The Countess of Seafield | |
---|---|
Born | Lady Nina Caroline Ogilvie-Grant 17 April 1906
Nice, France |
Died | 30 September 1969
Marylebone, London, England | (aged 63)
Nationality | British |
Spouse |
Derek Studley-Herbert
(
m. 1930;
div. 1957) |
Children |
Ian Ogilvie-Grant, 13th Earl of Seafield Lady Pauline Ogilvie-Grant |
Parent(s) |
James Ogilvie-Grant, 11th Earl of Seafield Nina Townend |
Nina Caroline Ogilvie-Grant, 12th Countess of Seafield (17 April 1906 – 30 September 1969) was a Scottish peeress and landowner.
Nina Seafield was born on 17 April 1906 in Nice, Provence, France. [1] She was the only child of James Ogilvie-Grant, 11th Earl of Seafield and the New Zealand heiress Mary Elizabeth Nina Townend (1876–1962). [2] One of the family seats was Castle Grant, Morayshire. [3] She rented out the castle to American financier and railroad executive George Jay Gould in 1922. [4] She was a close friend of Nancy Mitford and especially of Mark Ogilvie-Grant, a cousin who at one point considered marrying her. [5] [6]
Her paternal grandparents were Francis William Ogilvie-Grant, 10th Earl of Seafield and the former Anne Trevor Corry Evans. Her maternal grandparents were Dr. Joseph Henry Townend and Harriet ( née Cox) Townend, of Christchurch. [7] [8]
Her father was killed in action on 12 November 1915 in France during World War I and Nina succeeded, suo jure, to the earldom of Seafield in the Peerage of Scotland. Her uncle, Trevor Ogilvie-Grant, succeeded to the barony of Strathspey in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, and as Chief of the Clan Grant. [2]
On 2 January 1930, Lady Seafield's engagement was announced to Derek Herbert Studley-Herbert (1907–1960), [3] son of John Tatchell Studley and Beatrice de Chair. [7] They married on 24 January 1930 in London. Before their divorce in 1957, they were the parents of:
A month after her divorce, her engagement to Armar E. Archbold was announced. Archbold, heir to a Standard Oil fortune, however, died before they were wed. [10]
Her former husband died of cancer on 26 March 1960 in Jamaica. [9] Lady Seafield died of cancer in a London hospital on 30 September 1969 and was succeeded in the earldom of Seafield by her only son Ian. [10] [11]
The Countess of Seafield was allegedly the second richest woman in Britain after Queen Elizabeth II. [12] At the time of her death, she was said to have earned $250,000 a year and owned "300 square miles in the shires of Banff, Moray and Inverness." [10] She owned Cullen House and Castle Grant, but spent most of her time in Paris and the Bahamas where she owned properties. [10] [13]