Dame Diana Cicely Keppel, Countess of Albemarle (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 St Columba's Church is one of the two London congregations of the Church of Scotland. The church building, designed by Sir Edward Maufe, is located in Pont Street, Knightsbridge, near Harrods department store. It was given Grade II listing b ...

. 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 valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

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

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...

(1959, D.Litt.), the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

(1960, LLD) and the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

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

Woodbridge, Suffolk Woodbridge is a port town and civil parish 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 around north-east of London. In 2011 it had a populat ...

. 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, 1939–1944 * Chairman, National Federation of Women's Institutes, 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 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 parishes in England, civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Sited below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at ...

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

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

: 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 English countesses Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Diana Keppel, Countess of Albemarle Nobility from London People associated with the University of East Anglia English women centenarians