The Duchess’s son, the Duke of Devonshire, issued a statement through Chatsworth House announcing that his mother had “passed away peacefully”.
Upon hearing the news Prince Charles released a statement where he expressed his fondness for his colourful friend Debo, as she was known to friends.
“My wife and I were deeply saddened to learn of the death of The Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, whom both of us adored and admired greatly,” said Prince Charles.
“She was a unique personality with a wonderfully originally approach to life, and a memorable turn of phrase to match that originality.
“The joy, pleasure and amusement she gave to so many, particularly through her books, as well as the contribution she made to Derbyshire throughout her time at Chatsworth, will not easily be forgotten and we shall miss her so very much.”
Prince Charles laughing with the late Duchess during his visit to the new Chatsworth Farm Shop in Belgravia in 2000.
Prince Charles laughing with the late Duchess during his visit to the new Chatsworth Farm Shop in Belgravia in 2000.
Prince Charles laughing with the late Duchess during his visit to the new Chatsworth Farm Shop in Belgravia in 2000.
Born Deborah Vivien Freeman-Mitford, the Dowager Duchess was the last of the controversial Mitford sisters, who rubbed shoulders with world leaders like Winston Churchill, John F Kennedy and Adolf Hitler.
In their youth the Mitford sisters, Nancy, Pamela, Diana, Unity, Jessica and Deborah were known for their controversial and stylish lifestyles but in later years gained notoriety for their public political divisions between communism and fascism.
Mitford girls (L-R) Unity, Diana and Nancy at Deborah’s wedding to Lord Andrew Cavendish in 1941.
Diana Mitford, who died in August 2003, controversially married British fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley, while Unity Mitford developed an unhealthy fondness for Adolf Hitler and migrated to Germany.
Unity shot herself in the head when WWII broke out but managed to survive for another nine years.
Her older sister’s relationship with Hitler lead to Deborah and her mother once having tea with the German leader in Berlin.
Of the meeting she said: “If you sat in a room with Churchill, you were aware of this tremendous charisma. Kennedy had it too. But Hitler didn’t – not to me anyway.”
While some of her sisters went on to become novelists, after her marriage to Andrew Cavendish, the Duke of Devonshire, in 1941, Deborah moved to the Peak District to managed one of the most successful stately homes in England, Chatsworth.
She is survived by her three children Emma, Peregrine Cavendish (the Duke of Devonshire) and Lady Sophia Louise Sydney Cavendish.
