Kenneth Peter Townend (26 April 1921 - 16 July 2001) was a British genealogist and social editor. He served as editor of Burke's Peerage and later as social editor of Tatler .
Townend was born in Leeds on 26 April 1921, son of Claude William Townend, a farmer and Army riding instructor, and Florence Lily, née Atkinson. As a child, he suffered from meningitis, which meant he had little formal education, but did attend King's School, Pontefract. His mother "keenly followed the doings of the Royal Family and aristocracy", and her son was surrounded by society magazines from an early age. [1] [2]
Townend served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War as a writer/ clerk, and afterwards joined Burke's Peerage under L. G. Pine as an archivist. [3] He became editor of Burke's in 1960 until he was replaced by Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd in 1971 or 1972, by which time he was social editor of Tatler magazine, [4] and had become renowned for his organisation of the vestigial UK 'deb scene'. Townend reportedly asked Jennie Hallam-Peel to "keep the Season alive" prior to his death, leading to the revamping of the Queen Charlotte's Ball.
Patrick Barnabas Burke Mayhew, Baron Mayhew of Twysden, was a British barrister and politician.
Henry George Reginald Molyneux Herbert, 7th Earl of Carnarvon, , was a British peer and racing manager to Queen Elizabeth II from 1969 until his death. From his birth until September 1987, he was known by the courtesy title Lord Porchester.
Sir William Robert Ferdinand Mount, 3rd Baronet, FRSL, is a British writer, novelist, and columnist for The Sunday Times, as well as a political commentator.
Veronica Judith Colleton Wadley, Baroness Fleet, is a board member of Arts Council England (2010–present). She is a director and trustee of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. She was a senior advisor to the former Mayor of London, Boris Johnson (2012–2016) and the co-founder and chairman of the London Music Fund, where she remains a Trustee & Chair. She is also a non-executive director of the Berkeley Group and an independent Director of Times Newspapers Holdings.
Anna Theodora Chancellor is an English actress who has appeared widely on TV, film and in the theatre. She received a nomination for BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Lix Storm in The Hour (2011–2012), and has twice been nominated for Olivier Awards, in 1997 for her performances in Stanley at the National Theatre, and again in 2014 for Private Lives at the Gielgud Theatre. She was also nominated for an award at the Monte-Carlo TV Festival in 2007 and for one at the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards in 2013.
Captain David Peter Seely, 4th Baron Mottistone was a naval officer and British peer.
George Carron Greig, known as Geordie Greig, is an English journalist. He has been the editor-in-chief of The Independent since January 2023, and was the editor of the Daily Mail from 2018 to 2021 and the Mail on Sunday from 2012 to 2018.
David Vines White is an officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. Since 2021, he has served as Garter Principal King of Arms.
Sir Simon Peter Edmund Cosmo William Towneley was a British author who served as Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire from 1976 to 1997.
Lieutenant Colonel James Harry Allason, was a British Conservative Party politician, sportsman, and former military planner who worked with Lord Mountbatten and Winston Churchill. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living former member of the House of Commons.
Patrick Francis Maitland, 17th Earl of Lauderdale,, styled The Hon. Patrick Maitland, Master of Lauderdale, from 1953 to 1968, was a Scottish Unionist politician.
Luke Richard White, 6th Baron Annaly, is a British hereditary peer and former Government Whip in the House of Lords, who sat on the Conservative benches.
James Alexander Philip Theo Mountbatten-Windsor, Earl of Wessex, styled Viscount Severn from 2007 until 2023, is the younger child and son of Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh. He is the youngest nephew of King Charles III. He was born during the reign of his paternal grandmother Elizabeth II, at which time he was 8th in line to the British throne. He is currently 15th.
Timothy John March Phillipps de Lisle is a British writer and editor who is a feature writer for The Guardian and other publications, focusing on cricket and rock music.
Sir William Stratford Dugdale, 2nd Baronet, was the chairman of Aston Villa from 1975 to 1978. Dugdale arrived at Aston Villa as a director when they were in the third division, having been relegated due to poor performances on and off the pitch. He left the club in 1982, the year they won the European Cup. Following several successful years as a director in the early-1970s, he was elected chairman in 1975, taking over the position from Doug Ellis, the package holiday businessman, before being replaced by Harry Kartz.
Tatler is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. It focuses on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. Targeted towards the British and global upper class and upper-middle class, as well as those interested in society events, its readership is the wealthiest of all Condé Nast's publications.
Cressida Curzon Wentworth-Stanley is an English actress and model.
Elizabeth Kenward was an English magazine columnist, known for writing "Jennifer's Diary", originally in Tatler, subsequently in Queen.
Mary Elizabeth Lalage Wakefield is a British journalist, and a columnist and commissioning editor for The Spectator.
Donald Angus Cameron of Lochiel, was the 27th Chief of Clan Cameron. He served as Lord Lieutenant of Inverness from 2002 to 2021.