John Douglas Young Hickman 1925-2026

 John Douglas Young Hickman died 13 January, 2026, in New Brunswick, Canada, aged 100. 

He was born 10 May, 1925, son of John Douglas Hickman, of Rothesay, New Brunswick, Canada, and married 14 June, 1956, Juliet Dorothy Chassereau Williams (born 26 February, 1933), daughter of Sir Philip Francis Cunningham Williams, 2nd Baronet (1884-1958), and his wife the former Margaret Peek (1885-1948), daughter of Sir Cuthbert Peek, 2nd Baronet (1855-1901), by whom he had issue,  three sons, Philip (b 25 Nov, 1956), Stephen (b 29 Aug 1958), and Charles (born 17 July, 1960).

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Jonathan Geoffrey William Agnew 1941-2026

 Jonathan Geoffrey William Agnew, who died 24 January, 2026, aged 84, was a scion of the Agnew baronets (cr 1895), and a grandson of the 1st Baron Jessel.

He was born 30 July, 1941, the elder son of Sir Geoffrey William Gerald Agnew (1908-1986), the art dealer and chairman of Thomas Agnew & Sons, by his wife the former Hon Doreen Maud Jessel (1909-1990), third daughter of the 1st Baron Jessel (1866-1950), and his wife the former Maud Goldsmid (1874-1965).

He married firstly, 21 Oct, 1966 (div 1985), the Hon Agneta Joanna Middleton Campbell (1944-2002), daughter of the life peer the Baron Campbell of Eskan (1912-1994), by his wife Barbara Noel Roffey; and married secondly, 1990, Marie-Claire Dreesmann, daughter of Bernard Dreesmann. He leaves a son, Caspar, and two daughters, Lara and Katherine, from his first union, and a son, George, and a daughter Clarissa, from his second marriage.

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James Harrison Holt 1936-2026

 James Harrison Holt died 20 January, 2026, aged 89.

He was born in 1936, son of Lieutenant-Colonel Vernon Harrison Holt, MC, DL, JP (1888-1966), by his wife the former Elizabeth Kathleen Reckitt (1904-1991), daughter of Sir Philip Bealby Reckitt, 3rd and last Baronet, OBE (1873-1944); and married 1stly,     25 July, 1964 (div. 1984), Dinah Annabel Legard (born 25 June, 1941), scion of the Legard baronets, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Percy Digby Legard (1906-1980), and his wife the former Gertrude Kate Thomson (1907-1969); and married 2ndly, Mary Thomas. He leaves issue from both marriages.

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Wilfred Winston Richard Wynn-Williams (born 2026)

Letitia Mary Wynn-Williams (née Keys, born 1990), wife of  Henry George [Harry] Wynn-Williams [born 1984], gave birth to a son, Wilfred Winston Richard, 12 January, 2026.

Harry Wynn-Williams is a son of Hugo Wynn-Williams born 1955], of Dogmersfield, Hampshire, by his wife the former Mary Vaughan [born 1955], and is a grandson of the late George Wynn-Williams, who married in 1943, Lady Penelope Jowitt [1923-2007], daughter of the 1st [and last] Earl Jowitt, PC [1885-1957], Lord Chancellor in the administration of Clement Attlee, 1945-51.

Letitia is the younger daughter of Mr Richard Keys, of Streat, East Sussex, by his wife the former Helen K. Jackson.

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Mary Vanessa Hoare (died 2026)

 Mary Vanessa Hoare, who died 16 January, 2026, aged 86, was the first and former wife of Sir David Hoare, 9th Baronet.

The former (Mary) Vanessa Cardew, daughter of Peter Gordon Cardew, she married 20 April, 1965 (div 1978), David John Hoare (born 8 Oct, 1935), the second son of Sir Peter William Hoare, 7th Baronet (1898-1973), and his wife the former Laura Ray Esplen (1905-1992), daughter of Sir John Esplen, 1st Baronet (1863-1930). 

Her former husband succeeded his elder brother, Sir Peter Hoare, 8th Bt, in the baronetcy, 26 June, 2004.

Vanessa Hoare leaves a son, Simon Merrick Hoare (born 9 Oct, 1967).

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de la Poer Beresford/Gilday engagement

 The engagement was announced 31 January, 2026,  between Ludovic William de la Poer Beresford (born 4 November, 1998), scion of the Marquesses of Waterford, second son of Valentine Tristram de la Poer Beresford (born 10 October, 1965), of Dorset, and his wife the former Evelyn Hoskin, & Emily Cordelia C. Gilday (born 1999), elder daughter of Ian Robert Joseph Gilday, of London, and his wife the former Siobhan Kristina Clare Simpson-Nairn (born 1964).

Ludovic is a grandson of Lord Patrick de la Poer Beresford (1934-2020), and a great-grandson of the 7th Marquess of Waterford (1901-1934).

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Buxton/Edgedale engagement

 The engagement was announced 31 January, 2026, between Edward Arthur Fowell Buxton (born 25 January, 1996), scion of the Buxton Baronets, eldest son of Nicholas Fowell Buxton (born 17 March, 1966), of Easneye, Hertfordshire, and his wife the former Henrietta Louise Jewson (born 1966), & Alice Lucy R. Edgedale (born 1995), daughter of the late James William Edgedale (born 14 January, 1963), and his wife the former Sarah Louise Jenkinson, of Fernham, Oxfordshire.

Alice Edgedale is a descendant of the 5th Marquess of Northampton:-

the 5th Marquess of Northampton (1851-1913) > Lady Margaret Compton (1886-1970) > Hon Jean Loch (1908-1994) > Mary Ella Newman (b1931) > James Edgedale (1963- ) > Alice Edgedale

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Adrian Reginald Longley, OBE 1925-2025

 Adrian Reginald Longley, OBE, died 16 November, 2025, aged 100.

He was born in 1925, son of Evelyn Longley, of Reigate, co Surrey, by his wife the former Mary Anastasia Thompson; and married 14 December, 1957, Sylvia Margaret Hayter (1926-2011),  second daughter of George Keith Homfray Hayter (1888-1968), and his wife the former Dora Caroline Hanmer (1894-1972), scion of the Hanmer baronets.

He leaves issue, three daughters, Anne, Joanna and Melissa.

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Hon Daphne Rose Svenningson (nee Canning) 1922-2026

 

The Hon Daphne Rose Svenningson, who died 15 January, 2026, aged 103, was a scion of the Barons Garvagh.

She was born 16 December, 1922, the second daughter of the 4th Baron Garvagh (1878-1956), and his second wife Dora, widow of Lt-Col John Stephen Dimmer, VC, MC (1883-1918), and daughter of Bayley Parker, of Oaklands, Edgbaston.

Her father was a godson of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, Queen Victoria's youngest son.

She married 18 March, 1950, Bancroft Svenningson, of Thornhill, Ontario, Canada, younger son of the late Sven Svenningson, of Montreal, Canada, by whom she had issue, a son, Victor (born 31 March, 1954), and two daughters, Jennifer (born 24 Nov, 1955), and Andrea (born 27 December, 1960).

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The Baron Wallace of Tankerness (1954-2026)

The Baron Wallace of Tankerness, PC, KC, FRSE, died 29 January, 2026. He was 71.

 James Robert Wallace, Baron Wallace of Tankerness ( born 25 August 1954) was a Scottish politician who served as a Liberal Democrat life peer in the House of Lords from 2007 until his death in 2026. He had previously served as the Deputy First Minister of Scotland from 1999 to 2005, and during that time was twice acting First Minister, in 2000, in the aftermath of Donald Dewar's death and in 2001, following Henry McLeish's resignation. Wallace was Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 1992 to 2005 and Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords from 2013 to 2016. He served as a Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament (MP) for Orkney and Shetland from 1983 to 2001 and a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Orkney from 1999 to 2007. Wallace was also Advocate General for Scotland from 2010 to 2015. He was the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland from 1 May 2021 to 23 May 2022.

On 13 September 2007, it was announced that he was to be appointed to the House of Lords. He was subsequently created a life peer on 17 October 2007 taking the title Baron Wallace of Tankerness, of Tankerness in Orkney.

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Jean Constance Toynbee 1920-2026

 Jean Constance Toynbee (nee Asquith), who died 14 January, 2026, aged 105, was a GP in Oxford and rural North Yorkshire, the wife of the artist Lawrence Toynbee, a granddaughter of the prime minister HH Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford & Asquith – and a last exemplar of upper-class upbringing in the interwar era...

She was born 6 November, 1920, second of the four daughters of Brigadier General the Hon Arthur Melland Asquith (1883-1939), and his wife the former Hon Betty Constance Manners (1889-1962), daughter of the 3rd Baron Manners (1852-1927).

She married 20 April, 1945, Lawrence Toynbee (1922-2002), the artist, son of Prof Arnold Joseph Toynbee, CH, FBA (1889-1975), the historian, and his wife the former Rosalind Murray (1890-1967), a granddaughter of the 9th Earl of Carlisle (1843-1911), by whom she had issue, six daughters, Rosalind, Celia, Clare, Rachel, Sarah and Frances.

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Anthony George Leschallas 1933-2026

Anthony George Leschallas, who died 20 January, 2026, aged 92, was a descendant of the Earls of Romney.

He was born in 1933, the elder son of George Ronald Pigé Leschallas (1909-1991), and his wife the former Vere Frances Bulock-Marsham (1913-2006); and married in 1954, Marie-Louise Yvonne Renner (who died 5 March, 2018), daughter of Martin Julia Renner and his wife Sophie Charlotte Kleinwort (1888-1974), scion of the eponymous merchant banking dynasty, and had issue, two sons, Anthony (1955-2019),  and William (born 1963), and two daughters, Marie-Louise (born 1957), and Joanna (born 1960).

Anthony's younger brother, James (born 1943), married Rosemary Elizabeth Elphinstone (b 1947), a cousin of King via their Strathmore descent.

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The 4th Marquess of Zetland, DL 1937-2026

 The 4th Marquess of Zetland, a North Yorkshire landowner, died 24 January, 2026, aged 88.

The Marquess was seated at Aske, near Richmond, North Yorkshire. A peer of the Turf, he was a founding director of the British Horseracing Board 1993-97, and member of the Jockey Club (Steward 1992-94); and appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of North Yorkshire in 1997. 

The Dundas family estates were acquired in the 18th century by Sir Lawrence Dundas, scion of a long-established Scots family, who became the chief merchant-adventurer of his day. Having made a fortune supplying bread and forage to allied troops in Germany during the Seven Years’ War, he bought swathes of land in Sligo, Roscommon, Fife, Stirlingshire, Clackmannanshire, Orkney, Shetland, Hertfordshire and Yorkshire, where Aske Hall, near Richmond, remains the family seat. He was also a great patron of the arts, and commissioned such treasures as the Dundas Suite of ornate furniture, designed by Robert Adam and made by Thomas Chippendale, two sofas and two chairs of which were sold at Christie’s in 1997 for more than £3 million. Dubbed “the Nabob of the North”, Dundas became among the country’s largest landowners, but despite his best endeavours he never obtained a peerage – he was a mere baronet by the time he died in 1781. His son, though, was made Baron Dundas in 1794, his grandson rose to Earl of Zetland (an ancient variant of Shetland), and the 3rd earl became a marquess in 1892.

Lawrence Mark Dundas was born 28 December, 1937, the eldest of the three sons of the 3rd Marquess of Zetland (1908-1989), and his wife the former (Katherine Mary) Penelope Pike (1914-2003), scion of that landed gentry family, the second daughter of Col Ebenezer John Lecky Pike CBE MC (1884-1965), of Little Glebe, Fontwell, co. Sussex, by his wife Olive Constance Snell (1888-1962), only daughter of Edward Snell, of Monk Okehampton, co. Devon.

He was educated at Harrow then Oxford University, and served in the Grenadier Guards (2nd Lieutenant).

Lawrence Dundas was styled Earl of Ronaldshay from 1961 (when his father succeeded to the family honours), until succeeding as 4th Marquess, 5 October, 1989.

He was 4th Marquess of Zetland (United Kingdom, let. pat. 22 Aug 1892), 6th Earl of Zetland (United Kingdom, let. pat. 2 Jul 1838), 4th Earl of Ronaldshay (United Kingdom, let. pat. 22 Aug 1892), 7th Baron Dundas, of Aske in the County of York, Great Britain, let. pat. 13 Aug 1794), and 8th Baronet, styled "of Kerse" (Great Britain, let. pat. 16 Nov 1762).

The 1st Marquess was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in Queen Victoria's reign and a prominent freemason, the 2nd Marquess was sometime Secretary of State for India, and the 3rd Marquess was chairman of the racecourses at Catterick and Redcar, and was Provincial Grand Master, North and East Ridings of Yorkshire, of the Society of Freemasons 1956-89.

His siblings include Lord David Dundas (born 2 June, 1945), the pop singer and actor, best known for his chart success in the pop genre during the 1970s, including his biggest hit "Jeans On", as well as his later career in film and television scores, and Lord Bruce Dundas (born 6 Jan, 1951), and Lady Serena Kettlewell (1940-2012).

He married 4 April, 1964, Susan Rose Chamberlin (born circa Apr, 1940), 2nd daughter of Guy Ronald Chamberlin (1911-1991), of Shefford House, Great Shefford, Newbury, co. Berkshire, by his wife the former Geraldine Mary Payne-Cook (1913-1963). The marriage took place a few months after Susan and her mother had been swept off the rocks by a wave and her mother drowned at Polzeath, Cornwall.

The Zetlands had issue, two sons, Robin, styled Earl of Ronaldshay (born 5 March, 1965), and Lord James Dundas (born 2 May, 1967), and two daughters, Lady Henrietta (born 9 Feb, 1970), and Lady Victoria (born 2 Jan, 1973).

His elder son succeeds as 5th Marquess of Zetland. He is married with four daughters, and his heir presumptive is his younger brother, Lord James Dundas.

Those mighty tomes Burke's Peerage and Debrett's incorrectly state that the father of the Marchioness of Zetland was Guy Richard Chamberlin, when in fact his father was Guy RONALD, as recorded at the General Register Office.

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Hon Fiona Campbell 1932-2026

 The Hon Fiona Campbell, who died 6 January, 2026, aged 93, was a scion of the Barons Stratheden.

She was born in 1932, the third daughter of Brigadier the 4th Baron Stratheden, CBE (1899-1981), and his first wife the former Jean Helen St Clair Anstruther-Gray, CBE (1901-1956), Sscion of the Anstruther baronets, of Balcaskie. She was unmarried.

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Josephine Cicely Alice Willoughby 1931-2026

 Josephine Cicely Alice Willoughby died 14 January, 2026. She was 94.

She was a scion of the Barons Middleton and descended from the 8th Duke of Somerset, born 21 June, 1931, the elder daughter of Commander Ronald George Edward Willoughby, RN (1884-1971), and his wife the former Constance Louisa Sherbrooke (1894-1977), scion of that landed gentry family. She was unmarried.

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Son for Viscount and Viscountess Chelsea

 Davina Rose Cadogan, styled Viscountess Chelsea (née Motion, born 11 July, 1996), wife of George Edward Charles Diether Cadogan, styled Viscount Chelsea [born 24 September, 1995], scion of the Earls Cadogan, gave birth to a son, the Hon Henry George Edward Cadogan, 13 January, 2026.

Viscount Chelsea is the son and heir of the 9th Earl Cadogan [born 10 May, 1966], of London, and Katharina Johanna Ingeborg, Countess Cadogan [nee Hülsemann].

Viscountess Chelsea is the social editor of Tatler, the only daughter of Mr Andrew Barrie Motion [born circa 1961], of Sandwich, Kent, and his wife the former Celestine Maria del Pilar Atkins.

Chelsea is heir to the vast Cadogan estates in London. 

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The 2nd Baron Clitheroe, DL 1929-2026

 The 2nd Baron Clitheroe died 19 January, 2026. He was 96.

Lord Clitheroe, of Downham Hall, Clitheroe, Lancashire, was a businessman who served as Deputy Chief Executive of the Rio Tinto Group, and as Chairman of RTZ Chemicals, a subsidiary of Rio Tinto. He also served as Chairman of the Yorkshire Bank from 1990 to 1999. He was appointed to be a Deputy Lieutenant of Lancashire in 1986. He became a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Skinners in 1955. He also served as Vice-Lord-Lieutenant of Lancashire from 1995 to 1999.

Ralph John Assheton was born 3 November, 1929, the elder son of the then Ralph Assheton, MP, PC (born 24 February, 1901), by his wife the Hon Sylvia Benita Frances Hotham (1903-1991), daughter of the 6th Baron Hotham (1863-1923).

His father was MP for Rushcliffe from 1934 to 1945, for the City of London from 1945 to 1950, and for Blackburn West from 1950 to 1955. In the wartime government under Winston Churchill, he was Minister of Supply in 1942, and Financial Secretary to the Treasury from 1942 to 1944. He was sworn of the Privy Council in the 1944 New Year Honours, and served as Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1944 to 1946. He was raised to the peerage as Baron Clitheroe, in 1955. He was also the 2nd Baronet.

He succeeded his father, 18 September, 1984, as 2nd Baron Clitheroe and as 3rd Baronet.

He married 2 May, 1961, Juliet Hanbury (1936-2025), daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Lionel Hanbury, MBE, JP, TD (1905-1997), and his wife the former Lettice Mary Charrington (1906-1980), by whom he had issue, two sons Ralph and John and a daughter, Elizabeth. The elder son, the Hon Ralph Christopher Assheton (born 19 March, 1962), succeeds to the peerage and baronetcy.

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George Nathaniel Mathias (born 2026)

 Henrietta Ghislaine Mathias (nee de Pelet), wife of Charles M.J. Mathias, gave birth to a son, George Nathaniel, in New York, 5 January, 2026, a brother for Eleanor.

Charles is the elder son of Mr & Mrs Carlo Mathias, of Aalst, Belgium.

Henrietta [born 1982], is a daughter of Comte Michael de Pelet, of Purse Caundle, Dorset, by his wife the former Charlotte Anne Kennard [born 4 Nov, 1956].

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The Baron Blackwater

The life peerage recently bestowed upon Simon James Heffer, has been gazetted in the name, style and title of Baron Blackwater, of Great and Little Leighs on the County of Essex, and will be introduced into the House of peers on 29 January, 2026.

Lord Blackwater (born 18 July 1960) is an English historian, journalist, author, and political commentator.  He has published several biographies and a series of books on the social history of Great Britain from the mid-nineteenth century until the end of the First World War. He was appointed professorial research fellow at the University of Buckingham in 2017. He took on the enormous task of editing and publishing the journals of Sir Henry 'Chips' Channon.

Blackwater has worked as a columnist for the Daily Mail and since 2015 has had a weekly column in The Sunday Telegraph. As a political commentator, Heffer takes a socially conservative position.

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Sir (William) Roland Cedric Jackson, 9th Baronet 1954-2026

Sir (William) Roland Cedric Jackson, 9th Baronet, died suddenly, 10 January, 2026, while hill climbing in Cumbria, the day after his 72nd birthday. 

He was born 9 January, 1954, son of Sir William Thomas Jackson, 8th Baronet (1927-2004), and his wife the former Gillian Malise Stobart (1929-2009), scion of that landed gentry family; and succeeded to the baronetcy [cr UK, 1969], upon his father's death, 2004; and married in 1977, Dr Nicola Mary Davis, daughter of Professor Peter Reginald Davis, of Polvean, St Mawes, Cornwall, by whom he had three sons, Adam (b 1982), James Anthony Foljambe Jackson (b 11 March, 1984) and Oliver Thomas Peter Jackson (b 1990). The eldest son, Adam William Roland (born at Newmarket, 19 May, 1982), succeeds as 10th Baronet.

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