Duchess of St Albans

Duchess of St Albans is a title given to the wife of the Duke of St Albans, an extant title in the Peerage of England, created in 1684 by King Charles II and given to his illegitimate child with Nell Gwynn, Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans. Gillian Northam is the current Duchess, as the third wife of the current Duke, Murray Beauclerk, 14th Duke of St Albans, since their marriage in 2002. ^[1]

Duchesses of St Albans

Name	Birth	Marriage	Became Duchess of St Albans	Spouse	Ceased to be Duchess of St Albans	Death
Lady Diana de Vere	1679	17 April 1694		Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans	11 May 1726	15 January 1742
Lucy Werden	6 July 1707	13 December 1722	11 May 1726	Charles Beauclerk, 2nd Duke of St Albans	27 July 1751
Jane Roberts	1731	23 December 1752		George Beauclerk, 3rd Duke of St Albans	16 December 1778
Lady Catherine Ponsonby	14 October 1742	10 February 1787		Aubrey Beauclerk, 5th Duke of St Albans	4 September 1789
Lady Louisa Manners	4 December 1777	15 August 1802		Aubrey Beauclerk, 6th Duke of St Albans	12 August 1815	19 February 1816
Maria Nelthorpe	1779	4 March 1799	19 February 1816	William Beauclerk, 8th Duke of St Albans	17 January 1822
Harriet Mellon	11 November 1777	16 June 1827 [2]		William Beauclerk, 9th Duke of St Albans	6 August 1837
Elizabeth Gubbins	1818	29 May 1839 [3]			27 May 1849	2 December 1893
Lady Sybil Grey	28 November 1848	20 June 1867 [4]		William Beauclerk, 10th Duke of St Albans	7 September 1871
Grace Bernal-Osborne	26 July 1848	3 January 1874 [5]			10 May 1898	18 November 1926
Lady Beatrix Petty-FitzMaurice	25 March 1877	19 August 1918	19 September 1934	Osborne Beauclerk, 12th Duke of St Albans	5 August 1953
Suzanne Fesq	4 May 1921	19 March 1947 [6]	2 March 1964 [7]	Charles Beauclerk, 13th Duke of St Albans	8 October 1988
Cynthia Howard	1929	29 August 1974 [8]	8 October 1988	Murray Beauclerk, 14th Duke of St Albans	2001 [9] [10]	12 May 2002
Gillian Northam	April 1939	14 December 2002 [11]			Incumbent

Wives that did not become Duchess of St Albans

• Jane Mary Moses married Aubrey Beauclerk (later the 6th Duke) in 1788 but died in 1800. Aubrey became the Duke in 1802 and, therefore, Jane never became Duchess.
• Charlotte Thelwell married William (later the 8th Duke) in 1791. She died in 1797, however never became Duchess, as William only became the Duke in 1816. ^[12]
• Nathalie Walker married Charles (later the 13th Duke). They divorced in 1947, and Nathalie never became Duchess, as Charles only became the Duke in 1964.
• Rosemary Frances Scoones marrried Murray (later the 14th Duke). They divorced in 1974, and Rosemary never became Duchess, as Murray only became the Duke in 1988. ^[13]

Unmarried Dukes of St Albans

• George Beauclerk, 4th Duke of St Albans died unmarried and childless in 1787, therefore there was no Duchess consort during this period. The title passed to his cousin Aubrey Beauclerk, 5th Duke of St Albans.
• The 7th Duke, Aubrey, died in childhood, and therefore never got married or had any issue.
• Charles Beauclerk, 11th Duke of St Albans, died unmarried and childless in 1934, and was succeeded by his half-brother, Osborne, who became the 12th Duke.

See also

• Duke of St Albans

References

1. Burke's Peerage & Baronetage.
2. Healey, Edna (January 2012). "Coutts, Angela Georgina Burdett-, suo jure Baroness Burdett-Coutts (1814–1906)" . Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/32175 . Retrieved 21 April 2014.(Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
3. Manuscripts, British Museum Department of (1889). Catalogue of Additions to the Manuscripts in the British Museum in the Years ... Order of the Trustees. p. 429. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
4. Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood (107 ed.). Burke's Peerage & Gentry. p. 3461. ISBN   0-9711966-2-1.
5. "Bestwood Emmanuel Churchyard". Southwell & Nottingham Church History Project.
6. Dismore, Jane (4 September 2014). Duchesses: Living in 21st Century Britain. Bonnier Publishing Ltd. ISBN   9781905825752 – via Google Books.
7. "Duke of St. Albans Dies; Was Aide de Camp to Haig".
8. Crooks, John & Green, Alison, editors, Debrett's People of Today 2001, Fourteenth Annual Edition, Debrett's Peerage Ltd., London, p. 1720.
9. The Times via WorldRoots Archived 17 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
10. Burke's Peerage & Baronetage.
11. Burke's Peerage & Baronetage.
12. England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
13. Crooks, John & Green, Alison, editors, Debrett's People of Today 2001, Fourteenth Annual Edition, Debrett's Peerage Ltd., London, p. 1720.