Most Eligible Aristocratic Bachelors?

[bx...@yahoo.com]

Within the past few weeks, both Prince William and the Marquess of
Bowman and Cessford have gotten engaged.

Who are remaining most eligible aristocratic (by that I mean from the
peerage families) bachelors?

Thanks.

Brooke

[Pat]

Prince Harry and then a number of eventual dukes who are all 21 or
over - Lord Downpatrick (Kent), Earl of Dalkeith (Buccleuch), Lord
Carnegie (Fife), Earl of Arundel (Norfolk), Earl Percy
(Northumberland), Earl of Strathtay (Atholl), Earl of Glamorgan
(Beaufort) and although he currently doesn`t have a title Edward
FitzGerald (Leinster)

[Turenne]

On 1 Dec, 22:28, Pat <pmhi...@hotmail.com> wrote:

>
> > Who are remaining most eligible aristocratic (by that I mean from the
> > peerage families) bachelors?

Is there something you're not telling us Brooke? :)

Richard L

[marquess]

The heir to the Bacon baronetcy would be a very eligible bachelor,
with those 18,000 acres and Ravingham Hall.

[bx...@yahoo.com]

Richard, it was a completely honest post-- at least at the time.

But now that you mention it, a gal's got to keep her options open.
Just need to find a castle that's not too drafty!

Brooke

[Turenne]

On 2 Dec, 21:25, "b...@yahoo.com" <b...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Richard, it was a completely honest post-- at least at the time.
>
> But now that you mention it, a gal's got to keep her options open.
> Just need to find a  castle that's not too drafty!
>

Ha Ha! What about Longleat? Is Viscount Weymouth still available?

Richard

[marquess]

Sadly yes, this peerage needs a couple of male heirs and Viscount
Weymouth is the prime candidate to produce them. Interesting his
father only ever married once.

[colinp]

The Telegraph has produced a list of 10 wealthy eligible bachelors following the marriage of the Duke of Westminster:

1.  Ed Stanley, Lord Stanley (26) the future 20th Earl of Derby -  "the family maintains a presence around the Knowsley estate"

2. Louis Spencer, Viscount Althorp (30) son and heir of the 9th Earl Spencer, -  "Althorp in Northamptonshire includes 13,000 acres"

3. Dr the Hon Philip Sidney (39) son of 2nd Viscount de L'Isle, -  "is one of few men in the hereditary peerage with a PhD and the future custodian of Penshurst Place, his family's home since 1552"

4. Henry Russell, Marquess of Tavistock (18) heir to Duke of Bedford,  - Woburn Abbey, a safari park, a 3,000 acre deer park and land in Bloomsbury 

5. George Herbert, Lord Porchester (31) eldest son and heir of 8th Earl of Carnarvon - Highclere Castle

6. Hon Pete Czernin (58)  - divorcee, it appears, rather than a bachelor, though divorce not yet picked up by DPB online - heir to Lord Howard de Walden,  - heir to Howard de Walden estates and  a billion pound fortune

7. Archie Campbell, Marquess of Lorne (20) heir to Duke of Argyll,  - Inveraray Castle and its 75,000 estate

8.  George Percy, Earl Percy (40) heir to Duke of Northumberland,  - Alnwick Castle, an 100,000 acre estate and a £509m fortune

9. Charles Manners, Marquess of Granby (24), Duke of Rutland's heir,  - Belvoir Castle and its 16,000 acres

10. Charlie Gordon-Lennox, Earl of March and Kinrara (29) heir to Duke of Richmond,  - Goodwood estate in Sussex 12,000 acres

These are Britain's most eligible bachelors now the Duke of Westminster is off the market (telegraph.co.uk)

see also here from a few years ago -  Tatler's List of Top 50 Bachelors 2019-- Which Aristocrats Made It? (google.com)

[Jonathan]

Is it "Dr the Hon" or "The Hon Dr"?

I can't imagine it's so rare for someone in the hereditary peerage to have a PhD. Viscount Ridley and the Earl of Northesk are two that come to mind. Can anyone think of any others?

[bx...@yahoo.com]

Maybe a double Spencer, now that the Earl himself is getting divorced...

Brooke

[bx...@yahoo.com]

There are several heirs apparent etc. to Dukes and Marquesses that I guess weren't rich enough to be included on this list.

Some of the names that come to mind, probably more for their connections than their family wealth are: Baron Downpatrick (grandson of the Duke of Kent), Viscount Erleigh (son of the Marquess of Reading) and the Earl of Medina (son of the Marquess of Milford Haven).

What about the 8th Marquess of Bute?  Where does his wealth rank?

Thanks.

Brooke

[Eleanor Doughty]

Hello all, 

I'm the author of this piece so you can ask me all your questions! 

1) I didn't exclude people based on wealth but on their genuine eligibility. Jack Bute and many others didn't qualify because they're engaged, therefore not eligible anymore – nothing to do with his wealth or the estate. I also only had space for 12 (see below) and couldn't include everyone; my long list had about 30 on it, though a few were scrubbed for being recently engaged.

2) For reasons that will soon become apparent, I have very tediously done the research to show just how rare it is for peers or their heirs to have a PhD; I think Philip Sidney is actually the only millennial heir (ie aged under 43 year old) with a PhD, although there are a few younger siblings with them. Of course, Matt Ridley does have one, as do a few others, but given we are looking at a total of ~800 families those with PhDs really are few and far between relatively speaking.

3) I reckoned Dr the Hon was correct, on the basis that if he was Major the Hon that would be correct too. The Hon Dr looks and sounds all wrong to me, as it would The Hon Major etc.

4) For fullness of detail, there are two others on this list that appear in the online version: Albert St Germans and Major Tom Mountain, heir to the Mountain baronetcy.

[Shachar Raz]

It seems that the honorific is supposed to come first. I found one example of this in the current government, listed as The Rt Hon Dr Andrew Murrison https://www.gov.uk/government/people/andrew-murrison

[Jonathan]

I saw that the Telegraph has Dr the Hon, hence my comment.

Military ranks always come first, but "Dr" is a professional title, not a rank. As Shachar Raz pointed out, it's common for privy consellors to use "The Rt Hon Dr..." Previous archbisops were also "The Rt Rev and Rt Hon Dr Rowan Williams", etc. It's possible for someone to be "Colonel the Hon Dr..."

[Eleanor Doughty]

Sorry to be pedantic but I've just double-checked Debretts who rule that:

'If a professor is also a member of the peerage, or a knight or dame, the academic style may be combined as "Professor Lord Ryder" or "Professor Dame Elizabeth Pulteney"...' 

I'm happy to substitute 'Professor' for 'Dr' in this example as it means the same in this niche context!

(See attached image for more)

[Eleanor Doughty]

I would love to meet a Col the Hon Dr – that combination of styles, I am almost certain, does not currently appear in the hereditary peerage! 

[Robert Jewell]

The Germans stack the titles, e.g. I met a Korvetten-Kapitan Doktor Doktor Schmidt.

[colinp]

Also Betjeman's jibe about Pevsner being "Herr Doktor Professor".  I don't think Professor and Doctor (non-medical) were commonly used as forms of address until fairly recently in the UK but of course there were fewer professors around in the 1960's - most university lecturers seem to be professors nowadays, I think that may be an American influence.  Dr the Hon is undoubtedly more correct than Hon Dr which sounds as if the person is an honorary doctor

[colinp]

Also I think the traditional rule would be for Rowan Williams to be Rt Rev and Rt Hon Rowan Williams DD rather than put Dr at the front - perhaps that's more personal taste though

[bx...@yahoo.com]

Hello Eleanor!

Congratulations on a most interesting article.  Also, thanks so much for your explanation as to "qualifications" for the article.  

I didn't know about the Bute engagement.  (As an American, there's not that much access to information on British aristocrats here, except for this excellent site and a handful of  others.)  Just out of curiosity, what about Viscount Erleigh and Baron Downpatrick?  Are they also engaged?

It's also a reminder too, that in about 5 years, we will see Prince George's name atop your list!

Thanks so much.

Brooke

[colinp]

I've just checked my 1976 edition of Debrett's Correct Form (older I suspect than Eleanor's) and that has much the same text as Eleanor's copy but there is a footnote (perhaps fighting a rearguard action and aware that it's not going to stem the tide) against the examples Prof Lord Blank, Prof Sir Henry Smith, Prof Dame Mary Smith and Prof the Hon John Robinson :-

"It is not customary in formal usage to combine the style emanating from other sources ie Professor, with titles conferred by the Sovereign.  In social usage this is not uncommon, though deprecated by purists"

[Eleanor Doughty]

Hi Brooke! 

Very kind, thank you. It's always a pleasure to chat with you about all of this!

I didn't go for Julian Erleigh because I didn't know enough about him to be sure he qualified – and also as the Readings don't have a significant estate like most of the others on the final list. Likewise Eddy Downpatrick, who I don't know at all, nor do I know much about the Kents in general, as I don't have a professional interest in the royal family (as odd as that sounds). For that piece I wanted to be fairly sure of the details – and ideally know the families at least slightly.

Colin, your copy is indeed older than mine and that's a wonderful footnote – I would guess added by the peerless late Patrick Montague Smith, whose word I will always gladly take! I'm glad it has, in any case, provoked some discussion as this is just about the only place where one can do so without seeming utterly mad.

[colinp]

It is indeed PMS !

[Jonathan]

On Monday 10 June 2024 at 12:39:43 UTC+1 Eleanor Doughty wrote:

I would love to meet a Col the Hon Dr – that combination of styles, I am almost certain, does not currently appear in the hereditary peerage! 

You are probably right. I only managed to find some examples of that style from Commonwealth countries, where "The Hon" applies to someone in certain political offices.

On Monday 10 June 2024 at 13:22:13 UTC+1 colinp wrote:

"It is not customary in formal usage to combine the style emanating from other sources ie Professor, with titles conferred by the Sovereign.  In social usage this is not uncommon, though deprecated by purists"

I had heard that before. Nevertheless, in academic circles, it's common to see "Professor Sir" or "Professor Dame". In the UK, Professor is reserved for a particularly high-ranking academic. I agree that we are seeing American-style usage creeping in where all lecturers are referred to as some type of professor, supposedly because it otherwise confuses people from abroad.

[malcolm davies]

Just a note-the 19th Lord Herbert is a medical doctor,though he now maybe be retired(he is 72). His son Oliver is also a medical doctor.Whether they use the prefix Dr and in what form, since the peerage was called out of abeyance in 2002,I don't know.

[malcolm davies]

Eleanor,

             Thanks for your posts-I was particularly interested to see photos of them all.

[https:/www.maltagenealogy.com/LeighRayment/]

To add to the List: The Marquess of Douro is either divorced or nearly divorced.. 

The Viscount Erleigh will hopefully be engaged in the coming months.

[Nick Kingsley]

The Earl of Wemyss and March is another.

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