Lady Jane Lacey | |
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Born | Jane Antonia Frances Vane-Tempest-Stewart 11 August 1932 London, United Kingdom |
Other names | Lady Jane Rayne Jane Rayne, Baroness Rayne |
Known for | Maid of honour at the coronation of Elizabeth II |
Spouses | |
Children | 4 |
Parents |
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Lady Jane Antonia Frances Lacey (born Vane-Tempest-Stewart on 11 August 1932, later Rayne) is a British socialite and philanthropist.
Born The Honourable Jane Vane-Tempest-Stewart on 11 August 1932 in London, [1] she was born into an Anglo-Irish aristocratic family with its roots in Ulster and County Durham. She is the eldest daughter of Robin, Viscount Castlereagh, later 8th Marquess of Londonderry, and Romaine Combe (1904–1951), daughter of Major Boyce Combe. [2] She had two younger siblings, Lady Annabel Goldsmith and Alistair, 9th Marquess of Londonderry. [3] She was raised on the family estates, Mount Stewart in County Down, Wynyard Park in County Durham, and Londonderry House in Park Lane, London. [3]
A painting of her by Edmund Brock appeared on the cover of the February 1939 issue of Woman's Journal.
In 1953, Lady Jane was chosen as one of six aristocratic young ladies chosen to serve as maids of honour at the coronation of Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey. [4] Her duties included carrying the Queen's train during the procession. The maids of honour all wore matching gowns by Norman Hartnell. [5] Lady Jane, along with Lady Rosemary Spencer-Churchill, rode in a carriage with Lord Tryon, the Keeper of the Privy Purse, during the procession while the other maids of honour waited at the abbey. [6]
on 2 June 1965, Lady Jane married Anglo-Jewish developer Max Rayne. [7] They had four children: [8]
In 1976, Rayne was made a life peer and she thus became The Lady Rayne. She was widowed in 2003. In August 2012, she married royal biographer and historian Robert Lacey.
Lady Jane was a founding member and director of Chickenshed, a children's theatre company, and was president of trustees until her daughter Natasha took over in 2013. She is also patron and trustee of the Rayne Foundation and trustee of the Jerusalem Foundation. [9] [10]
Marquess of Londonderry, of the County of Londonderry, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland.
Charles William Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, was an Anglo-Irish nobleman, a British soldier and a politician. He served in the French Revolutionary Wars, in the suppression of the Irish Rebellion of 1798, and in the Napoleonic wars. He excelled as a cavalry commander in the Peninsular War (1807–1814) under John Moore and Arthur Wellesley.
Lady Annabel Goldsmith is an English socialite and the eponym for a London nightclub of the late 20th century, Annabel's. She was first married for two decades to entrepreneur Mark Birley, the creator of Annabel's. Annabel's was her husband's inaugural members-only Mayfair club.
Charles Stewart Henry Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 7th Marquess of Londonderry,, styled Lord Stewart until 1884 and Viscount Castlereagh between 1884 and 1915, was a British peer and politician. He is best remembered for his tenure as Secretary of State for Air in the 1930s and for his attempts to reach an understanding with Nazi Germany. In 1935 he was removed from the Air Ministry but retained in the Cabinet as Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords.
Edward Charles Stewart Robert Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 8th Marquess of Londonderry,, styled Lord Stewart until 1915 and Viscount Castlereagh between 1915 and 1946, was a British peer and politician.
Edith Helen Vane-Tempest-Stewart, Marchioness of Londonderry, DBE was a noted and influential society hostess in the United Kingdom between World War I and World War II, a friend of the first Labour prime minister, Ramsay MacDonald. She was a noted gardener and a writer and editor of the works of others.
Mount Stewart is a 19th-century house and garden in County Down, Northern Ireland, owned by the National Trust. Situated on the east shore of Strangford Lough, a few miles outside the town of Newtownards and near Greyabbey, it was the Irish seat of the Stewart family, Marquesses of Londonderry. Prominently associated with the 2nd Marquess, Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh, Britain's Foreign Secretary at the Congress of Vienna and with the 7th Marquess, Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, the former Air Minister who at Mount Stewart attempted private diplomacy with Hitler's Germany, the house and its contents reflect the history of the family's leading role in social and political life in Britain and Ireland.
A maid of honour is a junior attendant of a queen in royal households. The position was and is junior to the lady-in-waiting. The equivalent title and office has historically been used in most European royal courts.
George Henry Robert Charles William Vane-Tempest, 5th Marquess of Londonderry, KP, styled Viscount Seaham between 1823 and 1854 and known as The Earl Vane between 1854 and 1872, was a British aristocrat, businessman, diplomat and Conservative politician.
Londonderry House was an aristocratic townhouse situated on Park Lane in the Mayfair district of London, England. The mansion served as the London residence of the Marquesses of Londonderry. It remained their home until 1962. In that year Londonderry House was sold by the Trustees of the 7th Marquess of Londonderry's Will Trusts to a developer who built the "Londonderry Hotel" on the site, not the Hilton. The Hilton Hotel is on the other side of the street, and had already been opened. COMO Metropolitan London now occupies the site of Londonderry House.
Marcus Oswald Hornby Lecky Birley, known as Mark Birley, was a British entrepreneur known for his investments in the hospitality industry.
Max Rayne, Baron Rayne was a British property developer and philanthropist who supported medical, religious, education and arts charities in England.
Giles Stephen Holland Fox-Strangways, 6th Earl of Ilchester, styled Lord Stavordale until 1905, was a British peer and philanthropist.
Alexander Charles Robert "Alastair" Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 9th Marquess of Londonderry was a British nobleman.
Robert Lacey is a British historian and biographer. He is the author of a number of best-selling biographies, including those of Henry Ford, Eileen Ford, Queen Elizabeth II and other royals, as well as several other works of popular history. Nowadays he is best known for his work as historian to the Netflix award-winning drama The Crown. Lacey was educated at Selwyn College, Cambridge, where he studied history.
(Nancy) Jane Marie Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 28th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby, is a British aristocratic landowner related to the Astor family and former member of the House of Lords.
Nicolette Elaine Katherine Powell, formerly Nicolette Vane-Tempest-Stewart, Marchioness of Londonderry, was an English socialite, married firstly to the 9th Marquess of Londonderry and later to the musician Georgie Fame.
Lady Rosemary Mildred Muir is an English aristocrat who served as a maid of honour to Elizabeth II at her coronation in 1953.
Theresa Susey Helen Vane-Tempest-Stewart, Marchioness of Londonderry was a British socialite and political hostess. She was a leading Unionist campaigner against Irish Home Rule, serving as president of the Ulster Women's Unionist Council from 1913 to 1919. She was said to be one of the most "dominating feminine personalities" of the time and was referred to as the "Queen of Toryism" and a "highwaywoman in a tiara."
Alexandrina Octavia Maria Dawson-Damer, Countess of Portarlington was an Irish aristocrat who was the wife of Henry Dawson-Damer, 3rd Earl of Portarlington and the daughter of Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry.