David Charles Robert Manners, 11th Duke of Rutland (born 8 May 1959), is a British hereditary peer and landowner.

Biography

Rutland is the elder son of the 10th Duke of Rutland by his second wife, the former Frances Sweeny, now the Dowager Duchess. He was educated at Stanbridge Earls School, near

Romsey Romsey ( ) is a historic market town in the county of Hampshire, England. Romsey was home to the 17th-century philosopher and economist William Petty and the 19th-century British prime minister, Lord Palmerston, whose statue has stood in the ...

in Hampshire, which has since closed. He succeeded his father in the titles on 4 January 1999.''

Burke's Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher founded in 1826, when the Irish genealogist John Burke began releasing books devoted to the ancestry and heraldry of the peerage, baronetage, knightage and landed gentry of Great ...

'', volume 3 (2003), p. 3446 He has a younger brother, Lord Edward Manners, a sister, Lady Teresa Manners, and a half-sister, Lady Charlotte Manners. Rutland's ancestral home is

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 ...

in the northern part of

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire ...

. ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'' Rich List 2013 estimated his personal fortune at £125 million, but he had to sell a painting to keep Belvoir Castle maintained. The Duke was a high-profile supporter of the

UK Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest par ...

(UKIP) and has hosted fundraising events at Belvoir Castle. In 1999, he stood for UKIP when the House of Lords had to elect 92

hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of September 2022, there are 807 hereditary peers: 29 dukes (including five royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 190 earls, 111 viscounts, and 443 barons (disregarding subsidi ...

s. He stood in a House of Lords by-election in 2005 and again in 2015. In the summer of 2005, Rutland bought the Manners Arms Country Hotel and Restaurant in Knipton near

Grantham Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln a ...

, which had been built for the

6th Duke of Rutland Charles Cecil John Manners, 6th Duke of Rutland KG (16 May 1815 – 3 March 1888, in Belvoir Castle), styled Marquess of Granby before 1857, was an English Conservative politician. Background and education Manners was the third but eldest sur ...

as a hunting lodge during the 1880s. The Duchess took a leading part in the renovation work they carried out on the property. In July 2018, the Duke came under scrutiny for advertising positions for actors to perform unpaid at Belvoir Castle. Performers' union

Equity Equity may refer to: Finance, accounting and ownership *Equity (finance), ownership of assets that have liabilities attached to them ** Stock, equity based on original contributions of cash or other value to a business ** Home equity, the diff ...

criticised the advertisement, saying it was "unacceptable" to ask actors to work unpaid; the advertisement was later removed.

Marriage and children

Rutland married

Emma Watkins Emma Olivia Watkins (born 21 September 1989) is an Australian singer, actress, and dancer, best known as a former member of the children's group the Wiggles. She debuted her own children's entertainment character, Emma Memma, in 2022; an accomp ...

, daughter of a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

farmer from

Knighton, Powys Knighton ( cy, Tref-y-clawdd or ) is a cross-border market town and community on the River Teme, straddling the border between Powys, Wales and Shropshire, England. The Teme is not navigable in its higher reaches and the border does not follow ...

, on 6 June 1992 at Belvoir Castle. They separated in 2012. The couple have five children: * Lady Violet Diana Louise Manners (born 18 August 1993) * Lady Alice Louisa Lilly Manners (born 27 April 1995) * Lady Eliza Charlotte Manners (born 17 July 1997) * Charles John Montague Manners, Marquess of Granby (born 3 July 1999) * Lord Hugo William James Manners (born 24 July 2003) The Duchess runs the commercial activities of Belvoir Castle, including shooting parties, weddings and a range of furniture.

Coat of arms

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rutland Rutland, David Manners, 11th Duke of Rutland, David Manners, 11th Duke of People educated at Stanbridge Earls School 111 D UK Independence Party politicians British landowners