Lady Amanda Patricia Victoria Ellingworth (''née'' Knatchbull; born 26 June 1957), styled The Honourable Amanda Knatchbull between 1957 and 1979, is a British social worker. Her earlier career was in UK social work, specialising in children's services and child protection. She has since held a portfolio of chair roles or directorships, working with vulnerable people, especially children. Among other organisations she is currently a director of

Plan International Plan International is a development and humanitarian organisation which works in over 75 countries across Africa, the Americas, and Asia to advance children’s rights and equality for girls. Its focus is on child protection, education, child par ...

, Barnardo's, and

Great Ormond Street Hospital Great Ormond Street Hospital (informally GOSH or Great Ormond Street, formerly the Hospital for Sick Children) is a children's hospital located in the Bloomsbury area of the London Borough of Camden, and a part of Great Ormond Street Hospital ...

. Her previous roles include: Chair of The Caldecott Foundation, chair of The Guinness Partnership, founding chair of Guinness Care and Support, and Deputy Chair of Yeovil Hospital. The granddaughter of Admiral of the Fleet

Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of German ...

, she is a descendant of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

through her daughter Princess Alice, Mountbatten's grandmother.

Early life and education

Ellingworth was born in London, the fifth of eight children of the 7th Baron Brabourne and the

2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma Patricia Edwina Victoria Knatchbull, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma, Lady Brabourne, (née Mountbatten; 14 February 1924 – 13 June 2017) was a British peeress and a third cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. She was the elder daughter of Admiral ...

. She is the granddaughter of Admiral of the Fleet the 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, who was an uncle of

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from El ...

and a second cousin once removed of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

. She has five brothers and one sister. She was baptised by the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

on 29 September 1957 at Mersham Parish Church in

Mersham, Kent Mersham is a mostly agricultural large village and civil parish near Ashford in Kent, England. The population of the civil parish includes the area of Cheesman's Green now known as Finberry. History In the mid 19th century, John Marius Wilson's ...

. Her godparents were Prince George of Hanover, Mrs. E. Heywood-Lonsdale, and Mrs. C. H. W. Troughton. Ellingworth earned a

BA Hons Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree from the

University of Kent , motto_lang = , mottoeng = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' ...

, a

CQSW Professional social workers are generally considered those who hold a professional degree in social work. In a number of countries and jurisdictions, registration or licensure of people working as social workers is required and there are mandated q ...

qualification from Goldsmiths College, London, and a Certificate in Mandarin Language from the

Beijing Language Institute } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

Career

After a first career as a social worker, Ellingworth has worked at a senior level in health services, children's services, adult social care and affordable housing. She currently holds several non-executive directorships, including Chair of

The Guinness Partnership The Guinness Partnership is one of the largest providers of affordable housing and care in England. Founded as a charitable trust in 1890, it is now a Community Benefit Society with eight members. Bloomberg classify it as a real estate owner an ...

, a provider of affordable housing.

Personal life

Marriage and family

Lady Amanda married novelist and property entrepreneur Charles Vincent Ellingworth on 31 October 1987; he is the eldest child of six of a Leicestershire Catholic family, who attended Ampleforth College and later read history at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. They have three sons, Luke (27 January 1991, London), Joseph (2 December 1992,

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

) and Louis (25 October 1995, Salisbury).Willis, Daniel A., ''The Descendants of King George I of Great Britain'', Clearfield, 2002, p. 719.

Relationship with Prince of Wales

Ellingworth's grandfather Lord Mountbatten recommended her as potential bride for his grandnephew, Charles, Prince of Wales. Dimbleby, Jonathan. "The Prince of Wales: A Biography". William Morrow & Co. New York, 1994. pp. 204–06, 263–65, 299–300. . According to his biographer,

Jonathan Dimbleby Jonathan Dimbleby (born 31 July 1944) is a British presenter of current affairs and political radio and television programmes, author and historian. He is the son of Richard Dimbleby and younger brother of television presenter David Dimbleby. ...

, "In 1974, following his correspondence with Mountbatten on the subject, the Prince had tentatively raised the question of marriage to Amanda with her mother (and his godmother) Patricia Brabourne. She was sympathetic, but counselled against raising the issue with her daughter, who had yet to celebrate her seventeenth birthday." Mountbatten intended for himself and Lady Amanda to accompany Prince Charles on his planned 1980 tour of India. Both fathers disapproved and it was decided he should go alone. Before Prince Charles was to depart, Mountbatten was assassinated by the

IRA Ira or IRA may refer to: *Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name *Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name *Iran, UNDP code IRA Law *Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...

in August 1979. When Prince Charles returned, he proposed to Lady Amanda. However, in addition to her maternal grandfather, she had lost her paternal grandmother and youngest brother

Nicholas Nicholas is a male given name and a surname. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglicanism, Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the n ...

in the attack and now recoiled from the prospect of becoming a member of the royal family.

References and notes

External links

* . {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellingworth, Amanda 1957 births Living people British people of German-Jewish descent British women Daughters of barons Daughters of British earls Place of birth missing (living people) Alumni of the University of Kent Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London