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C H A T S W O R T H
D E R B Y S H I R E , E N G L A N D
H i s G r a c e T h e D u k e o f D e v o n s h i r e K . G . , M . C . , P . C .
By Tudor days this ancient family had already attained two dukedoms. Siding with
Henry VIII, they were further enriched with grants of Abbey lands, building the
magnificent Chatsworth in its legendary surrounds. Military and courtly power
sustained them well until the 17th century when they engineered the Protestant
William and Mary to the British throne. Lavished with thanks and privileges, a
newly faced Chatsworth resulted. This remains the triumph of architecture seen
today, enhanced with the greatest private art collections in Britain. Chatsworth
is surrounded by superb formal gardens with cascading fountains powered by
water rushing from the picturesque hills above. The present, 11th Duke, with a
myriad of subsidiary titles, carries on the ancient family traditions of scholarship,
collecting and thriving his properties with distinction. The Duke is a Cambridge
Doctor of Literature with the coveted Military Cross for Gallantry in World War
II, where his elder brother, the Marquess, was killed. The Marquess was married
to the sister of President Kennedy. The Duke was also a Cabinet Minister on two
occasions in Prime Minister Macmillan’s government, and remains one of the
Queen’s Privy Councillors. The Duchess, one of four famed, scintillating literary
and political sisters adds an unforgettable panache of her own.
