The British Nobility thread 1: Ending 2022

[Artemisia]

But surely the aim is to follow one's dream, and not be tied by accidence of birth? The times were nobility was "tied" with the land, when its very existence was to serve the country at all times, are now gone; nowadays, they are free to aspire to be whatever they choose to, just as someone not born to nobility or aristocracy can aspire to become an MP, a doctor or a lawyer - professions quite out of their reach just a century ago.

 

[Al_bina]

I firmly of the opinion that the entertainment industry is not a good place for career.

 

[Artemisia]

So am I. Show business in our days is unfortunately far too corrupt and undignified, in my opinion; nevertheless, a person must make his or her own choices in life, not tied by mere accidence of birth in one class or the other.

 

[Furienna]

I don't see why the entertainment industry necessarily would be bad, whether you're from the nobility or not.

 

[MAfan]

As long as one has some talents for working in the entertainment industry, there isn't anything bad if he/she does, in my opinion. What I don't like is when someone of noble/royal birth tries to have a career in the entertainment industry and his/her only gift is the surname or title he/she bears.

 

[Furienna]

That's true. But unless you have talent, you'll hardly be successful anyway.

 

[Emeralds and Opals]

The Queen's cousin Lady Elizabeth Anson says her party planning business has never made her a penny - Telegraph

 

[iceflower]

.

The Duke and Duchess of Devonshire with artist Shauna Richardson posing next to the artists latest work,
the Lionheart Project, a giant crochet sculpture of three lions in Chatsworth on May 1, 2012.

The Lionheart Project is a giant crochet sculpture of three lions reflecting the rich textile heritage of the
East Midlands. Shauna Richardson used 36 miles of Swaledale wool from the Derbyshire Dales to create
the interpretation of the three golden lions on Richard the Lionheart's coat of arms. The work will tour
the East Midlands before moving to London's Natural History Museum as part of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad.


** Pic 1 ** Pic 2 **

** BBC: Crocheted lions unveiled as part of Cultural Olympiad **

 

[Warren]

The "crocheted lions" story may look odd at first glance but check out the BBC video link above.
The lions are huge - 9m (30 ft) long. Fantastic!

v Screen caps
cropped & non-copyright
note the crocheter at lower right for scale

 

[Emeralds and Opals]

Why the Duke of Devonshire is a reluctant reality TV star - Telegraph

 

[MAfan]

John Murray, 11th Duke of Atholl, died on 15 May 2012 in South Africa, aged 83.

The Duke was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 19 January 1929, as the only child of Major George Murray (a descendant of the 3rd Duke of Atholl) and his wife Joan, née Eastwood.
He was married since 15 December 1956 to Margaret Yvonne Leach, with whom he had three children: Lady Jennifer, Bruce, Marquess of Tullibardine and now the 12th Duke of Atholl, and Lord Craig.
He succeeded on 27 February 1996 to his distant cousin George Murray as the 11th Duke of Atholl, hereditary Clan Chief of Clan Murray, and Colonel-in-Chief of the Atholl Highlanders.

He is survived by his wife, their three children and many grandchildren.

The Courier - John Murray, the 11th Duke of Atholl, dies in South Africa
John Murray, 11th Duke of Atholl, dies in South African hospital | Scotland | News | STV

 

[Lenora]

Lady Annabel Goldsmith's youngest son , Ben Goldsmith, is set to divorce his wife after discovering her passionate love affair with rapper Jay Electronica.
Devastated Ben Goldsmith blasts wife on Twitter for affair with rapper that ended his marriage to the Rothschild heiress | Mail Online
Lady Annabel, the Goldsmith family matriarch, is on holiday in Sicily and could not be contacted. But she was well aware that it was her husband Sir Jimmy’s wish that one of his children would one day marry a Rothschild.
He would never have imagined that such a union would end like this. But then no one did, least of all Kate’s husband Ben.

 

[Artemisia]

Duke's son Charlie ends his marriage after a year

It has hardly been a year since their grand society wedding, but Charlie Bowmont, the eldest son of the Duke of Roxburghe, has split from his wife, Charlotte Aitken. The break-up comes weeks before the couple would have celebrated their first anniversary. A family friend revealed that problems arose soon after the wedding but said they hoped to be able to save the marriage.

 

[Mirabel]

Charlie and Charlotte had been together for 6 years before they married, I'd have thought they knew each other so well.

(Perhaps they were having a disagreement about moving to Scotland?)

 

[Lenora]

His contemporaries suggested that had Sir Winston Churchill chosen painting instead of statesmanship, he would have been a great master.
As if to prove the point, some of his artworks these days fetch serious money.

Read more: Sir Winston's 'lost' orchids painting could fetch £750,000 at auction | Mail Online

For almost 30 years, while their respective parents were living together, they were brought up as virtual sisters. Melinda Stevens, daughter of publishing heir Sir Jocelyn Stevens, and Arabella Duffield, whose mother is Selfridges heiress Dame Vivien Duffield, spent endless weekends and holidays together forging a lifelong friendship.( Scroll down for the article).

Read more: How Elisabetta Gregoraci tamed Italian billionaire Flavio Briatore | Mail Online

 

[Biri]

His contemporaries suggested that had Sir Winston Churchill chosen painting instead of statesmanship, he would have been a great master.
As if to prove the point, some of his artworks these days fetch serious money.


Read more: Sir Winston's 'lost' orchids painting could fetch £750,000 at auction | Mail Online

He was really very talented in many fields!

 

[Furienna]

Yeah, wasn't he awarded the Nobel price of Litterature?

 

[Artemisia]

Yeah, wasn't he awarded the Nobel price of Litterature?

He was. Churchill received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953 for his works, most notably, for the six-volume work "The Second World War".
A true Renaissance man.

 

[Lenora]

Guinness heir’s widow dies of a broken heart
Read more: RICHARD KAY: How Livia Firth won at Wembley | Mail Online

Kate Middleton's ex Rupert Finch nets Lady Natasha Rufus Isaacs | Mail Online

 

[Artemisia]

Airport finds Duchess of Argyll's £100k jewellery... then sells it for fraction of its value (without even telling the police)

The Duchess of Argyll has voiced her 'disbelief' after learning that £100,000 of jewellery she lost at Glasgow Airport six years ago had been sold on by bosses there for a fraction of its value. The 68-year-old misplaced four items, including a Victorian diamond tiara, in a bag when she returned from London to Inveraray Castle. But when they were found by the British Airports Authority (BAA), they did not inform the police and simply sold them to a diamond merchant for just £5,000.

£5,000?! For a jewellery lot that included a Cartier brooch and an antique diamond tiara? I'd pay twice the amount without second thought.

 

[Al_bina]

British Duchess Recovers Lost Tiara After 6 Years

The Duchess of Argyll's $157,000 stash of heirloom jewelry, reportedly lost at the Glasgow Airport six years ago, has finally been finally recovered. Among the goods lost was a Victorian era tiara and a Cartier broach (we'd kill to see that in an episode of "Storage Wars"). Luckily, her keen eye spotted the missing goods... in a Scottish auction catalogue before they were sold to somebody else.

U.K. Airport Sells Off Duchess' Lost Diamond Tiara, Returns Jewelery Six Years Later

The perils of traveling often begin with lost luggage, and it seems even British nobility can't escape that woe.
It all began six years ago when the Dowager Duchess of Argyll lost a bag full of precious jewelry at Scotland's Glasgow Airport after returning from London to Inveraray Castle, Clan Campbell's ancestral home, reports the Independent.

 

[MAfan]

Alexander "Alistair" Vane-Tempest-Stewart, the 9th Marquess of Londonderry, died today 20 June 2012, aged 74.

He was born on 7 September 1937, the only son (after two daughters) of the then Viscount and Viscountess Castlereagh; his father succeeded in 1949 as the 8th Marquess of Londonderry.
In 1955, Alexander, nicknamed Alistair, became the 9th Marquess, at the death of his father.
He married firstly in 1958 to Nicolette Harrison (1941-1993); they had together two daughters, Lady Sophia and Lady Cosima. Nicolette gave birth also to a son, Tristan, but it was later discovered that he wasn't fathered by the Marquess and instead was the son of singer Georgie Fame. In 1971 Alistair and Nicolette divorced.
The following year he married secondly to dancer Doreen Wells, and they became parents of two sons, Frederick (who succeeds his father as 10th Marquess of Londonderry) and Lord Reginald. Also this marriage ended in divorce in 1989.
He is survived by his four children, their families and his two sisters (Jane, Baroness Rayne, and Lady Annabel Goldsmith).

The Marquess of Londonderry - Telegraph

 

[Mirabel]

Cute story in Richard Kay's column about the wedding of Viscount Somerton and Lady Lucy Alexander. It seems they first met at another wedding where she was bridesmaid (age six) and he was pageboy (age eight).
They used the photo from that first wedding for theirs.

What a pretty bride she makes!

Lady Lucy's 21-year engagement

Childhood friends: Newlyweds Lucy and James

People often meet their future spouses at weddings, but in Lady Lucy Alexander’s case the delay before her big day was rather longer than usual.

For Lucy — delightful daughter of Earl and Countess Alexander of Tunis — and Viscount Somerton, heir of the Earl of Normanton, were six and eight respectively when they met at a wedding where they were bridesmaid and pageboy.

Twenty-one years later there were memories of that day when Lucy and fiancé James married at the Normanton family seat, Somerley in Hampshire.

On the back of the order of service was a photo of the two on the occasion they first met. The couple, who were engaged last year, had been dating for two-and-a-half years.

More than 250 family and friends were at the house — used for a TV adaptation of Mansfield Park — for Saturday’s wedding.

Says Lucy’s mother, Davina Alexander: ‘It was a lovely day. Using that photograph taken all those years ago was really sweet.’

 

[Mariel]

Peerage: There was a title "Lady of Rothes" which came down from the 12th century.
How it started was this: Peter de Pollock was a very large landowner in Scotland and built the Castle of Rothes at the behest of King William the Lion, in Rothes (far north of Scotland) probably to be a way stop or inspecting station for returning crusaders. Peter had no son, but his daughter Muriel (sometimes spelled Mauricle, by mistake) inherited the castle. Muriel had no son, but her daughter Eva, married to a knight called Watson, inherited the castle and the title Lady of Rothes. Eva had no son, but her daughter (no name found) married Sir Norman de Leslyn, founder of the Leslie family. The title came down to the present, and a woman could claim it if no male heir was found. The last holder was Lady Georgina Maxwell, but I think that these peerages were all cancelled late in the 20th century.
I am a descendant of Peter de Pollock's brother, Robert de Pollock, whose family seat was in Renfrewshire, and who was a follower of Walter Fitzallen, the first of the "Stuarts" to live full time in Scotland. The Stuarts and their followers came there from England after the dustup over the English succession between Matilda and Steven, as heirs of William the Conqueror. They came at the behest of David I of Scotland, and helped set up the feudal system organized by David I's mother, Queen Margaret. I found all this material while trying to find the history of my Pollock family.

 

[Artemisia]

Marquess of Bath's nephew walks free from court after 26 cannabis plants, ecstasy and magic mushrooms were found at his home within the Longleat estate

The nephew of aristocrat Lord Bath has avoided jail after he admitted stashing 26 cannabis plants, ecstasy and magic mushrooms at his cottage within the Longleat estate. Police found the huge drug haul when they raided the Wiltshire cottage of Alexander Thynne - whose uncle owns the multimillion-pound Longleat stately home and grounds. The 50-year-old avoided prison despite having been caught with more than 40 cannabis plants worth £3,000 in his loft in 2003.

 

[KittyAtlanta]

That is an outrageous verdict, requiring no expansion on my part.

 

[MAfan]

Does anyone have more informations about this Alexander Thynne? I have tried to find him in a genealogy of Thynne family, but it seems that no Alexander nephew of the current Marquess exists.

 

[Artemisia]

Does anyone have more informations about this Alexander Thynne? I have tried to find him in a genealogy of Thynne family, but it seems that no Alexander nephew of the current Marquess exists.

No idea. Alexander Thynne is supposed to be the son of the Marquess's younger brother, Lord Christopher John Thynne. However, to the best of my knowledge, Lord Christopher and Lady Antonia only have one child - Sophia Emma Thynne. Alexander might be an illegitimate son (this is speculation on my part).
I went back and checked all the descendants of the third Marquis of Bath - and no Alexander Thynne among them (of the corresponding age).

 

[MAfan]

There was also another younger brother, Lord Valentine Thynne (1937-1979), who was married form 1961 to 1971 to Veronica Ann Jacks with whom he had a daughter in 1962 and a son in 1965; but if Alexander were their son, I wonder why he isn't listed.

Yes, maybe Alexander is indeed an illegitimate son; but who are his parents?

 

[Artemisia]

Yes, maybe Alexander is indeed an illegitimate son; but who are his parents?

The Daily Mail says his father is Lord Christopher, so (assuming that information is accurate) Alexander could be his child with someone other than Lady Antonia. Lord Christopher was born in 1934 and got married in 1968. Alexander Thynne is 50 years old, meaning he was born in 1962, when Lord Christopher was 28 years old (and before his marriage to Lady Antonia).

I have to say though that if Alexander Thynne is indeed the son of Lord Christopher, it is somewhat surprising he was allowed to live on Marquis's estate, given the less than warm relationship between the brothers.