Gerald Legge, 9th Earl of Dartmouth

The Right Honourable The Earl of Dartmouth FCA
9th Earl of Dartmouth
In office 16 October 1962 – 14 December 1997
Preceded by	Humphry Legge
Succeeded by	William Legge
Personal details
Born	26 April 1924
Died	14 December 1997 (aged 73)
Nationality	British
Spouse(s)	Raine McCorquodale (m. 1948; div. 1976) Gwendoline May Seguin (m. 1980–97; his death)
Children	William Legge, 10th Earl of Dartmouth Hon. Rupert Legge Charlotte, Duchess of Carcaci Hon. Henry Legge
Parents	Humphry Legge, 8th Earl of Dartmouth Roma Ernestine Horlick
Alma mater	Eton

Gerald Humphry Legge, 9th Earl of Dartmouth FCA (26 April 1924 – 14 December 1997), styled Viscount Lewisham between 1958 and 1962, was a British peer and businessman.

Background and education

Legge was the only son of Humphry Legge, 8th Earl of Dartmouth and his wife, Roma Ernestine (née Horlick). He was educated at Eton College.

Career

On leaving Eton in 1942, he joined the Coldstream Guards as a Captain and served with them until the end of the Second World War, having been mentioned in despatches. He was subsequently a director of the farming company Rea Bros (based at Ashcombe House) from 1958 to 1989, chairman of the Royal Choral Society from 1970 to 1992 and chairman of the Anglo-Brazilian Society from 1975 to 1994. He succeeded his father in the earldom in 1962.

Family

Lord Dartmouth married Raine McCorquodale, the only child of the romance novelist Barbara Cartland and her first husband, Alexander McCorquodale, on 1 July 1948. They had four children:

• William Legge, 10th Earl of Dartmouth (b. 23 December 1949)
• Hon. Rupert Legge (b. 1 January 1951), married Mary Victoria Susan Ottley (M. Victoria S. Ottley),^[1] daughter of Lionel Edward Bruce Ottley,^[1] and had issue:
  • Edward Peregrine Legge (b. 1986)^[1]
  • Claudia Rose Legge (b. 1989)^[1]
• Lady Charlotte (b. 16 July 1963), married Don Alessandro Paternò Castello, 13th Duke of Carcaci (b. 1961),^[2][3] and had issue:
  • Donna Miranda Marie Patricia Paternò Castello (b. 7 June 1993)^[3]
  • Donna Chiara Diana Paternò Castello (b. 17 April 1995)^[3]
  • Don Tancredi Lorenzo Paternò Castello (b. 9 April 1997)^[3]
• Hon. Henry Legge (b. 28 December 1968), married Cressida Hogg^[1] (youngest daughter of Sir Christopher Anthony Hogg),^[4][1] on 21 December 1995, and had issue:
  • Violet Legge (b. 9 October 2000)^[5]
  • Olivia Daisy Legge (b. 11 July 2002)^[5]
  • Hebe Rosalind Legge (b. 24 July 2005)^[6]

Lord and Lady Dartmouth divorced in 1976. Lady Dartmouth later married the 8th Earl Spencer and became the stepmother of Lady Diana Spencer (later the Princess of Wales), while Lord Dartmouth married Gwendoline May Seguin four years later.^[7] Lord Dartmouth died on 14 December 1997 and was succeeded by his oldest son, William.

References

1. Person Page - 24491 at the peerage.com
2. Don Alessandro Paterno Castello di Cárcaci, 13° Duca di Cárcaci at thepeerage.com
3. The Heirs of Europe: PATERNÒ CASTELLO, heirsofeurope.blogspot.com; accessed 4 April 2016.
4. Christopher Hogg: Executive Profile & Biography - Businessweek
5. Olivia Daisy and Violet Legge profiles, thepeerage.com; accessed 4 April 2016.
6. Hebe Rosalind Legge profile, thepeerage.com; accessed 4 April 2016.
7. Gerald Humphrey Legge, 9th Earl of Dartmouth, peerage.com; accessed 4 April 2016.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Earl of Dartmouth