#british-aristocracy

#british-aristocracy

It's nearly 200 years since the birth of a British aristocrat who became the first Muslim member of the House of Lords. But few have heard of Lord Henry Stanley, who "defied convention and his family's wishes" when he converted to Islam in 1859, according to historian Jamie Gilham. Little remains of Stanley's letters and diaries "which is really frustrating but adds to the idea that he was a private man," he said.

The Duke of Marlborough is accused of strangling his estranged wife, court documents show. Charles James Spencer-Churchill, who is related to Sir Winston Churchill and Diana, Princess of Wales, is accused of three offences of intentional strangulation between November 2022 and May 2024. The 70-year-old was summonsed to appear at Oxford Magistrates' Court on Thursday following his arrest in May last year but the court heard he was unable to attend.

It wouldn't be true to say that the press has stopped covering the aristocracy, since the Telegraph diligently covers the great estates, but the discussion now comes framed by the idea of meritocracy, which is objectively pretty ridiculous. So the Hon Nick Howard told the Telegraph a fortnight ago, If my son wants to take over [Castle Howard], he'll have to pass an interview, while other great estate owners stress their role as rewilders, ecowarriors or, at their most traditional, conservationists.

"In a way, it's a dual exhibition, as it's of paintings by Sargent, but all the portraits depict women who were part of the transatlantic marriage phenomenon of the late 19th and early 20th centuries..."