Diana Cicely Keppel, Countess of Albemarle, DBE (née Grove, 6 August 1909 – 6 May 2013), married Walter Egerton George Lucian Keppel, son of Arnold Allen Cecil Keppel, 8th Earl of Albemarle, as his second wife on 24 February 1931 at St Columba's Church, London. She became Countess of Albemarle from 12 April 1942 when her husband became the 9th

Earl of Albemarle Earl of Albemarle is a title created several times from Norman times onwards. The word ''Albemarle'' is derived from the Latinised form of the French county of ''Aumale'' in Normandy (Latin: ''Alba Marla'' meaning "White Marl", marl being a ty ...

Background

The daughter of Major John Archibald Grove and his wife Cicely, she was educated at the Sherborne School for Girls, Sherborne, Dorset.

Honours

She was chairman of the Albemarle Report on Youth and Development in the Community in 1960. She was appointed

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(DBE) in 1956. She received honorary degrees from the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

(1959, D.Litt.), the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

(1960, LLD) and the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

(1960, DCL). By 1999, she was living at Seymours, Melton, near

Woodbridge, Suffolk Woodbridge is a port and market town in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. It is up the River Deben from the sea. It lies north-east of Ipswich and forms part of the wider Ipswich built-up area. The town is c ...

. She was the Dowager Countess of Albemarle from the death of her husband in 1979 until her death on 6 May 2013 at the age of 103. They had one daughter, Lady Anne-Louise Mary Keppel (17 March 1932 – 7 January 2017).

Career

* Norfolk County Organiser,

Women's Voluntary Service The Royal Voluntary Service (known as the Women's Voluntary Services (WVS) from 1938 to 1966; Women's Royal Voluntary Service (WRVS) from 1966 to 2004 and WRVS from 2004 to 2013) is a voluntary organisation concerned with helping people in need ...

, 1939–1944 * Chairman,

National Federation of Women's Institutes The Women's Institute (WI) is a community-based organisation for women in the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. The movement was founded in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, by Erland and Janet Lee with Adelaide Hoodless being th ...

, 1946–1951 * Chairman, Development Commission, 1948–1974 * Chairman, Departmental Committee on Youth Service, 1958–1960 * Chairman, National Youth Employment Council, 1962–1968 * Vice-Chair, British Council, 1959–1974 * Member, Arts Council, 1951 * Member, Royal Commission on the Civil Service, 1954 * Member, UGG, 1956–1978 * Member, Standing Commission on Museums and Galleries, 1958–1971 * Member, English Local Government Boundary Commission, 1971–1977 * Life Trustee, Carnegie UK Trust, and Chairman, 1977–1982 * Member,

Glyndebourne Glyndebourne () is an English country house, the site of an opera house that, since 1934, has been the venue for the annual Glyndebourne Festival Opera. The house, located near Lewes in East Sussex, England, is thought to be about six hundr ...

Arts Trust, 1968–1980

References

Sources

* Peter W. Hammond, editor, ''The Complete Peerage or a History of the House of Lords and All its Members From the Earliest Times, Volume XIV: Addenda & Corrigenda'' (

Stroud, Gloucestershire Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the Five Va ...

: Sutton Publishing, 1998), p. 18. * Charles Mosley, editor, ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition'', 3 volumes (

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 1, p. 65. * Charles Mosley, editor, ''Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition'', 2 volumes (Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 1999), volume 1, p. 49. {{DEFAULTSORT:Albemarle, Diana Keppel, Countess of 1909 births 2013 deaths People educated at Sherborne Girls British centenarians English countesses Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire

Diana Keppel, Countess of Albemarle Diana Cicely Keppel, Countess of Albemarle, DBE (née Grove, 6 August 1909 – 6 May 2013), married Walter Egerton George Lucian Keppel, son of Arnold Allen Cecil Keppel, 8th Earl of Albemarle, as his second wife on 24 February 1931 at St Colu ...

People from London People associated with the University of East Anglia Women centenarians