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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