Lieutenant-Colonel James Stephen (Shamus) Olivier 1944-2023

 Lieutenant-Colonel James Stephen (Shamus) Olivier, late the Royal Horse Guards (Blues), who died 18 May, 2023, aged 79, was a scion of the Olivier landed gentry family, of Nottley, and was kinsman of the great 20th century actor Sir Laurence Olivier, life peer as Baron Olivier.

He was born in 1944, a son of Lieutenant-Colonel William Herbert Olivier, TD (1904-1992), and his wife the former Katharine Mary Jones (1904-1998), scion of the Jones baronets; and married in 1968, Sally Anne Simonds, by whom he had issue, two sons, Charlie and Julian.

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Colin Berowald Innes 1936-2023

 Colin Berowald Innes, who died 17 June, 2023, aged 87, was a scion of the Innes of Edingight baronets.

He was born 7 June, 1936, the second bus eldest surviving son of Lieutenant-Colonel Berowald Alfred Innes (1904-1981), and his wife the former Betty Ida Sandeman (1906-1997), scion of that landed gentry family; and married 1stly, 30 September, 1961, Clovanis Jane Cathcart (1942-2012), scion of the Earls Cathcart, eldest daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Frederick Cathcart (1912-1971), by his wife the former Pamela Violet Stirling; and married 2ndly, in 2013, Mrs Caroline Conlin.

He leaves two daughters, Katherine (born 30 May, 1967), and Emily-Jane (born 14 January, 1969), and was predeceased by a son, Andrew (born 28 Dec, 1963, died 17 March, 1991).

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Harold Daniel Hope Elletson 1960-2023

 Harold Daniel Hope Elletson, who died 23 June, 2023, aged 62, was head of that landed gentry family, of Parrox Hall, Lancashire.

Elletson unsuccessfully contested Burnley for the Conservative Party in the 1987 general election, before becoming Member of Parliament for Blackpool North in 1992. However, in his 1997 bid for re-election in the new Blackpool North and Fleetwood constituency, he lost to Labour's Joan Humble by 8,946 votes.

He was born 8 December, 1960, son of Wing Commander Daniel Hope Elletson, RAFVR (1907-1984), abd his wife the former Coral Violet Peake Cottam (1925-2004); and married 1987 (div 2007), Fiona Margaret Ferguson, daughter of Ian Ferguson, by whom he had two sons, Alexander (born 1991), and George (born 1997).

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August Lyon Corbett-Winder (

 Matilda Rose Corbett-Winder (nee Goad, born 1989), wife of Tom Lyon Corbett-Winder (born 1987), scion of that landed gentry family, gave birth to a son, August Lyon, in 2023, a brother for Domino Dakota, born in 2020.

Tom is a son of Wiliam Lyon Corbett-Winder (born 1950), of Vaynor Park, Montgomeryshire, and his wife the former Fiona Catherine Hogg (born 1956).

Matilda Corbett-Winder is a daughter of Geoffrey Wanklyn Goad (born 1945), and his wife the former Emma Mary Meade-Fetherstonhaugh (born 2 July, 1951), scion of the Earls of Clanwilliam.

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Ann Georgina Laird Wemyss 1928-2023

 Ann Georgina Laird Wemyss died 24 June, 2023, aged 94.

She was born 24 December, 1928, a scion of the Jackson baronets, daughter of Henry Humphrey Jackson (1895-1969), and his wife the former Georgina Middleditch (who died 1974); and married 16 August, 1952, Major (Colville) Graham Wemyss (1925-2016), son of General Sir 9Henry) Colville Barclay Wemyss, KBE, DSO, MC (1891-1959), and his wife the former Vera Mozley (1895-1996), by whom she had issue, a son, Henry Graham Wemyss (1956-2010), and a daughter, Alice Caroline Wemyss (born 4 September, 1953).

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William John Newlands Moore 1944-2023

William John Newlands Moore died 25 June, 2023.

Born in 1944 the son of William Moore, of Thornhill House, Stalbridge, co Dorset, he married 1stly, 22 June, 1968 (div 1975), Davina Marion Chetwode (born 23 July, 1947), scion of the Barons Chetwode, the eldest daughter of Major George David Chetwode (1914-1999), and his wife the Lady Willa Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound (1924-2010), daughter of the 5th Earl of Minto (1891-1975); married 2ndly, Julia Dominica ______. From his first marriage he leaves a daughter, Lucy (b 1970), and from his second union he leaves 2 sons, Alexander and Gregory.

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Massey/Walker engagement

The engagement was announced 29 June, 2023, between Edmund Greville Robert Massey (born 1990), scion of the Barons Massey, youngest son of William Greville Sale Massey (born 31 Aug, 1953), of Beanacre, Wiltshire, and his wife the former Cecilia D'Oyly Awdry (born 4 August, 1954), scion of that landed gentry family, & Constance Rachel Walker (born 1990), elder daughter of Paul T. Walker (born 1962), of Wilfholme, East Yorkshire, and his wife the former Penny A. Woolhouse (born 1963).

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Palmer/Marquis engagement

 The engagement was announced 29 June, 2023, between Rupert George B. Palmer (born 1990), youngest son of Christopher A. Palmer, of  Ogbourne St George, Wiltshire, and his wife the former Jacqueline C. Rouse, & the Lady Claudia Louise Marquis (born 3 March, 1995), third daughter of the the 3rd Earl of Woolton (born 24 May, 1958), and his former 1st wife the former Hon Sophie Frederika Birdwood (born 29 July, 1964, now wife of David John Mongomery, the newspaper executive), daughter of the 3rd Baron Birdwood (1938-2015).

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The Earl of Airlie, KT, GCVO, PC 1926-2023

 The Earl of Airlie, KT, GCVO, PC, courtier and merchant banker, a Lord Chamberlain to the Household of Queen Elizabeth II, died 26 June, 2023, aged 97.

Lord Airlie, the 8th Earl (or 13th Earl but for the attainder), was Lord Chamberlain to the Household, 1984-1997, Chancellor of the Royal Victorian Order, 1984-87, and Lord Lieutenant of Angus 1989-2001. He was a brother-in-law of Princess Alexandra, the Hon Lady Ogilvy, and a Permanent Lord in Waiting to Queen Elizabeth II, 1997-2023.

Airlie was a commissioned as a lieutenant in the Scots Guards in 1944, and served in the 2nd Battalion in Germany in 1945; Captain, ADC to the High Commissioner and C-in-C Austria 1947-48; served in Malaya 1948-49; merchant banker and joined J. Henry Schroder in 1953. He was appointed a director of the company in 1961 and chairman of Henry Schroder Wagg & Co in 1973, and then of Schroders plc from 1977. In 1984, Lord Airlie resigned from Schroder to take up the position of Lord Chamberlain.

He was seated at Cortachy Castle, Kirriemuir, Angus and had a London home in Sloane Court West, London SW.

Lord Airlie was thought to be the last surviving participant from the Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, 12 May, 1937.

He was Earl of Airlie (Peerage of Scotland, cr 1639), the 11th Lord Ogilvy of Airlie (Peerage of Scotland, cr 1491), 8th Lord Ogilvy of Alyth and Lintrathen (Peerage of Scotland cr 1639), and was Chief of the Name and Arms of Ogilvy.

David George Coke Patrick Ogilvy was born 17 May, 1926, son of the 7th (or 12th) Earl of Airlie, KT, GCVO, MC (1893-1968), and his wife the former Lady Alexandra Marie Bridget Coke (1891-1984), daughter of the 3rd Earl of Leicester, GCVO, CMG (1848-1941), and was an older brother of the Hon Sir Angus James Bruce Ogilvy, KCVO, PC (1928-2004), husband of HRH Princess Alexandra of Kent (born 25 Dec, 1936).

He succeeded to his father's peeragages 28 December, 1968. He was appointed GCVO in 1984, made a Knight of the Order of the Thistle in 1985, and received the Royal Victorian Chain in 1997. He was sworn of the Privy Council in 1984. He was appointed Chancellor of the Order of the Thistle in 2007, a post he held until his death.

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and Princess Margaret were present at his wedding at St Margaret's, Westminster, 23 October, 1952, to Virginia Fortune (Ginny) Ryan, DCVO (born 9 February, 1933), Lady of the Bedchamber to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, 1973-2022, daughter of John Barry Ryan (1901-1966), of Moorland Farm, Newport, Rhode Island, United States, by his wife Margaret Dorothy 'Nin' Kahn (1901-1995), daughter of the American banker and philanthropist Otto Kahn (1867-1934), by whom he had three sons, David, Lord Ogilvy, the Hon Bruce Patrick Mark Ogilvy (born 7 Apr, 1959), and the Hon Patrick Alexander Ogilvy (born 24 Mar, 1971), and three daughters, Lady Doune Ogilvy (born 13 Aug, 1953), Lady Jane Fortune Margaret Ogilvy (born 24 Jun 1955), and Lady Elizabeth Clementina Ogilvy (born 4 Jun, 1965).

The eldest son, David John Ogilvy, styled Lord Ogilvy, who was born 9 March, 1958, now succeeds the family peerages and as Chief of the Name and Arms of Ogilvy. He has been twice wed. firstly, in 1981 (div 1990) to the Hon Geraldine Theodora Mary Gabriel Harmsworth (born 25 July, 1957), elder daughter of the 3rd Viscount Rothermere (1925-1998); and married 2ndly, 1991, Tarka Kings, daughter of John Kings, of Austin, Texas, United States. He has a daughter from his 1st marriage, Lady Augusta (born 3 Dec, 1981), and three sons from his second marriage, David, now styled Lord Ogilvy (born 11 Dec, 1991), the Hon Joseph Skene Ogilvy (born 21 Mar, 1995), and the Hon Michael Moir Ogilvy (born 20 Jan, 1997).

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Baroness Lewis of Newnham 1928-2023

 The Baroness Lewis of Newnham, who died 16 June, 2023, aged 95, was the widow of the life peer, the Baron Lewis of Newnham, FRS.

The former Elfreida Mabel (Freddie) Lamb, was born 5 May, 1928, daughter of Frank Alfred Lamb (1891-1969), of Manchester, and his wife the former Louie Mabel Johnson (1898-1957); she married in 1951, Robert Lewis (born 13 Feb, 1928), an academic, sometime professor of chemistry at the University of Manchester, and Cambridge University, and Pres of the Royal Society of Chemistry 1986-88, who was created a life peer as Baron Lewis of Newnham, of Newnham co Cambridge, in 1989. He died 17 July, 2014.

She leaves issue, a son, the Hon Ian Peter Lewis (born 1958), and a daughter the Hon Penelope Jane (born 1956).

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Duke of Westminster and Olivia Henson's wedding details announced

 The marriage of the Duke of Westminster and Miss Olivia Grace Henson is to take place on 7 June, 2024, at Chester Cathedral.

It is expected that senior members of the Royal Family will be present at the nuptials. 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 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, 32,  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.

The Duke was present at last month's Coronation of the King and Queen, 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.

Miss Henson (born 1 Sept, 1992), is a senior account manager with Belazu, an ethical food company, in London. She is the elder daughter of Mr Rupert Cornelius Brooke Henson (born 1962), and his wife the former Caroline Belinda Frisby (born 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 is a granddaughter paternally of Thomas John Brooke Henson, 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

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Charles Vincent Burgoyne Eardley-Wilmot 1932-2023

 Charles Vincent Burgoyne Eardley-Wilmot, who died 24 June, 2023, aged 91, was a scion of the baronets of that name.

He was born 30 May, 1932, son of Lambert Eardley-Wilmot (1894-1989), and his wife the former Angela Clare Gertrude Vincent (1887-1955), descended maternally from the Baxendale landed gentry family; and married 21 Aug, 1961, Sheila Murial Broomfield, daughter of George Frederick Broomfield, by whom he had two daughters, Jane Clare (born 24 Feb, 1962) and Sarah Elizabeth (born 3 Oct, 1963).

Sir John Eardley-Wilmot, 1st Bt > Rev Edward Eardley-Wilmot > Maj Henry Eardley-Wilmot > Lambert Eardley-Wilmot > Charles Eardley Wilmot (d 2023)

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Hon Lady Vanneck, widow of Hon Sir Peter Vanneck

 The Hon Lady Vanneck, who died 14 June, 2023, aged 94, was the widow of the Hon Sir Peter Vanneck, GBE, CB, AFC, 650th Lord Mayor of London.

She was Elizabeth Lechmere Macaskie, daughter of Sandys Stewart Macaskie (1885-1936), and his wife the former Suzanne Ashley Fleming (born 1902, died 5 Oct, 1967); and married firstly, 27 Apr, 1954 (div 1980) Spencer Malcolm Edward Forbes (1914-1995), scion of the Forbes baronets, son of Commander Spencer Dundas Forbes, RN (1874-1914), and his wife the former Ethel Walker; and married 2ndly, in 1984, as his second wife, the Hon Sir Peter Beckford Rutgers Vanneck, GBE, CB, AFC (born 7 Jan, 1922), second son of the 5th Baron Huntingfield (1883-1969), and his wife the former Margaret Eleanor Crosby (1884-1943). Sir Peter was Lord Mayor of London, 1977-78, and he died 2 August, 1999.

The Hon Lady Vanneck leaves issue from her first marriage, a son, James Fergus Spencer Forbes (born 8 Jan, 1956), and a daughter, Camilla Elizabeth Stuart Forbes (born 8 March, 1958).

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Celia Marguerite Norrie 1943-2023

 Celia Marguerite Norrie (née Mann), who died 9 June, 2023, aged 79, was a former wife of the 2nd Baron Norrie.

She was born 21 September, 1943, as Celia Marguerite Mann, scion of the Mann baronets, daughter of Major John Pelham Mann, MC (1919-2002), of Brimpton, Reading, Berkshire, and his wife the former Ann Marguerite Brockbank (1920-2009), scion of that landed gentry family; and married 10 April, 1964 (div 1977), as his 1st wife, the Hon George Willoughby Moke Norrie (born 17 Apr, 1936), son and heir of the 1st Baron Norrie, GCMG, GCVO, CB, DSO, MC (1893-1977), and his 1st wife the former Jocelyn Helen Gosling (who died 7 March, 1938). George Norrie succeded his father, 25 May, 1977, as 2nd Baron Norrie (Peerage of the UK cr 1957).

She leaves issue, a son, the Hon Mark Willoughby John Norrie (born 31 March, 1972), and two daughters, the Hon Clare (born 8 May, 1966), and the Hon Julia (born 19 Feb, 1968).

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The Baroness McDonagh 1961-2023

The Baroness McDonagh, a Labour life peer, died 24 June, 2023, from glioblastoma. She was 61.

 Margaret Josephine McDonagh was a Labour Party politician who was General Secretary of the Labour Party from 1998 to 2001. She later worked as a management consultant and was recorded as being co-president of the Labour Party Irish Society.

In 2004 she was raised to the peerage for life as Baroness McDonagh, of Mitcham and of Morden in the London Borough of Merton.

In 2013 she was appointed chair of the Smart Meter Central Delivery Body, which then became Smart Energy GB, an independent organisation that aims to inform consumers about smart meters and their national rollout across Great Britain.

She was the sister of Siobhain McDonagh, the Labour MP for Mitcham and Morden.

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Lavinia Margaret Seymour (née Lawrence) 1947-2023

Lavinia Margaret Seymour (née Lawrence), who died 10 June, 2023, aged 76, was a scion of the Lawrence baronets. 

She was born 13 April, 1947, elder daughter of Sir William Lawrence, 4th Baronet (1913-1986), and his wife the former Pamela Mary Gordon (1920-2012); and married 7 January, 1971, as his second wife, Julian Conway Seymour (born 11 May, 1934), scion of the Marquesses of Hertford, son of Beauchamp Seymour (1878-1965), and his wife the former Eva Douglas Brown (1897-1949), by whom she had a son, Harry William Seymour (1974-2011), and a daughter, Camilla Jane Seymour (born 22 March, 1973).

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Shah/Leigh engagement

 The engagement was announced 24 June, 2023, between Rajiv Shah, son of Mr and Mrs Kieran Shah of Bel Ombre, Seychelles, and Tamara Sophia D. Egerton Leigh (born 13 May, 1987), scion of the Leigh landed family of West Hall, daughter of Sir Edward Julian Egerton Leigh, MP (born 20 July, 1950), Conservative MP for Gainsborough, and his wife the former Mary Goodman (born 20 Oct, 1959).

Lady Leigh's mother is Sophie Vladimirovna Kleinmichel, Countess Kleinmichel (born on 27 March 1930), the daughter of Vladimir Petrovich Kleinmichel, Count Kleinmichel and Marie Gräfin von Carlow.

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Martin/Galbraith engagement

 The engagement was announced 24 June, 2023, between Captain Edward Martin, The Life Guards, elder son of Mr and Mrs Nigel Martin, of Wimbledon, London, and the Hon Annabel Jane Simone Skinner Galbraith (born 15 May, 1996), second daughter of the 2nd Baron Strathclyde, CH, PC (born 22 February, 1960), of Barskimming, Ayrshire, and his wife the former Jane Skinner.

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The 8th Viscount St Vincent 1951-2023

 The Viscount St Vincent, 8th holder of the peerage (UK, 1801), died 20 June, 2023. He was 72.

Edward Robert James Jervis was born 12 May, 1951, son of the 7th Viscount (1905-2006), and his wife the former (Constance) Phillida Anne Logan (who died 11 Sept, 2013); and succeeded to the peerage on his father's death, 4 September, 2006.

The peerage was created for his ancestor Sir John Jervis, GCB (1734-1823), First Lord of the Admiralty 1801-1804.

He married 10 February, 1977, Victoria Margaret Oldham, only daughter of Wilton J Oldham, of St Peter, Jersey, Channel Islands, by whom he had issue, a son, the Hon James Richard Anthony Jervis (born 1982), and a daughter, the Hon Emma Margaret Anne Jervis (born 13 Sept, 1980).

The son succeeds as 9th Viscount St Vincent.

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Hector James Salusbury Harrison (born 2023)

 The Hon Clementina Rose Harrison [nee Elphinstone, born 1989], wife of Oliver William Salusbury Harrison [born 1988], and scion of the Lords Elphinstone, gave birth to a son, Hector James Salusbury, 16 June, 2023, a brother for Tallulah Willa, who was born 28 September, 2021.

Clementina Harrison is the only daughter of the late 18th Lord Elphinstone [1953-1994], by his wife the former Willa Mary Gabriel Chetwode [born 1954], scion of the Barons Chetwode [she is now Mrs Thomas Lloyd, of Carmarthenshire].

Clementina is a kinswoman of HM The King. Her great-grandfather, the 16th Lord Elphinstone, KT [1869-1955], married in 1910, the Lady Mary Frances Bowes Lyon, DCVO [1883-1961], a sister of HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother [1900-2002].

The Harrisons married on 30 October, 2020, at St Matthias Church, Richmond on the Hill.

Oliver Harrison is the eldest son of Mr & Mrs Christopher Harrison, of All Stretton, Shropshire.

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