Andrew Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire

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Andrew Robert Buxton Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire, KG, MC, PC (January 2, 1920 – May 3, 2004) was a minister in the government of his uncle, British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, from 1960 – 1964. He is best known for opening Chatsworth House to the public.

Cavendish was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge. In World War II, he was a major in the Coldstream Guards. He was awarded the Military Cross for his actions on July 27, 1944 when his company was cut off for 36 hours in heavy combat near Strada in Italy.

In 1941 he married the Hon. Deborah Mitford (born March 31, 1920), one of the famous Mitford sisters. The marriage, famously successful, was not without some bumps. Two of the couple's children died soon after birth, and the Duke's extramarital affairs became public after he took the stand as a witness at a burglary trial and was forced to admit, under oath, that he was on holiday with one of a series of younger women when the crime occurred at his London home. The Duke, however, claimed that much of his marriage's success was due to the Duchess's tolerance and broadmindedness.

His older brother William, who would have inherited the dukedom, was killed in combat near the end of the war. William had married Kathleen Kennedy, John F. Kennedy's sister, only a few weeks before his death. With William's death Andrew became heir and received the courtesy title of Marquess of Hartington, which he held from 1944 until 1950.

When the 10th Duke died of a heart attack in 1950 (see 'Trivia'), Andrew inherited the title. Along with the estate, however, came an inheritance tax bill of seven million pounds, nearly 80 percent of the value of the estate. In order to pay this, the Duke had to sell off many art objects and antiques, including several Rembrandts, Van Dycks and Raphaels, as well as thousands of acres of land, including some property such as Hardwick Hall.

He ran unsuccessfully as a Conservative candidate for Chesterfield in 1945 and 1950. He was Mayor of Buxton from 1952 to 1954. He served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Commonwealth Relations from 1960 to 1962, Minister of State at the Commonwealth Relations Office from 1962 to 1963, and for Colonial Affairs from 1963 to 1964. He once said that these appointments by his uncle, Harold Macmillan, the then-prime minister, were "the greatest act of nepotism ever".

The duke followed the family tradition of owning racehorses, the most famous of which was Park Top. Park Top was the subject of the duke's first published book, A Romance of The Turf: Park Top which was published in 1976. His autobiography, Accidents of Fortune, was published just before his death in 2004.

The duke had many disputes over the years with the ramblers who used the paths near Chatsworth. Eventually though, in 1991, he signed an agreement with the Peak National Park Authority opening 1,300 acres of his estate to walkers. He said that everyone was "welcome in my back garden".

The duke's real estate holdings were vast. In addition to Chatsworth he also owned Lismore Castle in Ireland and Bolton Abbey in North Yorkshire. He also owned the bookstore Heywood Hill and the gentleman's club Pratt's. He was a major collector of contemporary British art, known especially for his patronage of Lucian Freud. The duke was listed at number 73 in the Sunday Times list of the richest people in Britain for 2004.

In 1996 he was made a Knight of the Garter.

He once said to an interviewer:

"Wonderful things have happened in my life — it's time my son had his turn. When I was young I used to like casinos, fast women and God knows what. Now my idea of Heaven, apart from being at Chatsworth, is to sit in the hall of Brooks's, having tea."

The Duke and Duchess of Devonshire had three surviving children: a son, Peregrine Cavendish, 12th Duke of Devonshire, and two daughters, the Lady Emma Cavendish and the Lady Sophia Topley. Among their grandchildren is the fashion model Stella Tennant. The Duke is buried in the churchyard of the village church in Edensor in the grounds of Chatsworth.

[edit] Trivia

His father Edward Cavendish, 10th Duke of Devonshire suffered a heart attack on 26 November 1950 while in Eastbourne, England. He was tended by his general practitioner, John Bodkin Adams, the suspected serial killer, and died in his presence. Despite the fact that the duke had not seen a doctor in the 14 days before his death, the coroner was not notified as he should have been. Adams signed the death certificate stating that the Duke died of natural causes. 13 days earlier, Mrs Edith Alice Morrell - another patient of Adams - had also died. Adams was tried in 1957 for her murder but acquitted in controversial circumstances. Home office pathologist Francis Camps linked Adams to 163 suspicious deaths in total.^[1]

[edit] Bibliography

^ Cullen, Pamela V., "A Stranger in Blood: The Case Files on Dr John Bodkin Adams", London, Elliott & Thompson, 2006, ISBN 1-904027-19-9

writing as The Duke of Devonshire: A Romance of the Turf: Park Top (2000 edition ISBN 0-7195-5482-9)
writing as Andrew Devonshire: Accidents of Fortune [Autobiography] (2004) ISBN 0-85955-286-1