IVEAGH, Clare, Countess of (Clare Georgina nee HAZELL) 1974-2025
Richard R
She was d of Derek Ralph HAZELL 1946-2022 by his 1970 m reg Q1 Hounslow to Andrea Frances b 1946 reg Q3 Brentford d of Maurice John WHELAN 1907-83 of Lymington, Hants by his 1940 m reg Q2 Brentford to Ruby Elsie WARD 1918-91. She m 2001 (div 2021, not in DPB online or Who's Who) the present 4 Earl of IVEAGH b 1969 and had two sons as below.
Obit in the Times of 26 Jan 2026:
E X T R A C T
Clare, Countess of Iveagh obituary: socialite linked to Jeffrey Epstein
Interior designer and ex-wife of one of Britain’s richest men whose earlier association with Jeffrey Epstein was exposed in 2020, dies aged 51
… Clare Georgina Hazell was born in Reading in 1974, the daughter of Derek Hazell, a sales manager, and his wife, Andrea (née Whelan). Little is known about her early life other than she was raised in a modest, two-bedroom terraced house.
Her ties to Epstein appear to have ended at the turn of the century, by which time she was describing herself as an interior designer. In 2000 she met Guinness, scion of the brewing family whose story was recently told in a Netflix drama, the premiere of which he attended in London. He had succeeded as the 4th Earl of Iveagh in 1992 and was widely considered to be one of Britain’s most eligible bachelors. According to last year’s Sunday Times Rich List he was worth £856 million.
“Clare was attracted to Ned at a dinner party because he was different. While everyone else was talking about their last holiday, he was talking about his 3,000 tonnes of potatoes,” said the Rev Robert Leach, who married them in 2001 at St Andrew’s and St Patrick’s Church on the edge of the estate. It was a low-key ceremony because of foot-and-mouth disease. Although the estate includes the stunning, grade II*-listed Elveden Hall, which has been used for several films and television series including The Crown, SAS Rogue Heroes and Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut (1999), the family have not lived there for almost a century…
… When her friendship with Epstein and details of her flights on his aircraft came to light in 2020, she stepped back from her NSPCC role. The following year her marriage was dissolved. At the time a friend said: “Clare and Ned were a great couple but she has been unhappy for several years and doesn’t feel their marriage has been a priority for him for a long time.” She is survived by their sons, Arthur, Viscount Elveden, who is heir to the earldom, and Rupert. Both have represented Ireland in downhill skiing…
Clare, Countess of Iveagh, interior designer, was born on February 5, 1974. She died of brain cancer on December 23, 2025, aged 51
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/obituaries/article/clare-countess-of-iveagh-death-obituary-socialite-linked-to-jeffrey-epstein-t9hbf590l
