Britain's wealthiest men and Natalia, daughter of one of Queen Elizabeth II's great friends, the former Georgina Wernher. The duke's aunt, Lady Leonora Grosvenor, married the late 5th Earl of Lichfield at the cathedral, 8 March, 1975, and another aunt, Lady Jane Grosvenor married the 10th Duke of Roxburghe there, 10 September, 1977.

"The Duke and Miss Henson became engaged at Eaton Hall in April 2023, and have been incredibly grateful for the warm messages of congratulations they have received since then."

One of Britain’s wealthiest men, certainly our richest duke, 33,  is godfather to Prince George of Wales, and a close confidante of the Prince and Princess of Wales. He was born 29 January, 1991, the only son of the 6th duke (1951-2016).

Hugh Richard Louis Grosvenor, the 7th duke, inherited the Eaton Hall estate near Chester, and large land holdings in London, Lancashire, Scotland, and in Canada, on the death of his late father, who died suddenly on his Abbeystead estate in Lancashire,  9 August 2016. The Westminster fortune is estimated to stand at 9.46 billion. 

The duke’s mother, the former Natalia Ayesha Phillips (born 8 May 1959), descended from the Russia tsars and from Pushkin, is a granddaughter of Lady Zia Wernher, of Luton Hoo, a great friend of the late Queen Elizabeth II. It was at Luton Hoo where the late Queen and her consort spent many wedding anniversaries in the lifetime of Lady Zia, who died in 1977, and her husband Harold, who died in 1973.

The Duke was present at the Coronation of the King and Queen in May last year, and he carried a standard in the procession into Westminster Abbey. 

The duke has three sisters, Lady Tamara van Cutsem (born 20 Dec 1979), wife of another of the King’s godsons, Edward van Cutsem, and Lady Edwina Snow (born 4 Nov, 1981), a criminologist, wife of historian and broadcaster Dan Snow, and Lady Viola Roberts (born 9 Oct, 1992), wife of Dragoon Guards officer, Angus Roberts.

Their is no heir to the dukedom, and a son and heir would secure the peerage and the vast Grosvenor inheritance.

The dukedom of Westminster was the last dukedom to be given outside the confines of the royal family, and was created by Queen Victoria in 1874.

The new duchess (born 1 Sept, 1992), is a senior account manager with Belazu, an ethical food company, in London. She is extremely well connected, with lines of descent from the Hoare banking dynasty, the Marquesses of Britsol, of Ickworth, Suffolk, and the Dukes of Rutland, of Belvoir Castle. She is the elder daughter of Mr Rupert Cornelius Brooke Henson (born 7 September, 1962), of Longworth, Oxfordshire, and his wife the former Caroline Belinda Frisby (born 17 August, 1963), scion of that landed gentry family, descended from the Hoare banking family and the Marquesses of Bristol. Olivia’s uncle, Charles Wolrige Gordon, is the Grand Master of Scottish freemasons, Scotland’s senior freemason. Olivia’s mother is the twin sister of Charles’s wife, Angela Clare Wolrige Gordon.

Olivia has a brother Jasper (born 1994), who announced his engagement last year to the Spanish aristocrat Isabel Rodriguez-Legorburu Cabrera Kabana, and a sister, Emilia (born 1997).

Olivia is a granddaughter paternally of Thomas John Brooke Henson, MC (1931-2024), and his first wife the former Jennifer Caswell Cornelius (born 1938), daughter of Leonard Raymond Cornelius (1907-88), and his wife the former Betty Kathleen Caswell (1916-2010). Her grandparents divorced and in 1983 Mrs Jennifer Henson married Robert Christopher Thoroton Hildyard (1912-86), scion of a Yorkshire landed gentry family, descended from the Foljambe Earls of Liverpool.

The Romanov link:-

Nicholas I, Tsar of Russia (1796-1855) > Grand Duke Michael of Russia (1832-1909) > Grand Duke Michael of Russia (1861-1929)  > Lady Zia Wernher (1892-1977)  > Georgina Wernher (1919-2011)  > Natalia Ayesha Phillips (b 1959), The 7th Duke of Westminster (b 1991)

Nicholas I, Tsar of Russia (1796-1855) > Grand Duke Constantine of Russia (1827-1892) > Grand Duchess Olga of Russia (1851-1926) > Prince Andrew of Greece (1882-1944) > Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (1921-2021) > King Charles III (b 1948)

Olivia is also descended from the Dukes of Rutland :-

The 5th Duke of Rutland > Lady Katherine Manners > Lord Augustus Henry Charles Hervey > Lady Geraldine Mariana Hervey > Angela Beryl Hoare > Simon Rollo Frisby > Caroline Belinda Frisby > Olivia Grace Henson

Olivia's descent from the Marquesses of Bristol-

Frederick, 2nd Marquess of Bristol > Lord Augustus Henry Charles Hervey >Lady Geraldine Hervey > Angela Beryl Hoare > Simon Frisby . Caroline Frisby > Olivia Grace Henson 

The Duke and Olivia are both 6x great grandchildren of the 5th Earl of Carlisle (making them 7th cousins) and 7x great grandchildren of the 4th Duke of Beaufort (making them 8th cousins).

Olivia is a great-great granddaughter of Henry Hoare (1866-1956), partner in the eponymous family concern -  Hoare's Bank, of Ellisfield Manor, Basingstoke, White Wings, Angmering, Sussex, and La Lucretola, Lago di Como, Italy. The Old Etonian died 29 July, 1956.

Olivia's descent from the Arbuthnot baronets:--

Sir William Arbuthnot, 1st Baronet (1766-1829) > John Alves Arbuthnot (1802-75) > William Arbuthnot (1833-96) > Alice Arbuthnot (b 1869) > Capt William Herbert Fox (1901-40) > Sara Fox (d 2018) > Caroline Frisby (b 1963) > Olivia Henson (b 1992)

The 6th Baron Hindlip 1940-2024

 Lord Hindlip, the 6th Baron, businessman, who has died aged 83, was for many years at Christie's, the fine arts auction house, in which he was General Manager of Christie's New York and later Chairman of Christie, Manson & Woods and finally of Christie's International. He was the father of the TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp.

Charles Henry Allsopp was born 5th August, 1940, son of the 5th Baron Hindlip (1912-1993), and his wife the former Cecily Valentine Jane Borwick (1910-2000); and succeeded to the peerage (created UK, 1886), on his father's death, 19 December, 1993.

He married 18 April, 1968, Fiona Victoria Jean Atherley McGowan (1947-2014), daughter of the Hon William Johnston McGowan (1909-1977), and his wife the former Helen Myrtle Dorothy Atherley (died 16 March, 1976); and a granddaughter of the 1st Baron McGowan (1874-1961).

Lord Hindlip leaves issue, three daughters, Kirstie (born 31 Aug 1971), Sophia (born in 1980), and Natasha (born 1986), and a son, the Hon Henry William Allsopp (born 8 June, 1973), who now succeeds as 7th Baron Hindlip.

Cranstoun/Rhys-Evans engagement

The engagement was announced 5 June, 2024, between Alexander John George Cranstoun of that Ilk and Corehouse, Yr (born 15 June, 1995), elder son of Colonel David Alexander Somerville Cranstoun of that Ilk (born 19 Dec, 1943), head of that landed family, of Corehouse, Lanarkshire, by his wife Dr Maja Martha Glattli, & Olivia Frances Rhys-Evans (born 1996), elder daughter of the late Peter Howell Rhys-Evans, FRCS (died 2022), and his second wife the former Frances Knight, now of Petworth, West Sussex.

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The Baroness Jessel (died 2024)

 The Baroness Jessel, who died 27 May, 2024, aged 91, was the widow of the 2nd & last Baron Jessel.

She was the former Jessica Marian de Wet, daughter of William de Wet, of Rondesbosch, Cape Town, South Africa; and married 20 Dec, 1960, as his second wife, Edward Herbert Jessel, the 2nd Baron Jessel (born 25 March, 1904), son of the 1st Baron Jessel, CB, CMG, TD, DL, JP (1866-1950), and his wife the former Maud Goldsmid (1874-1965), daughter of Sir Julian Goldsmid, 3rd Baronet (1838-96).

Her husband died 13 June, 1990, when the peerage (created in 1924) became extinct.

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Stephen Andrew Romilly Michael Asquith 1944-2024

 Stephen Asquith, who died 31 May, 2024, aged 80, was a scion of the Earls of Oxford and Asquith, and was a great-grandson of H.H. Asquith, the Liberal statesman and prime minister.

Stephen Andrew Romilly Michael Asquith was born 27 January, 1944, the elder son of Michael Henry Asquith (1914-2004), and his 1st wife the former Diana Eveline Montagu Battye (1915-2004), scion of that landed gentry family; and married firstly, in 1963 (div 1965), Nicola Scott, daughter of Lt-Cdr Sir Peter Markham Scott, CH, CBE (1909-1989) (son of Scott of the Antarctic), and his first wife the writer Elizabeth Jane Howard (1923-2014); married 2ndly, in 1983, as her second husband, Clare Frances Stanton, scion of that landed gentry family, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel John Richard Guy Stanton, MBE (1919-1990), and his wife Margaret Frances Harries, OBE (1917-2004).

From his first marriage he leaves a son, Daniel (born 1964), and two daughters, Emily (b 1965), and Lucy (b 1967), and from his second marriage, a son, Thomas (b 1980), and a daughter, Portia (b 1978).

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Timothy Ward Seely 1935-2024

Timothy Ward Seely, who died 18 May, 2024, aged 88, an actor, was a scion of the Seely baronets, and was rumoured to be the illegitimate son of the then Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII, and Duke of Windsor).

In 1957, he made his theatre debut in the play Tea and Sympathy at the London Comedy Theatre. Seely played the young Tom Lee, who fell in love with the senior Laura, played by Elizabeth Sellars. He played the same role in the adaptation at New Shakespeare Theatre, Liverpool. There he also played Rodolfo in Arthur Miller's A View From the Bridge. In 1958, he acted alongside Maggie Smith at the London St Martin's Theatre in an adaptation of The Stepmother. Seely was member of the BBC Radio Drama Company, with which he acted the title role in Pericles, Prince of Tyre. He also had roles in various Shakespeare plays, including as Baptista in The Taming of the Shrew, Capulet in Romeo and Juliet, Polonius in Hamlet, Leonato in Much Ado About Nothing and the King of France in All's Well That Ends Well. In the late 1950s, he also took roles in film and television productions. One of his more prominent roles was as Midshipmen Ned Young in the 1962 version of Mutiny on the Bounty, where Seely appeared alongside Marlon Brando and Trevor Howard. He also made several appearances in the YTV soap Emmerdale, as Sir Thomas Weir, in 1994-95.

Seely was born 10 June, 1935, the second son of the late Major Frank James Wriothesley Seely (1901–1956), and a great-grandson of Sir Charles Seely, 1st Baronet. His mother was Vera Lilian Birkin (1903-1970), a friend of the future King Edward VIII, a daughter of British Colonel Charles Wilfred Birkin (1865-1932) (fourth son of a lace embroidery and tableware magnate of Nottingham, Sir Thomas Isaac Birkin 1831-1922).  His aunt was Freda Dudley Ward (1894-1983), Marquesa de Casa Maury, a mistress of King Edward VIII (1894-1972) and wife of William Dudley Ward (1877-1946). 

Biographer Andrew Lownie claims that 'a convincing case' can be made for Seely's illegitimate royal birth. "This is interesting, as Seely was born in 1935, after the affair with Wallis had begun, but we know from Special Branch reports that the Prince of Wales was not monogamous - he was enjoying an affair with an Austrian Princess at the same time."

The future King had been best man at Vera Birkin's wedding to Jimmy Seely in 1925 and the prince often stayed with the Seelys in Nottinghamshire. "The family later played down the story, and refused to talk about it but, after the Duke's death, Seely was contacted by the Duke's lawyers," says Lownie, who himself approached the Seelys in August 2020. He received an email from Timothy's wife Camilla: "Over the years, various authors/reporters have contacted Tim but the response was always the same, he is not interested. He is immensely discreet… We would not wish to be even a small part of yet more unworthy stories concerning The Royal Family."

Tim Seely studied at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

He married firstly,  He m 1st 1960 (div) Anna Henrietta Maria St Paul Butler (later Lady Younger) 1924-96 (her 3rd husband was Sir Jock Younger 3rd Bt) daughter of Capt Horace George St Paul Butler (1898-1971) by his wife Dorothy Henrietta Torlesse (1899-1934); and married secondly, in 2001, (Ann) Camilla Cartwright,  daughter of John Sheward Cartwright. 

From his first marriage he leaves a son, Hugo Michael David St. Paul Seely (born 1961).

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Boyer/Hearn engagement

The engagement was announced 3 June, 2024, between Thomas McKenzie Boyer (born 1992), son of the late Miles Roger Boyer (1957-1992), and his wife the former Penelope J. McKenzie (now of Gloucestershire), & Olivia Lucy-Rose Hearn (born 24 September, 1988), elder daughter of Simon Nigel Richard Hearn (born 1958), of Hampshire, and his wife the former Henrietta Lucy Calder-Smith (born 1961).

Olivia is descended from the Tetley brewing family, from the Nettlefold family, landed gentry, and from the Martineau family, and thus a distant kinswoman of HRH The Princess of Wales. The Nettlefolds were seated at Nether Lypiatt Manor, sometime home of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. Olivia ia also descened from the Courtauld family.

John Edmund Bedwell Tetley (1904-73) = Mary Margaret Martineau > Susan Lucy Tetley (1931-2012) = Maj John Hearn = Simon Hearn (b 1958) > Olivia Hearn (b 1988)

George Martineau (b 1796) > David Martineau (b 1828) > Howard Martineau (1864-1953) = Dorothy Nettlefold, of Goodyns Place, Dorking (1873-1918).

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Aurelius Balthazar Cobbold Bush (born 2024)

 The Hon Morwenna Gray Lytton Bush (nee Cobbold, born 16 Aug, 1989), wife of Philip Horatio Bush, gave birth to a son, Aurelius Balthazar Cobbold Bush, 26 April, 2024.

 Philip Bush is the son of Mr & Mrs Graham Bush, of Smeeth, Kent. 

The Hon Morwenna Bush is daughter of the the 3rd Baron Cobbold [born 12 May, 1962], of Knebworth, Hertfordshire, by his wife the former Martha Frances Boone.

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Bradstock/Parson engagement

 The engagement was announced 1 June, 2024, between James Rupert Bradstock (born 6 Oct, 1993), scion of that landed gentry family, son of Rupert John Bradstock (born 8 Oct, 1958), of Trinity, Jersey, and his wife the former Anna Louise Riley (born 18 Oct, 1962), & Olivia Anne Parsons (born 1993), daughter of Peter John Parsons (born 1949), of Eastleach, Gloucestershire, and his wife the former Carolyn Ann Stuart (born 1955).

The 8th Viscount Molesworth (1829-1906) > Hon Andalusia Molesworth (d 1912) > Lt-Col Christopher Riley (1894-1958) > Maj. John Riley (b 1925) > Anna Riley (b 1962) > James Bradstock (b 1993)

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Campbell/Leese engagement

The engagement was announced 1 June, 2024, between Ferdinand James Marc (Ferdy) Campbell (born 29 April, 1994), elder son of of the late Colonel the Hon Alastair James Calthrop Campbell (1952-2021), of Ferne, Wiltshire, (see Campbell of Croy life peerage), by his wife the former Primrose Felicia Palmer (born 18 February, 1960), & Mimi Constance Leese (born 1995), daughter of the late Julian S. Leese, by his wife the former Nichola Mimi Vestbirk (now wife of Piers Robert Conyngham Plunket (born 27 June, 1959, scion of the Barons Plunket), of Chilhampton, Wiltshire.

Ferdy Campbell is descended from the Earls of Longford:-

The 5th Earl of Longford (1864-1915) > Lady Pansy Pakenham (1904-99) > Horatia Lamb (b 1933) > Primrose Palmer (b 1960) > Ferdy Campbell (b 1994)

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Robert Hew Dalrymple 1946-2024

 Robert Hew Dalrymple, who died 27 May, 2024, aged 77, was a scion of the Earls of Stair.

He was born 10 November, 1946, son of the Hon Hew North Dalrymple (1910-2012), and his first wife, the former Mildred Helen Egerton (1903-1980), scion of the Earls of Ellesmere; and was a grandson paternally of the 12th Earl of Stair (1879-1961); & married 22 April, 1976, Caroline Anne Hunting, daughter of (Charles) Patrick Hunting, CBE, TD (1910-1993), by his wife the former Diana Margaret Pereira (1920-1995), by whom he had two sons, Hamish Hew (born 1979), & Alastair North (born 1982).

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Wallis/Camps engagement

 The engagement was announced 1 June, 2024, between Nicholas W.J. Wallis, the only son of Mr and Mrs Brian Wallis, of Tonbridge, Kent, and Elizabeth Ann (Lizzie) Camps (born 1994), younger daughter of Michael P. Camps, of Barnham, West Sussex, and his wife the former Sally Alexandra Harwood (born 11 May, 1960).

The bride-to-be is descended from the 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS, prime minister 1945-51.

Clement Attlee, 1st Earl of Attlee (1883-1967) > Lady Felicity Attlee (1925-2007) > Sally Alexandra Harwood (b 1960) > Lizzie Camps (b 1994)

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Brigadier Hugh William Kellow Pye 1938-2024

 Brigadier Hugh Pye, OBE, who died 30 May, 2024, aged 86, was a scion of the Pye landed gentry family, formerly of Blythe, and he commanded the 9th/12th Royal Lancers.

Hugh William Kellow Pye was born 23 May, 1938, son of Brigadier Randall Thomas Kellow Pye, DSO, OBE, known as 'Pudding' (1904-2002), and his wife the former Peggy Muriel Sagar-Musgrave-Brooksbank (1909-1999), scion of the Sagar-Musgrave landed gentry family.

Pye led the 9th/12th Royal Lancers on an operational tour to Northern Ireland, two tours with the UN in Cyprus and helped found the Oman Staff College.

Pye had firm opinions and expressed them with great clarity. His judgment on one candidate for an appointment as being “too short”, and on another as “not knowing how to enter a room”, would not be universally well-received in today’s climate. He also had enormous energy, a fierce determination to do things properly, a great sense of fun and a willingness to take on any challenge.

In 1992 Pye became treasurer and de facto chief executive of the Society of Merchant Venturers of Bristol. The society helps to provide care for older people and long-term support for young people in the city, helping them to achieve their goals through education, enrichment opportunities and workplace experiences. He was appointed OBE in 2003 on his retirement from the society.

Pye was also chairman of the governors of Colston’s Collegiate College and Colston’s Girls’ School. In 1996 he became chairman of CLIC: this charity for cancer and leukaemia in childhood needed reorganisation and finance, and with his energy and influence Pye assembled a new trustee board, put the charity on a sound financial basis and established its international role.

Settled in a village in Somerset, Pye loved his garden and was closely involved with the Spaxton Flower Show. He also enjoyed shooting and was a keen fisherman. He had a strong Christian faith and took a great interest in his local church.

He maintained his links with his regiment and had many friendships with old comrades up to the time of his death.

Pye married 8 June, 1968, Mary Ann Edwardes (born 8 February, 1947), scion of the Barons Kensington, daughter of Commander the Hon David Edwardes, DSC, RN (1907-1983), and his wife the former Elizabeth Broadley (1919-2012), and a granddaughter of the 6th Baron Kensington (1873-1938).

Brig. Pye leaves issue, a son, Robert Alec Kellow Pye (born 30 Oct, 1970), and a daughter, Victoria Ann (born 19 Oct, 1973).

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Grossman/Knatchbull marriage

The marriage took place in May, 2024, at Chelsea Register Office, between Loyd Grossman, CBE (born 16 September, 1950), the American-British author, broadcaster, son of David K. Grossman and his wife Helen Katherine Gilman, and the Hon Mrs Melissa Clare Knatchbull (born 12 November, 1960), former wife of the Hon Michael John Ulick Knatchbull (born 24 May, 1950), and daughter of His Honour Sir John Arthur Dalziel Owen, QC (1925-2010), and his wife the former Valerie Ethell (who died 1988).

Melissa Knatchbull married firstly, 1 June, 1985 (div. 1997), the Hon Michael John Ulick Knatchbull, second son of the 7th Baron Brabourne, CBE (1924-2005), and his wife Patricia, (2nd) Countess Mountbatten of Burma (1924-2017).

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Angus James A. Devitt (born 2024)

Alice Georgina Devitt (nee Youngman, born 1991), wife of Jack Thomas Michael Devitt [born 29 July, 1988], gave birth to a son, Angus James A. Devitt, early in 2024.

Jack Devitt is the elder son and heir of Sir James Hugh Thomas Devitt, 3rd Baronet [born 18 September, 1956], of Alresford, co Hampshire, and his wife the former Susan Carol Duffus.

Alice Devitt is a daughter of Mr Andrew P. Youngman, of Charlsfield, Suffolk, by his former wife the former Sarah Hawkins [now Mrs Sarah Offord, of Milden, Suffolk]. 

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Walter Maynard 1932-2024

 Walter 'Robin' Maynard, who died at East Hampton, Long Island, New York, 3 May, 2024, was a descendant of the Barons Fermoy, a second cousin of Diana, Princess of Wales.

He was born in 1932, a son of Walter Maynard (1906-1971), and his wife Eileen Burden (1910-1970), a great-granddaughter of the American heiress Frances Ellen Work (1858-1947), wife of the 3rd Baron Fermoy (1852-1920).

The 3rd Baron Fermoy (1852-1920) > Hon Cynthia Roche (1884-1966) > Eileen Burden (1910-70) > Walter Maynard (1932-2024)

The 3rd Baron Fermoy > 4th Baron Femoy (1885-1955) > Hon Frances Roche (1936-2004) > Diana Princess of Wales (1961-97)

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Caspian Nadir Fermor-Hesketh (born 2024)

 Seljan Fermor-Hesketh (née Nasibli), wife of the Hon Blaise Isambard Robert Fermor-Hesketh (born 22 January, 1987), scion of the Barons Hesketh, gave birth to a son, Caspian Nadir, 3 May, 2024.

Blaise is the son of the late Hon Robert Fermor-Hesketh (1951-1997), and his wife the former Jeanne McDowell, and a grandson of the late 2nd Baron Hesketh (1916-1955).

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Maj. Michael Christopher Bagshawe, TD 1926-2024

Major Michael Christopher Bagshawe, TD, who died 21 May, 2024, aged 97, was a scion of that landed gentry family; born in 1926, a younger son on Capt Francis Ernest Gisborne Bagshawe (1893-1985), & his wife the former Albinia Marian Paul (1900-1986); and married 23 June, 1951, Patricia Jane Crompton-Inglefield (born 29 November, 1929), scion of that landed gentry family, eldest daughter of Colonel Sir John Frederick Crompton-Inglefield, TD (1904-1988), and his wife the former Rosemary Scott (1903-1978), daughter of Admiral Sir Percy Moreton Scott, 1st Baronet, KCB, KCVO (1953-1924).

Maj. Bagshawe leaves issue, a son, John Nicholas Samuel (born 4 Dec, 1954), and a daughter, Albinia Sarah (born 5 Feb, 1953).

His granddaughter, Hannah Jane Bagshawe (born 1982) is the wife of the actor Eddie Redmayne (born 6 Jan, 1982).

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Catherine Mary Forlan (born 2024)

 Rosanna Mary Forlan [nee Mostyn, born 28 Aug, 1990], wife of Jamie Michael Forlan [born 1992], gave birth to a daughter, Catherine Mary, 22 May, 2024, a sister for Elizabeth Mary, who was born 30 June, 2022.

Jamie is a son of Mr & Mrs Michael Forlan, of Hayling Island, Hampshire, & Rosanna, a scion of the Mostyn baronets, is a daughter of Brigadier Philip Joseph Mostyn [born 3 Sept, 1955], of Uplyme, Devon, by his wife the former Helen Catharine Stewart Nickerson [born 9 July, 1959].

Rosanna is a descendant of Sir Edward Mostyn, 7th Baronet.

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Henry Claude Strathern Evill 1931-2024

Henry Claude Strathern Evill died 25 May, 2024, aged 92. He was a descendant of the Kleniwort baronets.

He was born 29 May, 1931, the third son of Air Chief Marshal Sir Douglas Claude Strathern Evill, GBE, KCB, DSC, AFC, RAF (1892-1971), and his wife the former Henrietta Hortense Kleinwort (1893-1980), second daughter of Sir Alexander Drake Kleinwort, 1st Baronet (1858-1935). He married 16 March, 1960, Irene Joan Moncrieff, daughter of John Gillie Moncrieff, by whom he had issue, a son, Stephen (born 24 July, 1962), and two daughters, Gillian (born 14 Oct, 1960), and Katrina (born 14 Nov, 1964).

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Barley/Ashby engagement

 The engagement was announced 29 May, 2024, between Max John Roden Barley (born 1989), eldest son of Michael Desmond Tennyson Barley (born 1944), of Melbourn, Cambridgeshire, and his wife the former Richenda Mary Buxton (born 14 January, 1953), scion of the Buxton baronets, & Lydia Alice Charlotte Ashby (born 2 July, 1989), daughter of Philip Stephen Ashby (born 1949), of Bishops Down, Dorset, and his wife the former Favell Margaret Bevan (born 1954), scion of that landed gentry family.

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Rosanna Juliet Lamorna Bolitho (born 2024)

Eleanor Charlotte Herschel Bolitho (born 1991), wife of Capt Thomas Alverne Bolitho, of the Grenadier Guards [born 1991], scion of that landed family, gave birth to a daughter Rosanna Juliet Lamorna, 4 May, 2024, a sister for Clementine Elizabeth Herschel, who was born 24 September, 2022.

Capt Bolitho is the elder son of Alverne Robert Bolitho [born 1961], of Petersfield, Hampshire, by his wife the former Annabel Louise Shaw-Baker [born 1962].

Eleanor Bolitho (née Harbage), is a daughter of William John Hirons Harbage, QC [born 1960], of Bulwick, co Northampton, by his wife the former Julia Mary Herschel Dunkerley [born 1960].

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Lady Palmer 1929-2024

 Lady Palmer, who died 18 May, 2024, aged 94, was the widow of Major General Sir Michael Palmer, KCVO, sometime Defence Services Secretary.

She was born Jillean Monica Sherston, 7 August, 1929, scion of the Sherston landed gentry family, second daughter of Capt Geoffrey William Sherston, MC (1891-1944), and his wife the former Monica Dulcibella Barrett (1893-1980), scion of that landed family; and married in 1953, Major Gen Sir (Joseph) Michael Palmer, KCVO (1928-2017), the son of Lieutenant-Colonel William Robert Palmer, DSO and his wife Joan Audrey Palmer (née Smith), by whom she had issue, two sons, Jeremy and Jonathan, and a daughter Deborah.

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Dianne Joy Button (nee Goold) 1946-2024

Dianne Joy Button (nee Goold), who died 22 May, 2024, aged 77, was a scion of the Goold baronets.

She was born 15 September, 1946, the eldest daughter of Sir George Leonard Goold, 7th Baronet (1923-1997), and hs wife the former Joy Cecilia Cutler (who died 2021); and married 31 August, 1968, Gary Neville Button, by whom he had issue, a son, Darren (born 1970), and a daughter, Kelly (born 1972).

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Heeney/Leeming engagement

 The engagement was announced 25 May, 2024, between Jack Alexander D. Heeney (born 1994), son of David John Heeney (born 1963), of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, and Mrs Carole Anna Heeney (nee Waters), of Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire, & Teresa Mary Leeming (born 28 February, 1994), daughter of Antony Richard Leeming (born 22 June, 1950), of Skirsgill Park, Penrith, Cumbria, scion of the Tempest landed family, by his wife the former Lady Elizabeth Mary Cecilia Bowes Lyon, LVO (born 23 December, 1959), a cousin of the King, elder daughter of the late 17th Earl of Strathmore & Kinghorne (1928-1987), of Glamis Castle, Forfar, by his wife the former Mary Pamela McCorquodale (b 31 May, 1932), scion of that landed gentry family.

Lady Elizabeth Leeming is an Extra Lady in Waiting to HRH The Princess Royal, and served the late Queen Elizabeth II in the same capacity.

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Jonathan Charles Albert Jessel (born 2024)

 Isabel Margaret L. Jessel (nee English, born 1990), wife of Thomas George William [Tom] Jessel [born 17 April, 1990], scion of the Jessel baronets, gave birth to a son, Jonathan Charles Albert (Jonny), 7 April, 2024.

Thomas Jessel is the only son of Mr Alastair John Jessel [born 19 Aug, 1959], of Pembury, Kent, by his former wife the former Gail Alexandra Patridge [now Mrs Peter Hall, of Marden, Kent].

Isabel is a daughter of the late Jonathan M.S. English [born 1964, d], by his wife the former Hannah I. Tahany [now of Wilton, Wiltshire].

The infant is a great-grandson of Sir Charles John Jessel, 3rd Baronet [born 29 Dec, 1924].

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Ludo George Quantrill McCorquodale (born 2024)

 Flora McCorquodale (nee Russell), wife of Malcolm George McCorquodale [born 1989], scion of that landed gentry family, gave birth to a son, Ludo George Quantrill, 30 April, 2024, a brother for Isla Mary Elizabeth, who was born 12 October, 2022.

Flora is a daughter of Brigadier and Mrs Bruce Russell, of Stobo, Peebleshire. Flora's sister, Emily, announced her engagement in 2020, to Rory Lees-Millais (born 1990), scion of the baronets of that name.

Malcolm McCorquodale is a son of Hamish Norman McCorquodale [born 6 Feb, 1945], of Hethe, Oxfordshire, by his wife the former Mary Anne Cookson [born 1952], scion of the Cookson landed gentry family.

Malcolm McCorquodale descends from the Barons Luke on his paternal side, and via that family the Barons St John of Bletso. Prominent McCorquodale kin include Mary Pamela McCorquodale [born 31 May, 1932], wife of the 17th Earl of Strathmore & Kinghorne, a cousin of  the King, and Neil Edmund McCorquodale [born 1951], husband of Lady Sarah Spencer, sister of Diana, Princess of Wales.

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Dijkstra/Molson engagement

 The engagement was announced 24 May, 2024, between Auguste A.D. Dijkstra, son of Mr and Mrs Antoine Dijkstra, of Verbier, Switzerland, & Sophie Natasha Molson (born 1995), second but eldest surviving daughter of R. Ian Molson, of Kingham, Oxfordshire, and Mrs Verena Brigid Molson (nee Cayzer, born 8 Feb, 1961), of Chelsea, London, scion of the Barons Rotherwick.

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Wingfield Digby/Sewell engagement

 The engagement was announced 24 May, 2024, between Richard Francis Wingfield Digby (born 1989), son of George Richard Wingfield Digby (born18 August, 1955), of Oxfordshire, and his wife the former Frances Jane Henn (born 2 February, 1959), scion of that Irish landed family & Lucinda Charlotte Anne Sewell (born 30 September, 1993), scion of that landed gentry family, third daughter of Mark Geoffrey Sewell (born 27 May, 1955), of Idlicote, Warwickshire, and his wife the former Elizabeth Mary Alexandra Fraser (born 1957), descended from the Seymour Dukes of Somerset.

Lucinda's descent from the 5th Baron Methuen:-

5th Baron Methuen (1891-1975) > Hon Elizabeth Methuen (1928-2017) > Elizabeth Fraser (b 1957) > Lucinda Sewell (b 1993)

Lucinda's Somerset lineage:-

8th Duke of Somerset (1695-1757) > Rev Lord Francis Seymour (1726-99) > Francis Compton Seymour (d 1822) > Henry John Hyde Seymour (1795-1860) > Rev Henry Seymour (1825-1911) > Madeleine St Maur Seymour (1862-1951) > Violet Abel Smith (1896-1972) > Malcolm Fraser (1924-2019) > Elizabeth Fraser (b 1957) > Lucinda Sewell (b 1993)

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Eliza Cecilia Lamarque (born 2024), great-granddaughter for the Earl of Rosebery

 Bryony Rose Lamarque (nee Barling, born 1987), wife of Victor George Lamarque (born 1986), gave birth to a daughter, Eliza Cecilia, 15 May, 2024, a sister for Myles Auberon Barling Lamarque, who was born 20 June, 2018.

Victor Barling is a son of William G. Lamarque by his former wife Lady Emma Elizabeth Anne Primrose (born 1962), daughter of the 7th Earl of Rosebery (b 1929).

Bryony Lamarque is a daughter of Mr Justice Sir Gerald Barling (born 1949), by his wife the former Myriam Frances Ponsford.

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(Andrew) Gillies Macbain

 Andrew Gillies Macbain, died 16 March, 2024, aged 81.

He was born 9 January, 1943. He married firstly, 1971 (div) Antonia Peck; married 2ndly, 1985, Rowena Mary Phillida Blunden (born 13 September, 1952), fourth daughter of Sir William Blunden, 6th Baronet (1919-1985), and his wife the former Pamela Mary Purser (1922-2017).

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The Queen attends memorial service for Capt Ian Farquhar

 The Queen joined 500 mourners at a memorial service, 23 May, 2024,  at Badminton, Gloucestershire, for her friend Capt Ian Farquhar,  the renowned horseman and legendary hunting figure who died in March, died aged 78.

Queen Camilla attended the service at the church of St Michael and All Angels, close to Badminton House, seat of the Duke of Beaufort. The Queen's former husband, Brigadier Andrew Parker Bowles was among the mourners. 

Capt Farquhar, of the Queen's Own Hussars, died 6 March, 2024, at his home on the King's Highgrove estate. He was a a scion of the Farquhar baronets.

Old Etonian Farquhar, a friend of the King and Queen for many years, and sometime equerry to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, was a renowned huntsman with the Beaufort Hunt, where he was master for 34 years, and served in the Queen's Own Hussars, a cavalry regiment. He rented a farmhouse on the King's country estate in Gloucestershire.

Walter Ian Farquhar was born 11 December, 1945, the third son of Sir Peter Walter Farquhar, 6th Baronet (1904-1986), and his wife the former Elizabeth Evelyn Hurt (who died 30 Oct, 1983); and he married 18 November, 1972, Pamela Jane (Pammie), daughter of Charles Chafer, a master of the Derwent Hunt, of Pickering, North Yorkshire, by whom he had issue, three daughters, Emma (born 1977), Victoria (born 1979), and Rosanne (known as Rose) (born 1983). The Prince of Wales briefly dates Rose Farquhar in 2000 after he had finished his A-levels at Eton.

'The Captain', as he was known, was appointed a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order for his time as equerry to the Queen Mother, a distant cousin.

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Fletcher/Haig engagement

The engagement was announced 18 May, 2024, between J.P.G. (Jack) Fletcher, son of Charlie Fletcher and Domenica More Gordon of Inveresk, East Lothian, & Kirsty Louise Haig (born 27 November, 1993), scion of that landed gentry family, elder daughter of Alexander Veitch Haig (born 19 Nov, 1960), of Balfron, Stirlingshhire, by his wife the former Susan Anne Harriet Campbell.

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Rudolf Jocelyn Heinrich William Oscar von Vollmar auf Veltheim 1956-2024

 Rudolf Jocelyn Heinrich William Oscar von Vollmar auf Veltheim, who died 14 May, 2024, was descended from the Buxton baronets; born in 1956, son of Albert von Vollmar auf Veltheim (1918-2002), of Chedgrave, Norwich, Norfolk, by his wife, Mrs Victoria Lilian Roden Beeton (1919-1972) , former wife of Commander Arthur Walter Beeton, RIN, and daughter of Capt Roden Henry Victor Buxton, CBE (1890-1990), by his 1st wife the former Dorothy Alina St John (who died 1956).

Sir Thomas Buxton, 4th Bt (1865-1919) > Capt Roden Buxton (1890-1990) > Victoria Buxton (1919-72) > Rudolf von Vollmar auf Veltheim (1956-2024)

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Zoe May Pobar (born 2024)

 Laura Juliette McPhee (née Crichton, born 1988), has given birth to a daughter, Zoe May Pobar, 21 May, 2024, in Brisbane. Laura, a scion of the Earls of Erne, is a daughter of Hugh Patrick George Crichton (born 9 Aug, 1949), and his wife the former Kerry Kyle-Little. She married in 2016, Andrew N. McPhee, son of the Rev Jeffrey McPhee, by whom she has a son, Charles Jeffrey McPhee (born 2017). Laura also has issue, a son, from her relationship with _____Pobar, Jack Francis Pobar (born 30 Aug, 2022).

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Sir John Brewer Sutherland, 3rd Baronet 1931-2024

 Sir John Sutherland, 3rd Baronet, of Belford, Northumberland, died 11 May, 2024, aged 92.

John Brewer Sutherland was born 19 Oct, 1931, son of Sir (Benjamin) Ivan Sutherland, 2nd Baronet (1901-80), and his 1st wife the former Marjorie Constance Daniel Brewer (who died 3 May, 1980), and succeeded to the baronetcy on his father's death, 6 November, 1980, but chose not to use the title.

The baronetcy was created in 1921 for Sir Arthur Munro Sutherland, KBE, chairman of Newcastle Commercial Exchange, Lord Mayor of Newcastle, and President of the Chamber of Shipping of the United Kingdon, and High Sheriff of Northumberland.

John Sutherland was twice wed, firstly, 20 Nov, 1958, Alice Muireall Henderson (who died 21 September, 1984), daughter of William Stamford Henderson, of Usan, Makerstoun, Kelso, Roxburghshire; and married 2ndly, 20 Jan, 1988, (Ailsa) Heather Gray, daughter of David Alexander Gray, of Langley Mill, Lanchester, Co Durham.

He leaves issue by his first wife, three sons, Peter, Christopher and Robert, and a daughter, Susan. The eldest son, Peter William Sutherland (born 18 May, 1963), succeeds to the baronetcy.

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Nicholas Mark Percy Faber (born 2024)

Stella Nony Faber (née Weatherall, born 1991), wife of Luke Christopher Michael Faber (born 1990), gaveb birth to a son Nicholas Mark Percy (Nicky), 29 April, 2024.

Stella is a scion of the Keswick family (of Jardine Matheson), daughter of Percy Weatherall (born 1957), and his wife the former Clara Mary Johnston (born 1960).

Luke Faber is a descendant of the Dukes of Devonshire, and a great-grandson of Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC, FRS (1894-1986).

9th Duke of Devonshire (1868-1938) > Lady Dorothy Cavendish (1900-86) > Lady Caroline Macmillan (1923-2016) > Mark Faber (1950-1991) > Luke Faber (b 1990)

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Nina Mary Ally Boyle (born 2024)

 Ayesha Boyle (nee Ally), wife of Richard Piers Boyle [born 1988], scion of the Earls of Cork and Orrery, gave birth to a daughter, Nina Mary Ally, 18 April, 2024.

Ayesha is a daughter of Mr & Mrs Dwight Ally. Richard Boyle is a son of the Hon Robert William Boyle [born 1948], by his wife the former Fiona Mary St Aubyn [born 1952], scion of the Barons St Levan, and a grandson paternally of the 14th Earl of Cork & Orrery [1916-2003], and a great grandson maternally of the 3rd Baron St Levan [1895-1978], of St Michael's Mount, Penzance.

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Rory Lewis David Jerome More O'Ferrall 1947-2024

Rory Lewis David Jerome More O'Ferrall, Knight of Honour & Devotion, Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and Malta, died in Marbella on 14 May, 2024, aged 76. He was a scion of that Irish landed gentry family.

He was born in 1947, son of Major George Anthony More O'Ferrall (1907-1982), and his wife the former Elizabeth Crosby Lockwood (1911-2012). He leaves a partner, Andrew McCullough.

More O'Ferrall, sometime of the De Beers diamond mining group where he spent 36 years, was an advocate for ethical practices and sustainable development. He played a crucial role in creating the World Diamond Council (WDC) and shaping the Kimberley Process to ensure ethical diamond sourcing.

After leaving De Beers Group, Rory continued his mission with the The Diamond Development Initiative (DDI), supporting small-scale diamond miners. He also remained an Honorary Life Member of the World Diamond Council. 

More O'Ferrall has numerous family connections with the peerage and landed gentry. One cousin Susan Angela More O'Ferrall, married the 3rd Baron Beaverbrook, and another, Theresa More O'Ferrall,  married the 4th Viscount Allendale. A cousin, Edward More O'Ferrall married Lady Elizabeth Hare, daughter of Lord Listowel.

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Julian Hubert Thorold 1933-2024

Julian Hubert Thorold, who died 13 May, 2024, was a scion of the Thorold baronets.

He was born 28 January, 1933, the second son of Sir Guy Frederick Thorold, KCMG (1898-1970), and his wife the former Mary Wilder Wynnatt-Hussey (who died 6 June, 1963); 

Julian Thorold who was unmarried is descended from Sir John Thorold, 9th Baronet (1734-1815)

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Keith Norman Guy Hungerford 1946-2024

 Keith Norman Guy Hungerford, who died 8 May, 2024, at Balmain, New South Wales, aged 77, was a scion of the Hungerford landed family (also see Burke's Irish Family Records).

He was born 8 June, 1946, son of Anthony Guy Hungerford (1912-1992), and his wife the former Meredyth Effie Thompson (died 29 Mar, 2007); and married 28 February, 1970, Carole Babington, daughter of Norman Babington, by whom he had issue, including son, Josslyn (born 17 January, 1975).

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Makim/Weiss marriage

 The marriage took place in Germany, 11 May, 2024, between Seamus Makim (born 1981), son of William Alex Makim, and his former wife Jane Louisa Luedecke (nee Ferguson, born 26 Aug 1957), & Sibylle Weiss.

Seamus Makim, a scion of the Fergusons of Dummer (landed gentry) is a descendant of the Dukes of Buccleuch & Queensberry, and a nephew of Sarah Duchess of York.

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Merle, Lady Hope (died 2024)

Merle, Lady Hope, who died 7 May, 2024, was the widow of Sir John Hope, 18th Baronet.

The former Merle Pringle Douglas was a daughter of Robert Douglas, of Holbrook, Suffolk, and married 29 June, 1968, John Carl Alexander Hope of Craighall (born 10 June, 1939), son of Sir Archibald Hope of Craighall, 17th Baronet (1912-1987), and his wife the former Ruth Chamberlin Davis. Her husband succeeded his father in the baronetcy (cr NS 1628), 27 July, 1987, and died 30 Oct, 2007.

Lady Hope is survivved by a daughter, Natasha (born 1971), and a son, Sir Alexander Archibald Douglas Hope of Craighall, 19th Baronet (born 16 March, 1969).

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Evans/Sells engagement

The engagement was announced 18 May, 2024, between Michael J.A. Evans, elder son of Major and Mrs Christopher Evans, of Noddsdale, Ayrshire, & Rosanna Mary Sells (born 30 June, 1991), daughter of Oliver Matthew Sells, KC (born 1950), of Flitcham, Norfolk, by his wife the former Lucinda Jane Mackworth-Young (born 4 January, 1957), descended from the Earls of Rothes.

The 20th Earl of Rothes (pronounced 'Rothez') 1902-1975 > Lady Evelyn Leslie (1929-2011) >  Lucinda Mackworth-Young (b 1957) > Rosanna Sells (b 1991)

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Angela, Lady Buchan-Hepburn (died 2024)

Angela, Lady Buchan-Hepburn, who died 12 May, 2024, was the widow of Sir Ninian Buchan-Hepburn, 6th Baronet, and mother of the Duchess of Northumberland.

She was (Mary) Angela Scott, daughter of Thomas Ian Scott, of Balfunning, Balfron, Stirlingshire, & his wife, Charlotte, and was three times married, firstly to Jack Walch Lyne, secondly,  to John Miller Richard, and thirdly, in 1991, as his second wife, Sir Ninian Buchan Archibald John Buchan-Hepburn, 6th Baronet (born 8 Oct, 1922), son of Sir John Buchan-Hepburn, 5th Bt (1894-1961), and his wife the former Jessie Lawrence Smith (died 8 Mar 1961). Her 3rd husband succeeded to his father's baronetcy, 8 Feb, 1961, and he died 22 Feb, 1992.

Lady Buchan-Hepburn leaves issue, (Isobel) Jane, Duchess of Northumberland (born 11 May, 1958), Simon John Miller Richard (born 11 Mar 1960), and Nicola Denise Richard (later Davies) (born 22 Jan 1962), and was predeceased by a daughter, Dorinda.

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Richard Harvey Morgan-Grenville 1947-2023

Richard Harvey Morgan-Grenville, who died in South Africa, 26 November, 2023, aged 76, was a scion of the Lords Kinloss.

He was born 8 April, 1947, son of Robert Grenville Plantagenet Morgan-Grenville (1916-1993), and his wife the former Mabel Frazer Allen Ellis (who died 1985), and was a great-grandson of a peeress in her own right, the 11th Lady Kinloss (1852-1944).

He married 1stly, in 1970 [div.], Diana Jane Chambler, and married 2ndly, 1982, Valerie de Marigny.

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Dr William Gerard Noel 1965-2024

 Dr William Gerard Noel, who died following an accident,  29 April, 2024, aged 58, was a scion of the Earls of Gainsborough.

The Anglo-American historian died after being hit by a van in Edinburgh. He was struck by a white Citroen Relay van on Trinity Crescent on 10 April. The 58-year-old was taken to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh where he died.

Dr Noel, who was previously honoured by the Obama administration for his commitment to open science, was Associate Librarian for Special Collections at Princeton University at the time of his death. He was an eminent scholar of medieval manuscripts best known for directing a project in which the latest technology was used to decipher lost works of Archimedes of Syracuse, the Greek mathematician and inventor who lived in the third century BC.

He was born 1 August, 1965, the second son of Capt Henry Methuen Noel (1927-1998), and his wife the former Helen Elizabeth Anne Hutchison (1935-1992); and married in 2007, Carol Lynn Ransom, wby whom he had a son, Henry Mehtuen Ransom, born in 2010.

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Frederick Cresswell Macrae Clementi (born 2024)

 Alice Margaret Clementi [nee Stein], wife of Thomas Cowley Clementi [born 1979], descended from the Earls of Chichester, gave birth to a son, Frederick Cresswell Macrae, 25 April, 2024, a brother for Mary Jane Cowley, who was born 3 September, 2022.

Alice is a daughter of Nigel M. Stein and his wife the former Jane Lennon. 

Tom Clementi is a son of David Cecil Clementi [born 25 Feb, 1949], and his wife the former Sarah Louise Cowley [born 1947]. 

2nd Earl of Chichester > Rt Rev Hon John Pelham > Henry Francis Pelham > Sir Edward Henry Pelham > Susan Pelham > David Cecil Clementi > Thomas Clementi > Frederick Clementi [born 2024]

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Mawicke/Dove engagement

 The engagement was announced 17 May, 2024, between Jason D. Mawicke, son of Mr Daniel Mawicke, of Florida, and Mrs Kathryn Hall, of Connecticut, United States, & Elizabeth Fay Dove (born 1994), daughter of Anthony Edward Dove (born 1946), of Warrington, Cheshire, and his wife the former Julia Maria Williams.

The bride-to-be is descended from the Barons Carrington:-

The 5th Baron Carrington (1891-1938) > Hon Elizabeth Carington > Anthony Dove (b 1946) > Elizabeth Dove (b 1994)

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Harbord/Brook engagement

 The engagement was announced 17 May, 2024, between James Henry Sebastian Charles Harbord (born 1988), scion of the Barons Suffield, son of Jeremy Julian Harbord (born 22 May, 1953), of Netheravon, Wiltshire, and his wife the former Monique Katherine Marie Fetherstonhaugh (born 15 Aug, 1953), & Charlotte E.L. Brook, daughter of Mrs Alison Brook, of Heathfield, East Sussex, and the late Mr David Brook, of Frensham, Surrey.

The 3rd Baron Suffield (1781-1835) > Hon Ralph Harbord (1833-78) > Edward Ralph Harbord (1870-1950) > Ralph Evelyn Harbord (1915-1993) > Jeremy Harbord (b 1953) > James Harbord (b 1988)

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Norman/Martin engagement

The engagement was announced 17 May, 2024 between Antony Norman (born 10 March, 1995), eldest son and heir of Sir Nigel James Norman, 4th Baronet (born 5 February, 1956), of Wilcote, Oxfordshire, by his wife the former Juliet Clare Louise Baxendale, & Alice V. Martin, daughter of Mr and Mrs Roy Martin, of Barnes, London.

The 2nd Earl Annesley (1745-1824) > Hon Robert Annesley (1773-1845) > James Annesley (1799-1859) > Capt Francis Annesley (1845-78) > Lt-Col James Annesley (1868-1919) > Patricia Annesley (b 1904) > Sir Mark Annesley, 3rd Bt (1927-2013) > Sir Nigel Norman 4th Bt (b 1956) > Antony Norman (b 1995)

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The 8th Marquess of Ailesbury 1926-2024

 The Marquess of Ailesbury, 8th holder of the Peerage (created 1821), died 12 May, 2024, following a fall at his London home. He was 98.

The peer fell out of his window at his home while letting his cat out. He died on impact on a concrete patio. By unhappy coincidence, 86 years ago, his mother was killed falling from a window at the Savoy Hotel. 

The Marquess, whose home was in Savernake Forest, Marlborough, Wiltshire, was Marquess of Ailesbury (1821), Earl of Cardigan (1661), Earl of Ailesbury (1776), Earl Bruce (1821), Viscount Savernake (1821), Baron Brudenell (1627/8), Baron Bruce (1746), a Baronet in England (1611), & 30th Hereditary Warden of Savernake Forest.

Michael Sydney Cedric Brudenell-Bruce was born 31 March, 1926, elder son of the 7th Marquess of Ailesbury (1904-1974), and his 1st wife the former Joan Houlton Salter, daughter of Stephen Salter, of Pondwell House, Ryde, Isle of Wight. 

Michael's mother, the then Countess of Cardigan, who had recently returned from South Africa, was killed in July, 1937, when she fell from a seventh floor window at the Savoy Hotel, London, where she was staying alone. The countess, wearing an evening dress, fell near three children who were playing in the street. A coroner returned a verdict that Lady Cardigan had committed suicide whilst of unsound mind.

Michael Brudenell-Bruce succeeded his father in the family honours, 15 July, 1974.

Lord Ailesbury was three times wed. He married firstly, 17 March, 1952 (div 1961), Edwina Sylvia de Winton Wills (1933-2023), the second daughter of Lt Col Sir (Ernest) Edward de Winton Wills, 4th Baronet (1903-1983), of Hazelwood, by his first wife Sylvia Margaret Ogden (died 1946); and married 2ndly, 10 July, 1963 (div 1974), Juliet Adrienne Lethbridge Kingsford, daughter of Edward Hilary Lethbridge Kingsford; and married 3rdly, 18 September, 1974 (div 1992), Caroline Elizabeth Romilly (former wife of Simon Romilly, 1st son of Eric Carnegie Romilly, of Bradfield Court, Bodenham, co. Hereford), only daughter of Cmdr Owen Francis MacTier Wethered, RN, of Remnantz, Marlow, co. Buckingham. 

The Marquess leaves a son from his first marriage, David, Earl of Cardigan, and two daughters, Lady Sylvia (b 19 Jun 1954), and Lady Carina (b 13 Jan 1956); and he leaves two daughters from his 2nd marriage, Lady Louise (b 13 Jul 1964), and Lady Kathryn (b 24 Aug 1965).

The son, David Michael James Brudenell-Bruce, styled Earl of Cardigan (born 12 Nov, 1952), now succeeds as 9th Marquess of Ailesbury.

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Peter Phillips and his latest girlfriend's family and background

 Peter Phillips, 46 year-old nephew of the King, the late Queen's eldest grandchild has been seen on the arm of a new girlfriend. The lady, Harriet Sperling, described in the Sun newspaper as "a paediatric and specialist nurse and freelance writer in her 40s" was with Phillips last week at the Badminton Horse Trials where she was introduced to Queen Camilla.

Harriet wrote in March this year of the struggles, and joys, of her life as a single parent bringing up her young daughter. She highlights 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 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, 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.

Harriet has siblings: Nicholas (born 1975), Louisa (born 1976), and Rebecca (born 1986).

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Belinda Bellville 1930-2024

 Belinda Bellville, who died 5 May, 2024, aged 94, founded the fashion house Bellville et Cie (later Bellville Sassoon), whose young, fresh designs became a staple in the wardrobes of society ladies, brides-to-be and members of the Royal family over four decades. She was a scion of a landed gentry family.

Daily Telegraph: Dubbed “Belinda Bellville, the top peoples’ darling” by the press, her patrons included Princesses Margaret and Alexandra, the Duchess of Kent, and, a little further down the social scale, Audrey Hepburn, Julie Christie, Jackie Kennedy and Catherine Deneuve.

“Titled ladies applaud the titled models” reported the Daily Mail of one of her early shows in the 1950s. “200 women crowd into an elegant drawing room in Park Lane to see 18-year-old Lady Beatty and five other models show off the latest creations of Belinda Bellville. The Duchess of Westminster, the Countess of Derby, Lady Rupert Nevill, Lady Oppenheimer, and Lady Ebury squeezed on to little gilt chairs. The less fortunate had to strain to see from the corridor outside. The street was jammed with Bentleys and Rolls-Royces.”

When Lady Pamela Mountbatten married David Hicks in 1960, her wedding trousseau was designed by Bellville – as was the dress worn by her bridesmaid Princess Anne. The designer Cath Kidston, whose mother was Belinda’s first cousin, recalled being told how when Belinda went to Buckingham Palace for the fitting of the dress – a yellow ruffled affair – the Queen came along to see it and said “It’s very nice”, then turned to Belinda and said, “Will it wash?”

In 1963 The Sunday Times reported that Bellville had just completed its 80th wedding dress of the season with 20 more to finish by October. By the end of the decade, a survey by Tatler showed that Bellville et Cie had made more society wedding dresses than any other couture house had over 30 years.

In 1970 Belinda Bellville went into partnership with David Sassoon and the business expanded into a full-blown couture house. In 1981 Belville Sassoon created the outfit that Lady Diana Spencer wore when her engagement to Prince Charles was announced, and went on to create her wedding trousseau and her going away outfit. Between 1981 and 1993 Bellville Sassoon created more than 70 outfits for the Princess of Wales.

The oldest of three children, Belinda Bellville was born 29 March, 1930. Her father was Anthony Seymour Bellville (1902-70), whose family wealth came from Keen’s mustard. Her mother was Audrey Dorothy Kidston (1907-97), member of that landed gentry family, whose family owned Clyde Shipping.

She grew up in Leicestershire where her parents were part of a fashionable set – keen on racing cars, aeroplanes and horses. Summers were spent at Bembridge on the Isle of Wight, where her parents sailed and had parties on their yacht Mahelah, a converted Thames barge equipped with a grand piano and cast iron bath.

During the war, her father joined the RNVR and had the deck of the boat covered in concrete to transform it into an anti-aircraft platform from which he would shoot at doodle bugs – like shooting high pheasants, he claimed.

To avoid the bombs, the rest of the family moved to a house on the river Wye, near Builth Wells, where they enjoyed riding Welsh ponies in the mountains, fishing for salmon and collecting gulls’ eggs.

Belinda’s interest in fashion was inspired by her (divorced and remarried) paternal grandmother, Gladys Hermione “Cuckoo” Chester Master, who had run a dress shop in Savile Row in the 1920s. With clothes rationed during the war, Belinda helped her mother make garments out of whatever they could find, including old curtains.

Towards the end of the war, Belinda did a short stint at Miss Faunce’s school at Wimborne St Giles, Dorset. Six foot tall and elegant, in 1947 she was presented at court.

Determined to forge her own career in fashion at a time when there were few opportunities to study for design qualifications, Belinda Bellville dabbled in fashion journalism, assisted a fashion photographer and worked for a clothes shop in Bond Street.

She married 30 July, 1952, (Thomas) David Whately, MC (1924-2008), a partner in a firm which made mobiles and abstract sculptures for advertising, and later a financier, son of Brevet-Maj Ernest George Whately (who died 1969, and his wife the former Edith Winifred Rhoda Milburn.

The following year, aged 23, she founded Bellville et Cie in partnership with Sydna Scott, who had a shop in Kinnerton Street, Knightsbridge. “The space was so small, it had an outside loo and I used to visit the neighbouring pub to design and sketch the dresses,” she recalled.

Needing money to invest in the business, Belinda sold a Citroen car that her brother Jeremy had given her for a wedding present, for £500; astonishingly it was the only capital the company ever needed.

In 1953 Belinda Bellville held her first show at Cuckoo Leith’s house in Manchester Square, with her sister Camilla and friends as models. People queued up to see it, and the show was a riotous success, featuring in Illustrated magazine. Orders flooded in and by 1957 her collection included millinery, cocktail dresses, ball gowns and, most famously, wedding dresses.

Later she moved to new premises at 14 Motcombe Street, Belgravia, where she employed 40 people, serving an upper-class clientele. “Belville understood that Cheltenham racecourse is a draughty place and would always know to within an inch how much decolletage the Duchess would stand at dinner,” observed The Times.

In 1958 she was joined by David Sassoon, who had impressed her with his designs at a Royal College of Art degree show. Belinda, he recalled later, “had no formal training but she had great taste; she understood the moods of fashion, had a great love of fabric and a very good colour sense. Socially she knew all the right people and brought in a lot of royals.”

“Boutique”, Bellville’s ready-to-wear collection, was launched in 1963 and in 1965 Vogue Patterns invited Bellville et Cie to join their pattern books. By 1970 Bellville Sassoon, as the company was now called, had a staff of over 100.

Belinda Bellville stepped back from the company in 1982, but remained a consultant. She moved with her family to a house outside Shaftesbury in Dorset, while the company continued to flourish under David Sassoon.

The family moved to North Norfolk in 2001 and her husband David died in 2008. Belinda survived major brain surgery in 2011, but continued to live happily in Norfolk, always commenting on the fashion choices of her visitors.

She is survived by three daughters, Sophia Louise (born 29 Aug 1955), Victoria Mary (b 2 May, 1959), married to Thomas Lowther (b 2 Apr 1966), scion of the Earls of Lonsdale, and Polly Maria (b 30 May, 1967), the Countess of Leicester, wife of the 8th Earl of Leicester (b 6 July, 1965).

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Mary Anne Vere Makgill Crichton Maitland 1935-2024

Mary Anne Vere Makgill Crichton Maitland died 25 April, 2024, aged 88.

She was born 13 August, 1935, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Herbert Harberton Eales, MC (1895-1941), and his wife the former Vere Edith Ogilvy (1912-2000), scion of the Ogilvy baronets; and married thrice (1) 27 Apr, 1957 (div 1973), Major Charles Pepler Norton, TD (1926-1994); & married 2ndly, 1980, as his 2nd wife, Capt James Quintin Penn Curzon (1923-1985), scion of the Earls Howe; & married 3rdly, 1987, as his second wife, Major (John) David Makgill Crichton Maitland, CVO, DSO (1925-2015), scion of the Earls of Lauderdale.

She leaves two sons and two daughters from her first marriage, Anthony (b 1958), Julian (b 1959), and Marina (b 1961), and Josephine (b 1964).

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Rollins/Berry engagement

 The engagement was announced 11 May, 2024, between Graham Lee Rollins (born 1979), son of Brian S. Rollins, of Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, and his late wife the former (Pauline) Elaine Hird (1944-2019), and Alice Elisabeth Berry (born 12 February, 1990), scion of the Viscounts Kemsley, elder daughter of Edward Anthony Morys Berry (born 23 June, 1960), of Bridport, Dorset, and Mrs Joanna Clare Berry (nee Leschallas, born 1960), of Smarden, Kent.

The bride-to-be is a first cousin once removed of Diana, Princess of Wales.

The 4th Baron Fermoy (1885-1955) > Hon Mary Roche (1934-2023) > Edward Berry (b 1960) > Alice Berry (b 1990)

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Son and heir for Lord and Lady Hay

Clementine Camilla Curtis Hay, styled Lady Hay [born 1989, nee Travis], wife of Harry Thomas William Hay, styled Lord Hay (b 8 Aug, 1984), gave birth to a son and heir, the Hon Mungo Louis Merlin Hay, 1 May, 2024, a brother for the Hon Persephone Idina Isabelle Hay, who was born 10 July, 2020.

Lord Hay is the son and heir of the 24th Earl of Erroll (b 22 Apr, 1948), (Peerage of Scotland, cr 1452), Hereditary Lord High Constable of Scotland, of Woodbury Hall, Bedfordshire, by his wife the former Isabelle Jacqueline Laline Astell Hohler (born 22 August, 1955, died 13 January, 2020), of that landed gentry family.

Clementine Hay is the elder daughter of Professor Simon Piers Leigh Travis, FRCP. of Knights' Spill, Oxfordshire, by his wife the former Pamela J. Evans (born 1960).

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Sir John Alfred Rowley Hill, 11th Baronet 1940-2024

 Sir John Hill, 11th Baronet, died 8 May, 2024, aged 84.

John Alfred Rowley Hill was born 29 February, 1940, a son of Sir George Alfred Rowley Hill, 9th Baronet (1899-1985), and his second wife the former Jessie Anne Roberts (who died in 1985), and succeeded to the baronetcy (cr 1799, of Brook Hall, Londonderry) on the death of his elder half-brother, Sir Richard George Rowley Hill, 10th Baronet, in 1992. He married in 1966 (div 1981), Diana Anne Walker. He is survived by an adopted son and an adopted daughter. The baronetcy now passes to a distant cousin, Marcus Adam James Hill, who was born 22 August, 1974.

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William Winston Lewins 1933-2024

 William Winston Lewins, died at Auckland, New Zealand, 6 May, 2024, aged 91.

He was born in 1933, son of William Lewins, of Auckland, and married 5 Oct, 1957, Janet Winifred Tollemache (born 6 August, 1936), scion of the Earls of Dysart, daughter of Archibald Douglas Tollemache (1910-2000), of Tauranga, New Zealand, by his wife the former Edna May Wills (1911-2006), by whom he had issue, two daughters, Robyn Ann (born 8 Aug 1963), and Denise Gay (born 1 Aug, 1965).

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Jocelyn Hardwick (born 2024)

 Alexandra Anne Hardwick [nee Bromley-Martin], wife of Charles Cheever Hardwick IV, gave birth to a daughter, Jocelyn, 27 April, 2024, a sister for Charles Cheever Hardwick V,  who was born 17 August, 2021.

Alexandra is a scion of the Bromley-Martin landed gentry family, formerly of Ham Court, the elder daughter of Mr & Mrs Michael Bromley-Martin, of West Wittering.

Charles Hardwick IV is the only son of Charles Hardwick III, of Ramsbury, Wilts, and the late Mrs Hardwick.

The first Charles Cheever Hardwick [who died in 1923] was an importer (Burrs and Hardwick, of Fifth Avenue, New York), having survived the sinking of the Lusitania. He married Charlotte, daughter of Harry T. Ambrose, President of the American Book Co., who built a notable house, the 'Ambrose Mansion' in Orange, New Jersey. Charles Cheever Hardwick Jr was their second son.

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