Peerage News

Lady Lucy Pelham (nee Egerton) 1937-2026

2026-08-06T01:50:52.358+01:00

The Lady Lucy Helen Pelham, who died 1st August, 2026, aged 88, was a scion of the Dukes of Sutherland, sister of the 7th Duke.

She was born Lucy Helen Egerton, 5th December, 1937, the eldest child of Cyril Reginald Egerton (1905-1992), and his wife the former Mary Campbell (who died 23 Sept, 1949).

Her father was a grandson of the 3rd Earl of Ellesmere (1847-1914). The 1st Earl of Ellesmere was a younger son of the 1st Duke of Sutherland, and Lucy's only brother, Francis Ronald Egerton (born 18 February 1940) succeeded to the Sutherland dukedom, on the death of his cousin, the 6th Duke, 21 September, 2000.

Lucy was raised to the rank of a duke's daughter, becoming Lady Lucy, in 2002.

She married 25 October, 1958, Michael Alan Pelham, JP (1926-2022), scion of the Earls of Yarborough, but not in remainder to the title, son of Harry Alan Pelham (1891-1971), y his wife the former Doris Millicent Taunton (1895-1985), by whom she had issue, a son Charles Peregrine Pelham (born 27 July, 1959), and a daughter, Laura Mary Pelham (born 15 May, 1962).

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FitzRoy/Kelly engagement

2026-08-06T01:16:15.122+01:00

The engagement was announced 6 August, 2026, between the Hon Humphrey John FitzRoy Newdegate (born 23 November, 1995), son and heir of the 4th Viscount Daventry (born 27 July, 1960), of Arbury, Warwickshire, and Viscountess Daventry (nee Georgia Lodge, born 1964), & Arabella Elizabeth A. Kelly (born 1996), daughter of Christopher B. Kelly, of Henley Oxfordshire, and Mrs Melanie C.A. Hampton (born 1959, nee Miller), of Hungerford, Berkshire.

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Lady Celeste Primrose engaged to Sam Kwame

2026-08-05T16:35:59.439+01:00

The engagement has been announced between Mr Sam Kwame and the Lady Celeste Primrose.

Sam Kwame and Lady Celeste.

Lady Celeste Margaret Louise Primrose (born 13 October, 2003), is a triplet daughter of the 8th Earl of Rosebery (born 20 November, 1967), of Dalmeny House, South Queensferry, by his former wife Caroline Daglish (now Caroline, Lady Dalmeny).

Lady Celeste is fourth of Lord Rosebery's five children, and a triplet with her sisters Lady Delphi Primrose and Lady Lavinia Primrose. She has an older sister, Lady Marina, and a younger brother, Albert, styled Lord Dalmeny, heir to the Rosebery peerages.

At thepeerage.com one of the triplets, Lavinia, is now shown as the Hon Ptolmey Fydor Rex (Tolly) Primrose, a male.

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Elmhirst/van der Gaag engagement

2026-08-05T11:38:57.523+01:00

The engagement was announced 5 August, 2026, between Capt Christopher Rupert David Elmhirst, Grenadier Guards (born 1998), scion of that landed gentry family, second son of Lieutenant-Colonel (Charles) Marcus Ross Elmhirst (born 1972), of Betws Ifan, Ceredigion, and his wife the Hon Jessamy Jane Lewis (born 1972), & Jemima Margaret van der Gaag (born 1997), daughter of Mark Christan Gerth (Marcus) van der Gaag (born Aug, 1968), of Hawkesbury, Kent, and his wife the former Susannah Brown.

Capt Elmhirst is a grandson maternally of the Hon Trevor Oswin Lewis, CBE (1935-2015), who succeeded as 4th Baron Merthyr, 5 April, 1977, and disclaimed the peerage for life, 26 April, 1977.

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Jeremy Mark Littleton Harris 1930-2026

2026-08-05T01:00:00.000+01:00

Jeremy Harris, who died 27 July, 2026, aged 96, was a maternal grandson of the 4th Baron Hatherton.

Jeremy Mark Littleton Harris, was born in 1930, a son of John Elvine Harris, of that landed gentry family, by his wife the Hon Youla Edithe Littleton (1904-1992), daughter of the 4th Baron Hatherton (1868-1944).

He was a grandson of John Waugh Harris, of Stone, Staffordshire.

He married in 1956, Pauline Howson, daughter of Colonel Gilbert Howson, OBE, TD (1900-1969), of Nether Stanlow, Longsdon, Stoke-on-Trent, and his wife the former Daphne Shorter (1902-1976), by whom he had three sons, Charles, Paul, and Benjamin.

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Daughter for Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank

2026-08-04T19:10:29.272+01:00

Her Royal Highness Princess Eugenie, Mrs Jack Brooksbank, wife of Mr Jack Christopher Stamp Brooksbank, gave birth to a daughter in Lisbon, Portugal, 3 August, 2026.

The baby is the third child for the princess, 36, and husband Jack Brooksbank, 40, and a fifth grandchild for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson.

The infant is fifteenth in line of succession to the throne, and the first member of the royal family to have been born in Portugal.

Catherine of Braganza, Queen Consort of King Charles II was born in Portugal, 25 November, 1638.

Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank married at St George's Chapel, Windsor, 12 October, 2018.

The infant's father, Jack Christopher Stamp Brooksbank (born 3 May, 1986), is a scion of the Brooksbank baronets of Healaugh, Tadcaster, the elder son of the late Mr George Edward Hugh Brooksbank (1949-2021), by his wife the former Nicola J Newton (b 1953).

HRH Princess Eugenie Victoria Helena of York (b 23 March, 1990), is the younger daughter of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (born 19 February, 1960), by his former wife Sarah Margaret Ferguson [born 15 Oct, 1959], scion of the Ferguson landed gentry family, of Dummer, Hampshire.

Order of Succession to the Throne:

1.HRH The Prince of Wales

2. HRH Prince George of Wales

3. HRH Princess Charlotte of Wales

4. HRH Prince Louis of Wales

5. HRH The Duke of Sussex

6. Prince Archie of Sussex

7. Princess Lilibet of Sussex

8. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor

9. HRH Princess Beatrice, Mrs Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi

10. Sienna Mapelli Mozzi

11. Athena Mapelli Mozzi

12.. HRH Princess Eugenie Mrs Jack Brooksbank

13. August Brooksbank

14, Ernest Brooksbank

15. Baby Brooksbank

16. HRH The Duke of Edinburgh

17. James, Earl of Wessex

18. Lady Louise Windsor

19. HRH The Princess Royal

20. Peter Phillips

Lionel Hugh Melville, MBE 1942-2026

2026-08-04T06:31:00.000+01:00

Lionel Hugh Melville, MBE, who has died in Papua New Guinea, aged 84, was descended from the Scottish landed family of Spens.

He was born 30 July, 1942, the second son of Maj Edward Kenmure Landale Melville (1912-1991), and his wife the former Pamela Doreen Spens (1920-1998), scion of that landed family.

He was married and leaves issue, one daughter, Fritha Anne Sinclair Melville (born 20 Sept, 1972).

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The 3rd Viscount Stuart of Findhorn

2026-08-04T01:33:13.629+01:00

The 3rd Viscount Stuart of Findhorn has died at Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada, aged 78.

(James) Dominic Stuart was born 25 March, 1948, the elder son of the 2nd Viscount Stuart of Findhorn (1924-1999), and his wife Grizel Mary Wilfreda Fyfe (who died 24 April, 1948, weeks after the birth of her son), former wife of Michael Gillilan, and daughter of David Theodore Fyfe.

Eton educated Dominic Stuart was a grandson of the Hon James Stuart, CH, MVO, PC (1897-1971), a younger son of the 17th Earl of Moray, Equerry to Prince Albert, Duke of York (afterwards King George VI) 1920-21, later a Conservative MP, & Secretary of State for Scotland in the Churchill and Eden administrations. James Stuart was a rival suitor for the hand of Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon, who finally accepted Prince Bertie's proposal and married the Duke of York, April 26, 1923.

Dominic Stuart succeeded his father, 24 October, 1999, as 3rd Viscount Stuart of Findhorn. He married twice, firstly, 18 Aug 1979 (div. 2002) Yvonne Lucienne Després, daughter of Edgar Després; and married 2ndly, Gay ________. He had no issue by either marriage.

He leaves three half-sisters from his father's second marriage, the Hon Chloë Ann-Marie (born 1952), the Hon Rosalie Jane (born 1954)m and the Hon Vanessa Mary (born 1960). It is believed that his only half-brother and heir presumptive, the Hon Andrew Moray Stuart (born 20 Oct, 1957) predeceased him, and if so the viscountcy (created UK, 1959) becomes extinct.

He also leaves a half-sister, Serena Gillilan (born 1938), from his mother's first marriage.

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Elizabeth Alice Wise (nee Abel Smith) 1936-2026

2026-08-02T21:51:04.243+01:00

Elizabeth Alice Wise, who died at Northallerton, North Yorkshire, 2 August, 2026, aged 89, was born a scion of the Smith of Wilford House landed gentry family, and was a granddaughter of Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone.

A third cousin, once removed, of King Charles III, her home was at Leyburn, North Yorkshire.

She was born at Kensington Palace, 5 September, 1936, the younger daughter of Colonel Sir Henry Abel Smith, KCMG, KCVO, DSO (1909-1993), and his wife the Lady May Helen Emma Cambridge (1906-1994), and was a granddaughter of the 1st Earl of Athlone KG GCB GCMG GCVO DSO KStJ PC FRS (1874-1957), and his wife HRH Princess Alice Mary Victoria Augusta Pauline of Albany, GBE, GCVO, GCStJ, VA (1883-1981), the only daughter of HRH The Prince Leopold George Duncan Albert, Duke of Albany, KG, KT, GCSI, GCMG, PC (1853-1884), and his wife Princess Helen Frederica Augusta of Waldeck & Pyrmont (1861-1922).

She was a great-great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria. The Duchess of York (later Queen Elizabeth) stood sponsor at her christening.

She married at St Paul's Church, Knightsbridge, 29 April, 1965 (div 1975), Peter Ronald Wise (1929-2021), son of Capt Anthony Foster Wise (1885-1976), and his wife the former Eva Elizabeth Glentworth Baillie (1904-1976), by whom she had issue, an only child, Emma Charlotte Abel Wise (1973-1974), who died in tragic circumstances.

She is survived by a sister, Anne Liddell-Grainger (born 28 July, 1932).

For a detailed history see this from my old friend Marlene Eilers Koenig:-

Royal Musings: QVD death: Elizabeth Wise (1936-2026)

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Aeneas Hugh Alexander Robertson (born 2026)

2026-08-01T02:00:00.000+01:00

Helen Matilda Wyld (born Dec 1980), wife of Calum G. Robertson (born 2 February, 1990), gave birth to a son, Aeneas Hugh Alexander, in Edinburgh, 17 July, 2026.

Calum Robertson is a son of Gavin and Pauline Robertson, of Fife.

Helen is a daughter of Martin Hugh Wyld, CBE (born 14 September, 1944), and his wife the former Katherine M. Cusack.

Helen Wyld is a granddaughter of John Hugh Gilbert Wyld (1915-1999), and his wife Helen Selina Leslie-Melville (1921-1946), scion of the Earld Leven & Melville.

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Hon Nicholas Valoynes Bermingham Wallop 1946-2026

2026-08-01T01:26:22.659+01:00

The Hon Nicholas Valoynes Bermingham Wallop, who died 27 July, 2026, aged 80, was a scion of the Earls of Portsmouth.

He was born 14 July, 1946, a son of the 9th Earl of Portsmouth (1898-1984), and his second wife the former Bridget Cory Crohan, CStJ (1911-1979), and had sisters Lady Philippa Wallop (1937-1984) , wife of the 8th Earl Cadogan, & Lady Jane Wallop (1939-2021), and an older half-brother, Oliver, styled Viscount Lymington (1923-84), and a half-sister, Lady Camilla (Mickey) Wallop (1925-2023), wife of Lord Rupert Nevill. He was uncle of Quentin, 10th Earl of Portsmouth (born 25 July, 1954).

He married 1 October, 1969, Lavinia N.J. Karmel (born 1948), daughter of David Carmel, CBE, QC, (1907-1982) by his wife the former Barbara Jessie Burton (1910-93), daughter of Sir Montague Maurice Burton (1885-1952), by whom he had issue, a son Harry (born 22 Nov, 1974), and a daughter, Victoria (born 1 Feb, 1972).

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Son and heir for the Marquis and Marchioness of Blandford

2026-07-31T02:00:00.000+01:00

The Marchioness of Blandford (nee Camilla Elizabeth Antonia Thorp, born 7 April, 1987), wife of George John Godolphin Spencer-Churchill, styled Marquis of Blandford (born 28 July, 1992), son and heir of the 12th Duke of Marlborough (born 24 Nov, 1955), of Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, by his former first wife Rebecca Mary Few Brown (born July, 1962), gave birth to a son and heir, Orlando Charles Godolphin Spencer-Churchill, styled Earl of Sunderland, 15 April, 2026, a brother for Lady Olympia Arabella Kitty Spencer-Churchill, who was born 10 September, 2020, and for Lady Leonora Eliza Cressida Spencer-Churchill, who was born 7 December, 2024.

The Marchioness of Blandford is the eldest daughter of James Nicholas Thorp (born Feb, 1960), of Kern Farm, Alverstone, Isle of Wight, by his wife the former Philippa Clare Thomas (born March, 1959), and is a great niece of the actor, Richard Thorp [1932-2013], who appeared for many years as Alan Turner in the long running soap, Emmerdale.

George Blandford is heir to the following peerages: Baron Churchill of Sandridge, co. Hertford [E., 1685], the Marquess of Blandford [E., 1702], Duke of Marlborough [E., 1702] , the Earl of Sunderland [E., 1643], Baron Spencer of Wormleighton [E., 1603], & Earl of Marlborough, co. Wilts [E., 1689].

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The Hon Lady Storey 1936-2026

2026-07-31T01:54:24.513+01:00

The Hon Lady Storey died 24 July, 2026. She was a scion of the Cayley baronets.

She was born Virginia Anne Cayley, born 1 July, 1936, third of the seven daughters of Maj Sir Kenelm Henry Ernest Cayley, 10th Baronet (1896-1967), of Malpas House, Brompton, Scarborough, and his wife the former Frances Elizabeth Edwyna Brewis (1908-1974); and married 30 September, 1961, the then Richard Storey (born 23 January, 1937), son and heir of Samuel Storey, MP for Stretford 1950-66 (born 18 January, 1896), and his wife the former Elisabeth Woodcock (who died 1951).

Her husband's father was created a baronet, 30 January, 1960, and raised to the peerage of life, 16 June, 1966, taking the title Baron Buckton, of Settrington in the East Riding of Yorkshire.

Richard Storey became the Hon Richard Storey in 1966, and succeeded his father in the baronetcy, 17 January, 1978.

She is survived by her husband and son, Kenelm (born 4 Jan, 1963), and two daughters, Elisabeth (born 27 Dec, 1964), and Melissa (born 6 July, 1968).

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Jackson/Dodds engagement

2026-07-31T01:31:59.755+01:00

The engagement was announced 31 July, 2026, between Thomas Sebastian Esmé Jackson (born 1993), scion of the Jackson baronets, of the Manor House, Birkenhead [Bt, UK, 1869], son of Brigadier Jolyon Thomas Jackson (born 12 October, 1957), of Corton, Wiltshire, and his wife the former Serena Howell, & Brittany C. [Bee] Dodds, daughter of Mr and Mrs Ian Dodds, of Johannesburg, South Africa.

Thomas Jackson is a grandson of Sir William Thomas Jackson, 8th Baronet (1927-2004)

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Lady Elizabeth Maria Mays-Smith (nee Guinness) 1939-2026

2026-07-30T01:29:46.850+01:00

Lady Elizabeth Maria (Eliza) Mays-Smith, who died 24 July, 2026, aged 86, was a Guinness heiress, a scion of the Earls of Iveagh.

She was born 31 October, 1939, the elder daughter of Major Arthur Onslow Edward Guinness, styled Viscount Elveden (1912-1945), and his wife Lady Elizabeth Cecilia Hare (1914-1990), daughter of the 4th Earl of Listowel (1866-1931), and was a granddaughter paternally of Rupert Guinness, 2nd Earl of Iveagh, KG CB CMG VD ADC FRS DL (1874-1967), politician, philanthropist, and head of the eponymous brewing dynasty.

She was a sister of Arthur Guinness, 3rd Earl of Iveagh (1937-1992), and Lady Henrietta Guinness (1942-1978). Lady Henrietta died by suicide jumping from a bridge in Italy.

Lady Eliza is an aunt of the 4th Earl of Iveagh (born 10 Aug, 1969).

Lady Eliza was raised to the rank of an earl's daughter on her brother's succession to the Earldom of Iveagh following their grandfather's death in 1967. She married 1stly, 28 September, 1960 (div 1990), David Hugh Lavallin Nugent (1935-2003), second son of Sir Hugh Charles Nugent, 6th Baronet (1904-1983), and his wife Margaret Mary Lavallin Puxley (who died 8 Aug, 2004), scion of that landed gentry family, & married 2ndly, 7 February, 1992, Robert Martin Mays-Smith (1930-2014), son of Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Shankland Mays-Smith, MBE (1902-1980), and his wife the former Brenda Mary Hilda Rickett (1905-1990).

Lady Eliza leaves issue from her first marriage, three sons, Charles Hugo, and Rory, and was predeceased by a daughter, Sheelin.

Hon Orlando George Alexander Bridgeman (born 2026)

2026-07-29T22:21:05.944+01:00

Eliza Bridgeman, styled Viscountess Newport, wife of Alexander Michael Orlando Bridgeman, styled Viscount Newport [born 6 September, 1980], has given birth to a second son, the Hon Orlando George Alexander Bridgeman, 28 July, 2026 a brother for Archibald Henry Orlando (Archie), who was born 19 March, 2024.

Viscountess Newport (born 1991, nee Eliza Liepina), was educated at Auckland University, New Zealand. Lord and Lady Newport married at Weston Park, Shropshire, 14 May, 2022.

Viscount Newport is the eldest of the four children of the 7th Earl of Bradford [born 3 Oct, 1947], of Weston-under-Lizard, Shifnal, Shropshire, and his former 1st wife the former Joanna Elizabeth Miller [now Mrs Philip Porter, of Hungerford, Berkshire].

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Vanessa Margaret Connolly (née St John) 1944-2026

2026-07-29T01:30:00.000+01:00

Vanessa Margaret Connolly, who died 25 July, 2026, aged 82, was a scion of the Barons St John of Bletso.

She was born 26 February, 1944, third daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Oliver Charles Beauchamp St John (1907-1976), and his wife the former Elizabeth Mary Lambton (1911-1957), scion of the Earls of Durham; and married 2 March, 1964, Nicholas John Connolly, son, a son, of Wilfrid John Connolly, of Wimbledon, London, by whom she had issue, a son, Rupert, and two daughters, Philippa and Victoria.

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Susanna Diana Georgina Peter-Hoblyn (nee FitzRoy) 1937-2026

2026-07-28T01:01:00.000+01:00

Susanna Diana Georgina Peter-Hoblyn, who died 24 July, 2026, aged 89, was a scion of the Dukes of Grafton and a direct descendant of King Charles II.

She was born 18 June, 1937, daughter of Nigel Horatio Trevor FitzRoy (1889-1953), and his wife the former Diana Frances Pery-Knox-Gore (1914-1995), scion of the Earls of Limerick; and married twice, firstly, 22 September, 1964 (annulled 1966), William Anthony Coleridge (1934-2025), son of Guy Coleridge; married 2ndly, 13 March, 1967, George Henry Peter-Hoblyn (born 1943), son of Lieutenant-Colonel John Bampfylde Peter-Hoblyn (1909-1984), head of that landed gentry family, and his wife the former Dorothy Barbara Philipson-Stow, daughter of Sir Elliot Philipson-Stow, 2nd Baronet (1876-1954).

She leaves issue, a son, John FitzRoy Peter-Hoblyn (born 23 Feb, 1968), and Emma Frances (born 15 July, 1970).

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Peirson/Greenacre engagement

2026-07-27T01:56:48.162+01:00

The engagement was announced 27 July, 2026, between George A. Peirson, younger son of Mr and Mrs Richard Peirson, of Richmond, Surrey, and Georgia Lucy Greenacre (born 2 July, 1995), elder daughter of Philip Laurence Greenacre (born 6 August, 1961), of Charney Bassett, Oxfordshire, and his wife the former Anna Katharine Simpson.

Georgia Greenacre is descended from the Earls of Lindsay:-

William Lindesay-Bethune, 14th Earl of Lindsay (1901-1985) > Lady Elizabeth Lindesay-Bethune (1932-1996) > Philip Greenacre (b 1961) > Georgia Greenacre (b 1995)

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James Duff/Chick engagement

2026-07-27T01:32:46.016+01:00

The engagement was announced 27 July, 2026, between Gardie William Beauchamp James Duff (born 1993), son of David Robin Millais James Duff, 13th of Hatton (Scottish landed gentry) (born 1945), of Kirton, Montrose, Angus, and his 2nd wife the late former Jayne Elizabeth Bryce (1958-2021), & Florence A. Chick, elder daughter of Major John Chick, of Hasketon, Woodbridge, Suffolk, and Mrs Chick.

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The Baron Horam 1939-2026

2026-07-25T14:50:00.000+01:00

The Baron Horam, life peer, died 24 July, 2026, aged 87.

John Rhodes Horam was a politician who represented three parties in Parliament. He was Labour MP for Gateshead West 1970-1983, but defected to SDP in 1981; and was Conservative MP for Orpington, 1992-2010.

On 4 September 2013 Horam was created a working life peer as Baron Horam, of Grimsargh in the County of Lancashire.

He was born 7 March, 1939, son of Sidney Horam, and his wife Catherine Harkness, and married in 1987, Mrs Judith Marian Jopp, former wife of Peter M. Jopp, and daughter of ____Jackson.

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Lady Henrietta Stanley marries Alexander Reviakin

2026-07-25T13:19:14.415+01:00

The marriage took place 4 July, 2026, at Knowsley Hall, Lancashire, between Alexander Ronald Reviakin (born 1996), only son of Mr Sergei Reviakin, of London, and Mrs Rosanna Gardner (nee Kelly, born 21 May, 1964), of County Wexford, Ireland, and and the Lady Henrietta Mary Rose Stanley (born 6 February, 1997), only daughter of the 19th Earl of Derby, DL (born 10 Oct, 1962), of Knowsley Hall, Prescot, Merseyside, and the Countess of Derby (nee the Hon Caroline Neville, born 28 Dec, 1963, scion of the Barons Braybrooke).

Alexander (Sasha) Reviakin, a descendant of the 1st Viscount Camrose, began his career as a researcher and consultant on financial inclusion and innovation in the Arab world, working for various public and private sector organisations including the World Bank Group, Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) and Finance in Motion. His research has been complemented with entrepreneurial experience working to provide sustainable livelihoods to embroiderers in Lebanon. He holds an honours degree in Arabic, International Relations and History of Art with a thesis on the concept of the sublime in modern calligraphic art.

The 1st Viscount Camrose (1879-1954) > Hon Mary Cecilia Berry (1906-1996) > Alison Linda McNair Scott (1939-2019) > Rosanna Mary Kelly (b 1964) > Alexander Reviakin

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The 12th Marquess of Queensberry 1929-2026

2026-07-25T11:19:02.634+01:00

The Marquess of Queensberry, sometime professor of ceramics at the Royal College of Art, died 22 July, 2026. He was 96. He was a peer for 72 years.

Queensberry was the 14th Lord Douglas of Hawick and Tibberis [S., 1628]; the 11th Baronet Douglas, of Kelhead [N.S., 1667]; 14th Viscount of Drumlanrig [S., 1628]; the 12th Earl of Drumlanrig and Sanchar [S., 1681]; the 12th Marquess of Queensberry [S., 1681]; the 12th Viscount of Nith, Torthorwald and Ross [S., 1681]; the 14th Earl of Queensberry [S., 1633] ; and the 12th Lord Douglas of Kinmouth, Midlebie, and Dornock [S., 1681].

David Angus Harrington Douglas was born 19 December, 1929, son of the 11th Marquess of Queensberry (1896-1954), and his second wife the former Cathleen Sabine Mann (1897-1959); and he succeeded the family honours on the death of his father, 27 April, 1954.

He was educated at Eton and served as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Horse Guards. He was appointed professor of ceramics at the Royal College of Art in 1959, and appointed a Fellow of the Royal College of Art in 1990.

He married thrice - firstly, 18 July, 1956 (div. 1969), Ann Jones, daughter of Maurice Sinnett Jones, and former wife of George Arthur Radford; married 2ndly, 10 July, 1969 (div. 1986), Alexandra Mary Clare Wyndham Sich (born 1943), daughter of Guy Wyndham Sich (1898-1958), of Cornwall Gardens, Kensington, and his wife the former Jean Denise Theobald (1919-1979), and married thirdly, 2000, Hsueh-Chun Liao.

Queensberry's mother-in-law, Jean Denise Theobald, was allegedly the illegitimate daughter of the 3rd Marquess of Dufferin & Ava (1875-1930).

Queensberry had issue from his three marriages. Two daughter from the first union, Lady Emma Cathleen Douglas (born 13 Sept, 1956) and Lady Alice Douglas (born 23 July,1965), three sons and a daughter from his second marriage, Sholto Francis Guy Douglas, Viscount Drumlanrig (born 1 June, 1967), and Lord Milo Luke Dickon Douglas (1975-2009), and Lord Torquhil Oberon Tobias Douglas (born 2 Nov, 1978), and Lady Kate Cordelia Sasha Douglas (born 21 Nov 1969), and a daughter by his third wife, Lady Beth Shan Ling Douglas (1999-2018).

The Marquess also leaves a son, Ambrose Carey (born 14 Nov, 1961) from a liaison with Caroline Carey.

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Marquess of Queensberry obituary: Aristocratic ceramicist

From The Times 30 July, 2026

Royal College of Art professor who lived through family tragedy and rubbed shoulders with Swinging Sixties set dies aged 96

David Douglas was playing cards with John Profumo in 1963 when the secretary of state for war learnt that his political career was about to end because of a sex scandal. David Queensberry, as the 12th Marquess of Queensberry was known professionally, was part of a Swinging Sixties set that included not only Profumo but also the photographers David Bailey and Patrick Lichfield and the artist David Hockney. He was also a designer and potter, and from 1959 to 1983 was professor of ceramics at the Royal College of Art.

The family was best known for his great-grandfather the 9th Marquess, who gave his name to the official rules of boxing in 1867 and many years later played a pivotal role in the downfall of Oscar Wilde having taken issue with the author’s homosexual relationship with his son Alfred “Bosie” Douglas. In February 1895 the marquess left a note on public display in the Albemarle Club declaring that Wilde was a “somdomite” (sic). Wilde sued for libel, but the case backfired and Wilde was convicted of gross indecency.

Queensberry remembered his father being visited by the impecunious Bosie, who was still betting on the horses until his death in 1945. “I think he was an awful fellow, extremely right-wing, antisemitic; there was nothing very good to be said about him,” he told The Times in 1995. “But I do think he was, in a minor way, quite a good poet.”…

…David Harrington Angus Douglas was born in Westminster in 1929, the younger of two children of Francis Douglas, 11th Marquess of Queensberry, Bosie’s stockbroker nephew, and his second wife, Cathleen Mann, a portrait artist; his sister, Jane, died in 2007. He had a half-sister, Patricia, from his father’s first marriage and a half-brother, Gawain, from his third marriage.

The family’s history dates back to medieval Scotland when Sir William Douglas died in the Tower of London in 1298 after fighting for William Wallace against the English. In 1633 another William Douglas was created Earl of Queensberry and in 1682 Charles II elevated the title to marquess. The 8th marquess shot himself in 1858 while hunting rabbits, one of his sons died climbing the Matterhorn and another cut his own throat with a razor in a London hotel. The 9th marquess was little loved by his family. He was once charged with affray after fighting in the street with his son, Queensberry’s grandfather, whom he spat at on his deathbed in 1900…

… Queensberry succeeded in the peerage in 1954, and made his maiden speech in the Lords in 1965 in support of reforming the law on homosexuality. Meanwhile, he embarked on a series of complicated romantic entanglements, marrying Ann Radford (née Jones), the actress Ann Queensberry, in 1956. They had two daughters, Emma, an artist, and Alice, a writer and theatre director who married an armed robber she met while volunteering in a prison. They also fostered a Nigerian boy.

During that time he also had a son, Ambrose Carey, from another relationship, though because they never married Ambrose, who founded a business intelligence consultancy, did not succeed in the titles. Ambrose’s half-sister, Carrie, married Salem bin Laden then, after his death in a plane crash in 1988, his brother Khaled. They were half-brothers of Osama bin Laden, mastermind of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US.

… his first marriage was dissolved and in 1969 he married Alexandra Wyndham, a model. They had three sons, Sholto, Milo, who suffered from bipolar disorder and took his own life in 2009 aged 34, and Torquil, and a daughter, Kate, who once said: “Despite our 700-year heritage we are proud to be a very modern and gloriously dysfunctional family.” Sholto, known by the courtesy title Viscount Drumlanrig, had been born during Queensberry’s first marriage, but his succession as the 13th Marquess was assured by his parents’ subsequent marriage.

That too was dissolved and in 1999 Queensberry declared: “I’ve failed at marriage twice, so I’m disinclined to embark on it again.” The following year he married Hsueh-Chun Liao, a Taiwanese artist almost 40 years his junior with whom he already had a daughter, Beth, known as Ling Ling, a talented violinist. The so-called “Queensberry curse” struck again when Beth died in 2018, aged 18, after taking drugs at a Notting Hill party…

Professor David Queensberry (David Douglas), 12th Marquess of Queensberry and ceramicist, was born on December 19, 1929. He died on July 22, 2026, aged 96

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Hon Isobel Ann Woods (nee Byron)

2026-07-25T08:00:00.000+01:00

The Hon Isobel Ann Woods, who died 19 June, 2026, aged 94, was a scion of the Barons Byron.

She was born 23 May, 1932, daughter of the 11th Baron Byron (1903-1983), and his wife the former Pauline Augusta Cornwall (who died 1993); and married firstly, 22 September, 1951, Robert Reford Corr (who died 1980), son of Ivan Reford Corr, of Perth, Australia; and married 2ndly, 1983, Norman James Woods, son of James Park Woods, VC (1886-1963), of Claremont, Perth, Australia.

She leaves two sons, John (born 8 Aug, 1953), and Anthony (born 12 Sept, 1956), and a daughter the Rev Helen Corr (born 20 Oct, 1961).

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Oldfield/Tuckey engagement

2026-07-25T07:50:00.000+01:00

The engagement was announced 25 July, 2026, between Edward Guy Bayley Oldfield (bon 1998), scion of that landed gentry family, son of Richard John Oldfield (born Oct, 1955), of Doddington, Kent, and his wife the former Amicia K. de Moubray, & Eleanor Charlotte Rosemary Tuckey (born 1999), daughter of Andrew Marmaduke Lane Tuckey (born 1943), of Marlborough, Wilteshire, and Dr Tracy Elisabeth Long.

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