Charles Beauclerk, 13th Duke of St Albans

Charles, 13th Duke of St. Albans
(London, 1981 by Allan Warren).

Charles Frederick Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk, 13th Duke of St Albans, OBE (16 August 1915 – 8 October 1988) was a British soldier and peer.

OBE insignia

Background

St Albans was the son of Aubrey Topham Beauclerk and Gwendolen Loftus Beauclerk (née Hughes) and great-grandson of William Beauclerk, 8th Duke of St Albans.

As Hereditary Grand Falconer of England, the Duke had an ancient entitlement to an annual side of venison from deer culled in the Royal Parks,^[1] which he gave to charity.

Charles St Albans was educated at Eton and Magdalene College, Cambridge.^[1]

Career

Commissioned in the British Army, he reached the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel of the Intelligence Corps before the age of 30, and later was deployed to the British Embassy in Vienna. He moved to London after the birth of his fourth son, and joined the Central Office of Information. He became head in turn of the Film, Radio and Book divisions. He inherited the dukedom from his cousin in 1964, after which he left the Central Office of Information. He attempted to rebuild the family fortunes through a series of misguided ventures, which led to massive personal losses for himself, and accusation of mishandling of share dealing in relation to the company Grendon Securities.

St Albans moved to Vence in France in the 1970s, before becoming a resident of Monaco.^[1]

Family

He married Nathalie Chatham Walker on 21 March 1938 and they divorced in 1947; she died in 1985; they had one child:

• Murray Beauclerk, 14th Duke of St Albans (born 19 January 1939)

His Grace married Suzanne Marie Adèle Fesq^[2] on 19 March 1947; they had four children:

• Lord Peter Charles de Vere Beauclerk (born 13 January 1948), married firstly 17 May 1972 and divorced 1978 Beverly Bailey, and married secondly 1999 Lechima Tsering Dolma Gyalpo, and had:
  • Robin de Vere Beauclerk (24 February 1971 - 10 June 1973)
  • Angela Grace de Vere Beauclerk (born 24 December 1974), unmarried and without issue
  • Tenzin Jinpa de Vere Beauclerk (born 2005)
  • Tenzin Yontan de Vere Beauclerk (born ca. January 2008)
• Lord James Charles Fesq de Vere Beauclerk (born 6 February 1949), unmarried and without issue
• Lord John William Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk (born 10 February 1950), married firstly in 1986 and divorced in 2000 Caroline Anne Heath, dau of Mrs B. Wilkinson, and married secondly 2000 Joanna Kolaczinska, and had:
  • Gianni Emrys [Heath?] Beauclerk (born 1979)
  • Mayasuni Ann [Heath?] Beauclerk (born 1979), married 2006 Archduke Philipp of Austria
  • Kiatsi Sofia Beauclerk (born 12 Oct 1984), married in Norbury on 26 October 2013 David Whittock
  • Annamary Beauclerk (born by second wife 6 May 1998)
• Lady Caroline Anne de Vere Beauclerk (born 19 July 1951), married 11 Jul 1970 and divorced in 1986 Neil St.John ffrench Blake (? - 24 August 2016)
• stillborn daughter (born 15 November 1963)

Sources

• Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th Edition, edited by Charles Mosley, Wilmington, Delaware, 2003, vol III, pp. 3459-3466, ISBN 0-9711966-2-1

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by The Duke of St Albans
• The House of Nell Gwyn: Fortunes of the Beauclerk Family, Donald Adamson (William Kimber, Ldn 1974)

References

Peerage of England
Preceded by Osborne Beauclerk	Duke of St Albans 1964–1988	Succeeded by Murray Beauclerk

Extant dukedoms in the peerages of Britain and Ireland*
Cornwall Norfolk Somerset Richmond Grafton Beaufort St Albans Bedford Devonshire Marlborough Rutland Rothesay Hamilton Buccleuch Lennox Queensberry Argyll Atholl Montrose Roxburghe Brandon Manchester Northumberland Leinster Wellington Sutherland Abercorn Westminster Gordon Fife Gloucester Kent Edinburgh York Cambridge
* Listed by precedence, from highest to lowest Dukedoms in italics are held by members of the Royal Family.