Kathleen Manners, Duchess of Rutland (' Tennant; 30 January 18944 December 1989) was an English aristocrat and the wife of

John Manners, 9th Duke of Rutland Captain John Henry Montagu Manners, 9th Duke of Rutland (21 August 1886 – 22 April 1940), styled as Marquess of Granby from 1906 to 1925, was an English peer and medieval art expert. Early life and education Rutland was the younger son of Hen ...

Early life and family

Kathleen Tennant was born on 30 January 1894 in London. Her mother was Annie Geraldine Redmayne and her father was Francis John Tennant of Innes, Morayshire, and

Lympne Castle Lympne Castle is a medieval castle located in the village of Lympne, Kent, above Romney Marsh. After the Reformation, the castle was sometimes referred to as Court Lodge. Lympne Castle is a Grade I listed property, described as a fortified manor h ...

, Kent. She was a member of the

Tennant family Baron Glenconner, of The Glen, Scottish Borders, The Glen in the Peeblesshire, County of Peebles, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1911 for Edward Tennant, 1st Baron Glenconner, Sir Edward Tennant, 2nd Baronet, w ...

, an influential Scottish industrial family that had been ennobled. Her paternal grandfather was the industrialist

Sir Charles Tennant, 1st Baronet Sir Charles Clow Tennant, 1st Baronet JP DL (4 November 1823 – 4 June 1906) was a Scottish businessman, industrialist and Liberal politician. Early life Tennant was the son of John Tennant (1796–1878) and Robina (née Arrol) Tennant. His ...

. Her father, who was a member of

The Souls The Souls was a small loosely-knit but distinctive elite social and intellectual group in the United Kingdom from 1885 to the turn of the century. Many of the most distinguished British politicians and intellectuals of the time were members. Th ...

, was the younger brother of

Edward Tennant, 1st Baron Glenconner Edward Priaulx Tennant, 1st Baron Glenconner (31 May 1859 – 21 November 1920), known as Sir Edward Tennant, 2nd Baronet, from 1906 to 1911, was a Scottish Liberal politician. In 1911 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Glenconner. Origi ...

and

Margot Asquith Emma Margaret Asquith, Countess of Oxford and Asquith (' Tennant; 2 February 1864 – 28 July 1945), known as Margot Asquith, was a British socialite, author. She was married to H. H. Asquith, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1894 ...

, the wife of British Prime Minister

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom f ...

. She was informally known by the nickname Kakoo.

Personal life

She married John Henry Montague Manners, Marquess of Granby, the son of

Henry Manners, 8th Duke of Rutland Henry John Brinsley Manners, 8th Duke of Rutland, (16 April 1852 – 8 May 1925), known as Henry Manners until 1888 and styled Marquess of Granby between 1888 and 1906, was a British peer and Conservative politician. Background Rutland was the ...

and Violet Lindsay, on 27 January 1916 at

St Margaret's, Westminster The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey, is in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, London, England. It is dedicated to Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Palace of Westminster a ...

. They had five children: * Lady Ursula Isabel Manners * Lady Isabel Violet Kathleen Manners * Charles John Robert Manners, 10th Duke of Rutland * Lord John Martin Manners * Lord Roger David Manners In 1925 her husband succeeded to the Dukedom of Rutland. As a close friend to the

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

and

Duchess of York Duchess of York is the principal Courtesy titles in the United Kingdom, courtesy title held by the wife of the duke of York. Three of the eleven dukes of York either did not marry or had already assumed the throne prior to marriage, whilst two of ...

, Manners disliked

Wallis Simpson Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Simpson; June 19, 1896 – April 24, 1986), was an American socialite and wife of the former King Edward VIII. Their intention to marry and her status as a divorcée caused ...

and disapproved of

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 19 ...

's abdication. At the 1937

Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The coronation of George VI and his wife, Elizabeth, as King and Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and as Emperor and Empress of India took place at Westminster Abbey, London, on Wednesday 12 May 1937. ...

, she was one of four duchesses who carried the canopy over the Queen. Her husband died in 1940. After his death, her son became the 10th Duke of Rutland. She moved out of

Belvoir Castle Belvoir Castle ( ) is a faux historic castle and stately home in Leicestershire, England, situated west of the town of Grantham and northeast of Melton Mowbray. The Castle was first built immediately after the Norman Conquest of 1066 an ...

and into Belvoir Lodge, accompanied by two servants, Emily Stenton and Sidney Parkes. She died at her home in

Belgravia Belgravia () is a Districts of London, district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of both the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' Tudor Period, during the ...

on 4 December 1989 at the age of 95.

References

{{authority control 1894 births 1989 deaths

Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...

People from Belgravia Manners family Tennant family