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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