William Ward, 4th Earl of Dudley

William Humble David Ward, 4th Earl of Dudley (January 5, 1920 – November 16, 2013^[1]), styled Viscount Ednam from 1932 to 1969, was a British peer.

Background

He was the son of William Ward, 3rd Earl of Dudley, and Lady Rosemary Millicent Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, only surviving daughter of Cromartie Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 4th Duke of Sutherland. He was a godson of the Duke of Windsor.

He was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford. He joined the Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales' Own) regiment, and was wounded on active service in World War II. He served as Aide-de-Camp to Field Marshal Archibald Wavell the Viceroy of India between 1942 and 1943.

He inherited the titles Baron Ward of Birmingham, Earl of Dudley and Viscount Ednam upon the death of his father, the 3rd Earl, on 26 December 1969.^[2]

Although his titles were for life, the 4th Earl ceased to sit as a member of the House of Lords on 11 November 1999, following the removal of many of the hereditary seats from the legislature.

He was the paternal uncle of actress and former model Rachel Ward and the environmental activist Tracy Louise Ward (now Marchioness of Worcester) who are the daughters of the 4th Earl's youngest brother, the Hon. Peter Alistair Ward.

Family

Lord Dudley married firstly Stella Carcano y Morra, daughter of Dr. Don Miguel Angel Carcano, who was the Argentine Ambassador to the U.K. from 1942-1946.^[3] They married on 10 January 1946 and had three children:

• (William Humble) David (Jeremy) Ward, Viscount Ednam (born 27 March 1947). He married Sarah Mary Coats, on 3 July 1972.; they were divorced in 1976. He then married Debra Louise Pinney, in 1976. They had a daughter, Bethany Rowena Ward, in 1977, and were divorced in 1980. Viscount Ednam lives in France. He succeeded his father as 5th Earl of Dudley and 15th Baron Ward upon his father's death.
• Lady Rosemary Millicent Ward (born 26 May 1955), twin, married on 26 April 1980 Castor Cañedo. Lady Rosemary has one daughter, and lives in Spain.
• Lady Anne-Marie Ines Ward (born 26 May 1955), twin, married in 1978 Laureano Pérez-Andújar y Gimena. They were divorced in 1993.

Lord and Lady Dudley divorced in 1961.

Lord Dudley remarried in Amersham on 24 August 1961. His second wife was Maureen Swanson the Scottish actress and socialite (25 November 1932 – 16 November 2011). Together they had seven children:

• Hon. William Ward (stillborn 21 October 1961)
• Lady Susanna Louise Ward (born 23 May 1963),
• Lady Melissa Patricia Eileen Ward (born 18 July 1964), married in 1991 to Simon Puxley; has daughter (India Ward Puxley)
• Lady Victoria Larissa Cecilia Ward (born 28 May 1966), Has son (George William Ward Carstairs)
• Lady Amelia Maureen Erica Ward (born 5 September 1967),
• Lady (Emma Sophia) Cressida Ward (born 7 January 1970), married to Dr Ludovic Toro (civil service in July 2011 in London and on 1 October 2011 in Sicily in a Roman Catholic wedding),^[4] whom she met while working in Paris^[5]and where she now lives. They have a son William Raffaele Vittorio Toro born 26 June 2012; Lady Cressida Ward has a daughter from a prior relationship (Lily Rose Ward Davis; born 2 November 2004). She works in medical PR.
• Hon. Leander Grenville Dudley Ward (born 31 October 1971), film-maker,^[6] married British journalist Laura Sevier on 23 July 2011. They had a daughter, Leyla Atalanta Ward, on October 14, 2012.

Notes

References

• Lundy, Darryl. "William Humble David Ward, 4th Earl of Dudley". The Peerage. 

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Earl of Dudley