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. His son, Henry, 2nd Earl, was created Duke of Portland in 1716.
As there were no male heirs when Lady Anne's father died in March 1977, he was succeeded in the dukedom by a distant relative, his third cousin Ferdinand Cavendish-Bentinck. However, the family seat of Welbeck Abbey and the family fortune passed to his daughter. This was due to the legal arrangements made by Anne's grandfather (6th Duke of Portland). Her grandfather was also 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.
Eventually the dukedom died out due to a lack of male heirs in 1990. However the earldom continues on presently. The 12th Earl of Portland is actor Tim Bentinck, also known as David Archer to the listeners of the BBC Radio 4 soap opera The Archers. Her sole heir is her nephew, William Parente, who is married with two children. He is the beneficiary to her £158 million estate.
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.
Read more about this topic: Lady Anne Cavendish-Bentinck
Famous quotes containing the word family:
“Providing for one’s family as a good husband and father is a water-tight excuse for making money hand over fist. Greed may be a sin, exploitation of other people might, on the face of it, look rather nasty, but who can blame a man for “doing the best” for his children?”
—Eva Figes (b. 1932)
“My family pride is something inconceivable. I can’t help it. I was born sneering.”
—Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (1836–1911)
“A family on the throne is an interesting idea.... It brings down the pride of sovereignty to the level of petty life.”
—Walter Bagehot (1826–1877)