David George Philip Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley, (; born 27 June 1960), styled Viscount Malpas from birth until 1968, and subsequently Earl of Rocksavage until 1990, is a British

peer Peer may refer to: Sociology * Peer, an equal in age, education or social class; see Peer group * Peer, a member of the peerage; related to the term "peer of the realm" Computing * Peer, one of several functional units in the same layer of a net ...

and filmmaker who acted as

Lord Great Chamberlain The Lord Great Chamberlain of England is the sixth of the Great Officers of State (United Kingdom), Great Officers of State, ranking beneath the Lord Privy Seal, Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal and above the Lord High Constable of England, Lord Hi ...

of the United Kingdom from 1990 to 2022.

Early life and education

Lord Cholmondeley is a descendant of Sir

Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, (26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745; known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole) was a British statesman and Whig politician who, as First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Leader ...

(1676–1745), the first

Prime Minister of Great Britain The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pri ...

. He is the son of Hugh Cholmondeley, 6th Marquess of Cholmondeley, and Lavinia, Marchioness of Cholmondeley (née Leslie). He is also a descendant of both the

Rothschild family The Rothschild family ( , ) is a wealthy Ashkenazi Jewish family originally from Frankfurt that rose to prominence with Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744–1812), a court factor to the German Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel in the Free City of F ...

and the Sassoon family through his paternal grandmother,

Sybil Sassoon Sybil Rachel Betty Cecile Cholmondeley, Marchioness of Cholmondeley (born Sybil Rachel Betty Cecile Sassoon; 30 January 1894 – 26 December 1989), styled Countess of Rocksavage from 1913 to 1923, was a British socialite, patron of the arts, ...

. He has three older sisters: the Ladies Rose, Margot (married to Tony Huston), and Caroline (married to Baron Rodolphe d'Erlanger). Like many members of his family, Cholmondeley was educated at Eton College. He later took classes at the Sorbonne in Paris.

Career

Film industry

Lord Cholmondeley is a filmmaker. As David Rocksavage, he also appeared in a small part in

Eric Rohmer The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

's film ''

4 aventures de Reinette et Mirabelle ''Four Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle'' (french: Quatre aventures de Reinette et Mirabelle) is a 1987 French film directed by Éric Rohmer, starring Joëlle Miquel, Jessica Forde, Fabrice Luchini and Philippe Laudenbach Philippe Laudenbach ...

'' (1987). His professional name is derived from his title of Earl of Rocksavage. His chosen career was put on hold when he succeeded to the marquessate in 1990. In 1995, he directed the film adaptation of Truman Capote's novel ''Other Voices, Other Rooms''.IMDb

David Rocksavage.
In 2007, he directed ''The Wreck'' (working title), starring

Jean Simmons Jean Merilyn Simmons, (31 January 1929 – 22 January 2010) was a British actress and singer. One of J. Arthur Rank's "well-spoken young starlets", she appeared predominantly in films, beginning with those made in Great Britain during and afte ...

and James Wilby. The film was shot in Norfolk. It was later renamed '' Shadows in the Sun'' and released in 2009.

Inherited title

Cholmondeley became Marquess of Cholmondeley on 13 March 1990, upon the death of his father. Cholmondeley also inherited a half share of the office of

, and succeeded his father in exercising the function of the office for the duration of Queen Elizabeth II's reign. As Lord Great Chamberlain, Cholmondeley was ''ex officio'' a member of the House of Lords and attended the House of Lords in his ceremonial role such as at the

State Opening of Parliament The State Opening of Parliament is a ceremonial event which formally marks the beginning of a session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It includes a speech from the throne known as the King's (or Queen's) Speech. The event takes place ...

, although he did not sit in the House of Lords for debates as he was on a leave of absence. Upon Queen Elizabeth II's death on 8 September 2022, Lord Cholmondeley ceased to be Lord Great Chamberlain and a member of the House of Lords, with the office of the Lord Great Chamberlain passing to

Rupert Carington, 7th Baron Carrington Rupert Francis John Carington, 7th Baron Carrington, (born 2 December 1948), is a British banker and crossbench member of the House of Lords. Lord Carrington serves as Lord Great Chamberlain of England since the accession of Charles III in Se ...

Lands and estates

The family seats are Houghton Hall in Norfolk, and

Cholmondeley Castle Cholmondeley Castle ( ) is a country house in the civil parish of Cholmondeley, Cheshire, England. Together with its adjacent formal gardens, it is surrounded by parkland. The site of the house has been a seat of the Cholmondeley family since ...

, which is surrounded by a estate near Malpas, Cheshire. According to the ''

Sunday Times Rich List The ''Sunday Times Rich List'' is a list of the 1,000 wealthiest people or families resident in the United Kingdom ranked by net wealth. The list is updated annually in April and published as a magazine supplement by British national Sunday news ...

'' in 2008, Cholmondeley has an estimated net worth of approximately £60m, attributed primarily to his inherited landholdings. Houghton Hall, ancestral home of the Marquesses of Cholmondeley since the establishment of the title in 1815, opens some of its rooms to the public.

Position at court

In 1974, at the age of fourteen, Cholmondeley, then known as the Earl of Rocksavage, was appointed as a Page of Honour to Queen Elizabeth II. He relinquished this role upon reaching the age limit in 1976. One

moiety Moiety may refer to: Chemistry * Moiety (chemistry), a part or functional group of a molecule ** Moiety conservation, conservation of a subgroup in a chemical species Anthropology * Moiety (kinship), either of two groups into which a society is ...

of the ancient office of

is a Cholmondeley inheritance. This hereditary honour came into the Cholmondeley family through the marriage of the first Marquess of Cholmondeley to Lady Georgiana Charlotte Bertie, daughter of General Peregrine Bertie, 3rd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven. The second, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh holders of the marquessate have all held this office. Cholmondeley exercised the office of

from 1990 to 2022, during the reign of Elizabeth II; in the event Charles III ceases to be king before Cholmondeley's death, he would exercise the office again.

Marriage and children

Lord Cholmondeley married (Sarah) Rose Hanbury, a fashion model, on 24 June 2009, their engagement having been announced two days prior. She is a daughter of Timothy Hanbury, a website designer, and Emma Hanbury (née Longman), a fashion designer. The landed gentry Hanbury family lived at Holfield Grange, Coggeshall, Essex. Her maternal grandmother is Lady Elizabeth Lambart, daughter of

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

Rudolph Lambart, 10th Earl of Cavan; Lady Elizabeth was one of the bridesmaids at the 1947 wedding of Princess Elizabeth; her paternal grandmother, Sara, was the daughter of racing driver Sir Tim Birkin, 3rd Baronet. Three-and-a-half months after their wedding, on 12 October 2009, the Marchioness gave birth to twin sons, Alexander Hugh George and Oliver Timothy George. The elder son, Alexander, as heir apparent to the Marquessate, bears the

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but rather is used through custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some co ...

of Earl of Rocksavage; his brother is known as Lord Oliver Cholmondeley. In March 2016, the Marquess and Marchioness had their third child, a daughter, Lady Iris Marina Aline Cholmondeley. A friendship between the Marquess and Marchioness and Prince William and his wife, the

Princess of Wales Princess of Wales (Welsh: ''Tywysoges Cymru'') is a courtesy title used since the 14th century by the wife of the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. The current title-holder is Catherine (née Middleton). The title was firs ...

, has been reported; the Marchioness is a patron of the charity East Anglia's Children's Hospices (EACH), along with the Princess.

Titles, styles and arms

* 27 June 1960 – 16 September 1968: Viscount Malpas * 16 September 1968 – 13 March 1990: Earl of Rocksavage * 13 March 1990 – present: ''The Most Honourable'' The Marquess of Cholmondeley As the eldest son of the heir apparent of the 5th Marquess, he was known from birth by the courtesy title of Viscount Malpas. Upon his grandfather's death, he became the heir to the marquessate and was thus known by the courtesy title of Earl of Rocksavage, before inheriting the marquessate in 1990. He also inherited the following subsidiary titles: * Baron Cholmondeley of Witch Malbank * Baron Newburgh * Earl of Cholmondeley * Earl of Rocksavage * Viscount Malpas * Viscount Cholmondeley (Peerage of Ireland) * Baron Newborough (Peerage of Ireland)

Honours

* In the Queen's Birthday Honours List for 2007, Lord Cholmondeley was made a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order ( KCVO) for his 17 years of service as

. * He was awarded the UK Version of the

Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du jubilé d'or de la Reine Elizabeth II) or the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2002 to mark the 50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ...

in 2002. * He was awarded the UK Version of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. * He serves as a Deputy Lieutenant of the County of Norfolk. This gives him the

post-nominal letters Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, academic degree, accreditation, ...

"DL" for life.

Notes

References

External links

* *
Houghton Hall

Cholmondeley Castle

Photos of Houghton Hall and Cholmondley Castle:
As a special Millennium project, Garlinda Birkbeck was commissioned by the Marquis of Cholmondeley to photograph every house, building and person on his estates in Norfolk and Cheshire, capturing the world of his estates at the turn of the year 1999/2000.

* ttp://www.geni.com/people/David-Cholmondeley-7th-Marquess-of-Cholmondeley/6000000011033527987 David Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley {{DEFAULTSORT:Cholmondeley, David Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of 1960 births Living people Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Lord Great Chamberlains Crossbench hereditary peers Deputy Lieutenants of Cheshire Deputy Lieutenants of Norfolk Sassoon family Rothschild family People educated at Eton College People educated at Heatherdown School Pages of Honour English film directors David British people of German-Jewish descent British people of Iraqi-Jewish descent People from Houghton, Norfolk 7