Lord Edward Alexander SOMERSET (1958-2024)

[bx...@yahoo.com]

According to the Times Online, Lord Edward Alexander SOMERSET, the 2nd son of the 11th Duke of Beaufort, and brother of the present (12th) Duke, died on December 4th, 2024.  He was 66.

He is survived by his wife, the Hon. Georgina Caroline Davidson, daughter of the 2nd Viscount Davidson, and their 2 daughters, Francesca Anne (b. 1984) and Rose Victoria (b. 1992).  

Both daughters are shown as unmarried in DPB Online.

Brooke

[Richard R]

Death notice in the Telegraph & Times of 12 Dec 2024: SOMERSET Lord Edward, died peacefully at home on 4th December 2024. Beloved father, grandfather and brother. Service of Thanksgiving at 11.30 a.m. on Thursday 19th December at St Michael and All Angels, Badminton.

The notice describes Lord Edward as a grandfather so presumably at least one of his daus has had issue though, as Brooke indicates, there's nothing in DPB online about this.

[Patricia Light]

Francesca Somerset's instagram page mentions a son CASPIAN EDWARD SOMERSET B.31/8/2022 also mentions  a husband Maxi 

https://www.instagram.com/spirit_somerset/

[malcolm davies]

He came into notoriety for being charged and sent to gaol for domestic abuse.In the hearing on sentence reference was made to his substance abuse of cocaine and heroin.This may in part explain what is otherwise a premature death.

[Richard R]

It's unfortunate the obituarist refers to Lady Caroline throughout, including as the dau of a viscount.

Obit in the Times of 13 Dec 2024:

E X T R A C T

Lord Edward Somerset obituary: Aristocrat jailed for domestic abuse

Wayward second son of the Duke of Beaufort who was found guilty in 2013 of repeated violence against his wife

…Somerset was living proof that domestic violence knows no boundaries of class and wealth. To some he might epitomise the misfortune of the younger brother who inherits neither title nor stately home and struggles to find his purpose in life. To a judge at Bristol crown court in December 2013 he was guilty of repeated violence against his wife over more than two decades…

…In court Somerset was described as a man born to privilege who destroyed his life through a “spiral and descent into various addictions”…

…At first he played down the severity of the accusations, denying the charges. He later changed his plea to guilty, not only saving the dukedom from further embarrassment but also depriving the nation of the public spectacle of aristocrats and staff from the Badminton Estate, which hosts the international horse trials, exposing the family’s secrets. The court was also told that the family had wanted Lady Caroline to drop the case in return for a financial settlement, but were too late because the Crown Prosecution Service was involved…

…Somerset was freed on parole after serving seven months and fitted with an electronic tag to monitor his movements. Speaking to The Times last year the current duke, Harry “Bunter” Beaufort, was vague about his brother’s rehabilitation, saying: “He’s sort of now on a level. He’s living a sensible life.”

Edward Alexander Somerset was born in 1958, the third of four children of the 11th Duke of Beaufort (obituary, August 17, 2017) and his first wife, Lady Caroline Thynne, daughter of the 6th Marquess of Bath. He is survived by his siblings: Bunter, the 12th Duke of Beaufort, who was formerly married to Tracy Ward, the environmental campaigner; Anne, a historian known for her biography of William IV; and John, a record producer and former reggae band manager who has collaborated with Bryan Ferry…

…In 1982 he married Lady Caroline Davidson, second daughter of the 2nd Viscount Davidson, at Badminton…

…Somerset and Lady Caroline divorced and he is survived by their two daughters: Francesca and Rose…

Lord Edward Somerset, aristocrat, was born on May 1, 1958. He died of undisclosed causes on December 4, 2024, aged 66

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/obituaries/article/lord-edward-somerset-obituary-aristocrat-jailed-for-domestic-abuse-rmzs8xzl5

[BREMENMURRAY]

Lax journalism is quite usual in many eras in the Times these days

[marquess]

More of a reflection of the declining social prestige of the peerage and an accompanying ignorance of the etiquette surrounding it. Surprised they didn't refer to him as Mr Somerset. 

[colinp]

According to Ronald66 on nobiliana.de Francesca is married to Maximilian Del Tolome - no source given though

[Patricia Light]

Apologies are in order from me as DPB Online have Francesca Somerset married 2020 to a Michael Wood, and has the following issue A SON B2017 & GRACE HEATHER B.2015, so there must be 2 Francesca Somerset's

[S R Eglesfield]

It seems that Francesca Somerset's husband's name may have been Maximilian ("Max") Dei Tolomei, and that he may have changed his surname to Somerset. The only evidence I can find for this, however, is that the birth of a Caspian Edward D T SOMERSET was registered in Kensington & Chelsea in Q3 1922, and that Max Somerset's facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/max.somerset/ states that he is the father of Caspian Edward Dei Tolomei Somerset.

[RichardMH]

To confuse things even more.... There is a magician/actor called Maximilian Somerset who claims he is "b. 1974 to the Contessa Pia Del Tolomei and to his father Ed Somerset who was a cousin of the Duke of Beaufort ......... Max was brought up by a mixture of his Grandmother Molly Somerset (nee Kennard and a 1st cousin to Elizabeth Bowes Lyon, the Queen Mother), Grandfather and two wonderful adopted parents Mervyn and Shirley Priddle........"

[RichardMH]

Maximilian Liberty Somerset reg. 1stQ 1974 Hammersmith, mmn Foraboschi Bei (sic) Tolomei.

Perhaps his wife Francesca, mother to Caspian, is a different Francesca? 

[RichardMH]

This Francesca Somerset appears to Francesca Nicholls. Various old online results for F N match F S's given career and imagery. Her Instagram handle used to be Spirit_Nicholls.

[S R Eglesfield]

Thank you, Richard, for providing that clarification. How "Ed Somerset" (presumably this was Hugh Edward Beaufort SOMERSET, who died on 22 February 1982) was related to the Duke of Beaufort I do not know. Molly SOMERSET, née KENNARD, was a scion of, but not descended from, the Kennard baronets, but she does not appear to have been a first cousin of the Queen Mother.

[RichardMH]

Thank you S R :-) I suspect Maximilian Priddle aka Somerset is possibly embellishing his background.

[RichardMH]

Well, Mollie Kennard (1911 - 2000) is an interesting character. Dau. of Malcolm Alfred Kennard, RN (1874 - 1934) and Favoretta (Florence) Walterina Ingram (1888 - 1972) m. 1911. 

She m. 1933 (div. 1940, media reports re. her adultery) (Sir) Marshall George Clitheroe Warmington (1910 - 1995) 3rd Baronet and was mother to Sir Marshall Denham Malcolm Warmington (1934 - 1996) 4th Brt, along with a dau. m. Bricknell. 

She then m. 1945 George Edgar (Edward) Edward (Edgar) Somerset and had Hugh Edward Beaufort/Beaumont Somerset (1946 - 1982).

[S R Eglesfield]

Thank you again, Richard. George Edgar SOMERSET (11 VII 1898 - 1985) was a sheep farmer in New Zealand before moving to the UK. He was known as "Teddie" by his society friends. It seems that he was a son of George Crawford Black SOMERSET, a blacksmith and maintenance engineer in New Zealand, but I can find no further information on the ancestry of these New Zealand Somersets on the internet.

[gorgo...@gmail.com]

This case of misidentification shows why DPB doesn't rush to update their database without confirmation from reliable sources.

[Patricia Light]

Very true gorgo, i am guilty of misleading everyone. Although i did not realise at the time, so you are quite right although sometime i believe even DPB have been caught out 

[gorgo...@gmail.com]

They also feel temptation to update db as quickly as possible :D