Robert Woodward Hathaway (20 October 1887 – 15 December 1954) was ''

jure uxoris ''Jure uxoris'' (a Latin phrase meaning "by right of (his) wife"), citing . describes a title of nobility used by a man because his wife holds the office or title ''suo jure'' ("in her own right"). Similarly, the husband of an heiress could becom ...

seigneur ''Seigneur'' is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. A seigneur refers to the person or collective who owned a ''seigneurie'' (or ...

Sark Sark (french: link=no, Sercq, ; Sercquiais: or ) is a part of the Channel Islands in the southwestern English Channel, off the coast of Normandy, France. It is a royal fief, which forms part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, with its own set of l ...

from 1929 until his death. An American by birth, his rule spanned the reigns of four monarchs:

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...

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 ...

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952. ...

and

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 her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

Early life and career

Hathaway was born in

East Orange, New Jersey East Orange is a City (New Jersey), city in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 69,612. The city was List of municipalities in ...

, the third of four sons of the

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...

banker Charles Hathaway and his wife Cora (née Southworth Rountree). After graduating from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, Hathaway and a number of other Yale alumni moved to Canada in order to serve in the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

. He soon became a flying instructor. After the war, he took up residence in London as chief of the city's branch of the sports equipment firm Spalding, eventually becoming a

naturalised Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the i ...

British citizen.

Rule

In 1929, Hathaway met Sibyl Beaumont,

dame of Sark The Seigneur of Sark is the head of Sark in the Channel Islands. " Seigneur" is the French word for "lord", and a female head of Sark is called Dame of Sark, of which there have been three. The husband of a female ruler of Sark is not a consort ...

in the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

and widowed mother of seven children. She was three years his senior. The couple dated for twelve days before marrying at

St Marylebone Parish Church St Marylebone Parish Church is an Anglican church on the Marylebone Road in London. It was built to the designs of Thomas Hardwick in 1813–17. The present site is the third used by the parish for its church. The first was further south, near Ox ...

on 5 November 1929. They immediately moved to her native island, where Hathaway was astonished to learn that, according to the feudal custom, he had become ''

'' seigneur of the island upon their marriage. Due to her strong personality, the dame nevertheless remained the island's effective ruler and influenced Hathaway's decisions during

Chief Pleas Sark (french: link=no, Sercq, ; Sercquiais: or ) is a part of the Channel Islands in the southwestern English Channel, off the coast of Normandy, France. It is a royal fief, which forms part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, with its own set of l ...

meetings. The marriage was very happy, but the "Yankee Seigneur", as he was called, was troubled by the fact that the island he ruled was not large enough for a golf course. Shortly after the

German occupation of France during World War II The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

, Sark too was occupied. The Hathaways decided not to flee their territory, but allowed inhabitants to do so; a vast majority remained. The seigneur was deported to the continent and interned in Ilag VII in Laufen which is located in Bavaria in Germany in February 1943, and remained there for the remainder of the war. His eldest stepson, the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

officer

Francis William Beaumont Francis William Lionel Collings Beaumont (6 August 1903 – 4 May 1941), also known as F. W. L. C. Beaumont or “Buster" Beaumont, was the heir to the Seigneur of Sark, a Royal Air Force officer, film producer and the husband of actress Mary La ...

, was killed during the

Liverpool Blitz The Liverpool Blitz was the heavy and sustained bombing of the English city of Liverpool and its surrounding area, during the Second World War by the German ''Luftwaffe''. Liverpool was the most heavily bombed area of the country, outside Lo ...

, which left the seigneur's stepgrandson, Michael Beaumont, as

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

Death and succession

Hathaway died on 15 December 1954, leaving his widow as sole ruler. She ruled until her death in 1974, when her grandson succeeded her.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hathaway, Robert 1887 births 1954 deaths Seigneurs of Sark Politicians from East Orange, New Jersey Yale University alumni Royal Flying Corps officers Jure uxoris officeholders American emigrants to the United Kingdom Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Prisoners and detainees of Germany People interned during World War II World War II political leaders British Army personnel of World War I

Early life and career

Rule

Death and succession

See also

References