Katharine Jibba Butler (born November 1967) is a British businesswoman and art historian.

Early life

Butler was born in London in November 1967. She is the daughter of British diplomat Sir Michael Butler and Ann Clyde, the daughter of

James Latham Clyde, Lord Clyde James Latham McDiarmid Clyde, Lord Clyde, (30 October 1898 – 30 June 1975) was a Scottish Unionist politician and judge. Life Born on 30 October 1898 at Heriot Row, Edinburgh, Clyde was the eldest son of Anna Margaret McDiarmid (''d''. 1 ...

. Through her mother she is also a great-granddaughter of

James Avon Clyde, Lord Clyde James Avon Clyde, Lord Clyde, (14 November 1863 – 16 June 1944) was a Scottish politician and judge. Early life Clyde was born on 14 November 1863, the son of Dr James Clyde LLD (1821-1912). His father was a teacher at Dollar Academy and ...

and Peter Wallwork Latham. She grew up in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. Her parents separated in 1997.

Career

Butler studied art history at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. She operated retail and importing businesses in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

, including Sparkys, a chain of toyshops including a multi-story toy store in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. She also founded and ran a distribution company including baby products

Chicco Chicco () is an Italian manufacturer of children's clothing and toys with retail outlets worldwide, producing products in Italy and China. It is owned by Artsana, and has been in business for 60 years and is now in more than 120 countries. Hist ...

from Italy and own brand Loap's clothing. In 2015 she sold her businesses for 15 million euros. She later developed Freebike, a bike rental company based in London, with her brother, Charles. She has also been working alongside Charles to reopen a museum including her father's

Chinese porcelain Chinese ceramics show a continuous development since pre-dynastic times and are one of the most significant forms of Chinese art and ceramics globally. The first pottery was made during the Palaeolithic era. Chinese ceramics range from construc ...

collection. In 2021 Katharine published a boo
"Leaping The Dragon Gate"
This book celebrates the most important collection of 17th-century Chinese porcelain in the world, assembled by her father, the distinguished Sir Michael Butler.

Personal life

Butler was married to Swiss businessman Sebastian Pawlowski. They later divorced. She and Pawlowski have one son. She lives in Waterston Manor, a 17th-century country house in

Puddletown Puddletown is a village and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is situated by the River Piddle, from which it derives its name, about northeast of the county town Dorchester. Its earlier name Piddletown fell out of favour, probably because o ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

. In 2017 Butler began a relationship with

Kyril, Prince of Preslav Kyril, Prince of Preslav, Duke in Saxony (born 11 July 1964), also known as Kyril of Saxe-Coburg, is the second son of Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Prime Minister of Bulgaria from 2001 to 2005 and previously tsar of Bulgaria from 1943 to 1946, ...

(the second son of

Simeon II of Bulgaria Simeon Borisov von Saxe-Coburg-Gotha ( bg, Симеон Борисов Сакскобургготски, translit=Simeon Borisov Sakskoburggotski, ; born 16 June 1937) is a Bulgarian politician who reigned as the last tsar of the Kingdom of Bul ...

), who is separated from his wife,

Rosario, Princess of Preslav María del Rosario Nadal y Fuster de Puigdórfila (born 22 October 1968), also known as the Princess of Preslav, is a Spanish consultant, art director, and former model. A former muse for Valentino, she works as an independent adviser to priva ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Katharine Living people 1967 births 21st-century English businesspeople Businesspeople from London English art historians British women art historians English women in business People associated with the University of Edinburgh British women company founders 21st-century English women