The Right Honourable

The Countess of Carnarvon

MBE
Born
Jean Margaret Wallop

(1935-04-19)19 April 1935
Big Horn, Sheridan County, Wyoming, United States
Died11 April 2019(2019-04-11) (aged 83)
Highclere, Hampshire, United Kingdom
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1956; died 2001)​
Children3; including George Herbert, 8th Earl of Carnarvon
Parents
  • The Hon. Oliver Wallop (father)
  • Jean Moore (mother)
RelativesMalcolm Wallop (brother)
Oliver Wallop, 8th Earl of Portsmouth (grandfather)

Jean Margaret "Jeanie" Herbert, Countess of Carnarvon, MBE, (née Wallop; 19 April 1935 – 11 April 2019) was an American-born British aristocrat and chatelaine of Highclere Castle.

Early life and family

Jean Margaret Wallop was born on 19 April 1935 in Big Horn, Wyoming, to The Hon. Oliver Malcolm Wallop (1905–1980) and his wife Jean McGinley Moore (1908–1943).[1] Her paternal grandfather Oliver Wallop, 8th Earl of Portsmouth, had emigrated to Wyoming and served in the Wyoming State Legislature before inheriting the British earldom of Portsmouth. Her maternal great-grandfather was American attorney and financier William Henry Moore.

Wallop had two older brothers, including Malcolm Wallop, United States Senator for Wyoming, and one younger sister. Her mother died when she was seven. She was educated at Garrison Forest School before briefly studying nursing at the University of Colorado.[1]

Marriage and issue

In 1954, while visiting family in England, she met Henry Herbert, Lord Porchester.[1] They married on 7 January 1956 at St. James' Episcopal Church in Manhattan. They had three children:

Jean and her husband, who succeeded to the earldom of Carnarvon in 1987, lived at Milford Lake House on the Highclere Castle estate. Her husband was one of Queen Elizabeth II's closest friends and served as her racing manager from 1969 until his death in 2001. The Queen stood as godmother to their eldest son.[2] In 1984, the Queen and Prince Philip made a private visit to her brother's ranch in Wyoming.[1][3]

In May 1979, she founded the Newbury Spring Festival, a classical music festival in Newbury. She served as the festival's president from its inception until her death.[2] The Earl and Countess of Carnarvon opened Highclere Castle to the public in 1988, displaying treasures the 5th Earl collected during the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun.[1] For her services to Newbury, she was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2000 New Year Honours.[4]

Carnarvon died of old age at home on 11 April 2019.[1][2] Her funeral, held on 25 April 2019 at the Church of St Michael and All Angels, Highclere, was attended by Queen Elizabeth II.[5][6]

Carnarvon is portrayed by Andrea Deck in season one, episode nine of The Crown.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Jeanie, Countess of Carnarvon obituary". The Times. 25 April 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "Jeanie, Countess of Carnarvon, music lover who founded the Newbury Spring Festival – obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 19 April 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  3. ↑ "Ranch's Royal Guest Arrives for Weekend". The New York Times. 13 October 1984. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  4. ↑ "No. 55710". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1999. p. 20.
  5. ↑ Booth, Charlotte (25 April 2019). "Queen attends funeral in Highclere". Newbury Today. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  6. ↑ Moniuszko, Sara M. (26 April 2019). "Queen Elizabeth II dons black to attend friend's funeral in town from 'Downton Abbey'". USA Today. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  7. ↑ "Andrea Deck: Jean Wallop". IMDb. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
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