Anne Cavendish-Bentinck

Lady Alexandra Margaret Anne Cavendish-Bentinck (6 September 1916 – 29 December 2008) was a member of the British nobility and one of the richest landowners in the country. She was a notable charity worker, art collector, and horsewoman.

Family Lady Anne Cavendish-Bentinck was born in Kensington, the daughter of Conservative politician William Cavendish-Bentinck, 7th Duke of Portland. Her mother was Ivy Gordon-Lennox, daughter of Lord Algernon Charles Gordon-Lennox, son of Charles Gordon-Lennox, 6th Duke of Richmond. Lord Algernon was a close friend of Queen Alexandra, who was Lady Anne's godmother.

Cavendish-Bentinck came from an aristocratic family rooted in the height of the Anglo-Dutch ascendancy, the Glorious Revolution. Hans Willem Bentinck came to Britain from Holland with William of Orange in 1670 and was created Earl of Portland in 1689. His son, Henry, 2nd Earl, was created Duke of Portland in 1716.

Interests She was involved with many charities throughout her life. These included "causes for the blind", and the Girl Guides, whom she allowed to have a permanent camp at Welbeck, much to the annoyance of the caretakers.

She enjoyed art; she possessed a treasure trove of art including works by Stubbs and van Dyke. She also had a sizable silver collection that she stored in her strongroom. In 1977 she helped establish the Harley Foundation, an art educational charity named after her ancestor, the collector Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford.

She was a horsewoman, riding until she was 90 years old. For about 20 years the Welbeck Estate had its own hunt, the Rufford Harriers, at which she hunted sidesaddle.

She was described by an employee as "famously forthright, funny and practical, a devastatingly gifted mimic, and would have no truck with pomposity or preciousness." She drove her small jeep on the private roads of her estate until a few days before her death. Much of this wealth was in land and buildings. At the time of her death, she was said to own (just over 3%) of Nottinghamshire and in Scotland.

Ancestry