Lady Anne Cavendish-Bentinck

Anne Cavendish-Bentinck
Born	(1916-09-06)6 September 1916
Died	29 December 2008(2008-12-29) (aged 92)
Spouse(s)	Unmarried
Children	None
Parent(s)	William Cavendish-Bentinck (father) Ivy Gordon-Lennox (mother)

Lady Alexandra Margaret Anne Cavendish-Bentinck (16 September 1916 – 29 December 2008) was a member of the British nobility and one of the richest landowners in the country. Her father was William Cavendish-Bentinck, 7th Duke of Portland, a British Conservative politician. The Duke was also known as "Chopper" for the wooden house he built in Welbeck.^[1] Her mother was Ivy Gordon-Lennox, daughter of Lord Algernon Charles Gordon-Lennox. She had one sibling, a younger sister, Lady Margaret Parente (died 1955).

Family

The Dukes of Portland originally were a Dutch family. Hans Willem (or William) Bentinck came to Britain from Holland with William of Orange in 1670, and was created Earl of Portland in 1689.^[2] His son, Henry, 2nd Earl, was created Duke of Portland in 1716.

As Lady Anne's father had no sons when he died in March 1977, he was succeeded in the dukedom by his third cousin Ferdinand Cavendish-Bentinck. However, the family seat of Welbeck Abbey and the family fortune passed to his daughter. This was in accordance with legal arrangements made by Anne's grandfather, William Cavendish-Bentinck, 6th Duke of Portland. Her grandfather was the younger half-brother of the Countess of Strathmore, who was the mother of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, who went on to be the Queen Mother.^[3]

The Portland dukedom became extinct in 1990 when the 9th Duke died without a male heir. However the earldom of Portland was inherited by a male line descendant of the 1st Duke's younger brother. The 12th and (as of 2015) present Earl of Portland is actor Tim Bentinck, also known as David Archer to the listeners of the BBC Radio 4 soap opera The Archers.

Lady Anne's sole heir was her nephew, William Parente, who is married with two children and was High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire for 2003–04. He was the beneficiary to her £158 million estate.^[4][5]

As a débutante, she refused to marry a Belgian nobleman, destined to be Prince Charles of the Belgians. When he came to ask for her hand in marriage she reportedly refused to get out of bed. Instead she wished to marry John Osborne, 11th Duke of Leeds. However her family refused to allow the marriage. She never married.^[6]

Interests

She was involved with many charities throughout her life. Her charitable interests ranged widely and included Girl Guides whom she allowed to have a permanent camp at Welbeck, much to the annoyance of the caretakers.^[7] Along with working with the blind, she also helped establish the Harley Foundation in 1977 which is named after Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford, an art collector and her ancestor. The foundation is an art educational charity. Lady Anne also was the president of Nottinghamshire St. John Ambulance Brigade and the president of Portland College.^[8]

She enjoyed art; she possessed a treasure trove of art including works by Stubbs and van Dyke. She also had a sizable silver collection that she stored in her strongroom. She loved horse racing and was a horsewoman, riding and hunting side-saddle. She continued to ride horses until she was 90 years old. While she never placed a bet, her horses were successful in their races, leading her to become a leading racehorse owner in Northern England.^[9]

Property

At the time of her death, she was said to own 17,000 acres (69 km²) of land in Nottinghamshire and 62,000 acres (250 km²) in Scotland, and to be worth around £158 million.^[10]

The Bentinck family's influence even reached Central London where they also owned considerable real estate. Included in her real estate in Central London was 30 acres (0.12 km²) of priceless land around Harley Street.^[11] She could be spotted driving around the private roads of her estates, even being seen driving in her small jeep just a few days before her death.^[12]

She was ranked 511th on the Sunday Times Rich List in 2008.^[13]

References