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, which he gave to charity.

Charles St Albans was educated at Eton and Magdalene College, Cambridge.

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.

Family

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

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

His Grace married Suzanne Fesq on 19 March 1947; they had four children:

• Lord Peter Charles de Vere Beauclerk (born 13 January 1948)
• Lord James Charles Fesq de Vere Beauclerk (born 6 February 1949)
• Lord John William Aubrey de Vere Beauclerk (born 10 February 1950)
• Lady Caroline Ann de Vere Beauclerk (born 19 July 1951)
• stillborn daughter (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)