The Right Honourable

The Countess of Seafield
Born
Nina Caroline Ogilvy-Grant

(1906-04-17)17 April 1906
Nice, France
Died30 September 1969(1969-09-30) (aged 63)
London, England
Spouse
Derek Herbert Studley-Herbert
​
​
(m. 1930; div. 1957)​
Children2
Parent(s)James Ogilvy-Grant, 11th Earl of Seafield
Mary Elizabeth Nina Townend
RelativesTrevor Ogilvy-Grant, 4th Baron Strathspey (uncle)
Francis Ogilvy-Grant, 10th Earl of Seafield (grandfather)

Nina Caroline Ogilvy-Grant, 12th Countess of Seafield (17 April 1906 – 30 September 1969) was a Scottish peeress.

Early life

Born in Nice,[1] she was the only child of James Ogilvy-Grant, 11th Earl of Seafield and the New Zealand heiress Mary Elizabeth Nina Townend.[2] The family seat was Castle Grant, Morayshire.[3] She rented out the castle to American financier and railroad executive George Jay Gould in 1922.[4]

Her paternal grandparents were Francis Ogilvy-Grant, 10th Earl of Seafield and the former Ann Trevor Corry Evans. Her maternal grandparents were Dr. Joseph Henry Townend and Harriet (née Cox) Townend.[5]

Peerage

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 Ogilvy-Grant, succeeded to the barony of Strathspey in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.[2]

Personal life

Lady Seafield was rumoured to be engaged to Prince Nicholas of Romania, the fourth child and second son of King Ferdinand I of Romania and his wife Queen Marie, but a marriage never took place.[3] On 2 January 1930, her engagement to Derek Herbert Studley-Herbert was announced.[3] They married on 24 January 1930. Before their divorce in 1957, they were the parents of:

  • Ian Ogilvy-Grant, 13th Earl of Seafield (b. 1939), who married Mary Dawn Mackenzie Illingworth, daughter of Henry George Coats Illingworth (a son of Sir Percy Illingworth), in 1960. They divorced in 1971 and he married Leila Refaat, daughter of Mahmoud Refaat, in 1971.[5]
  • Lady Pauline Anne Ogilvy-Grant (1944–2010),[6] who married James Henry Harcourt Illingworth, son of Henry George Coats Illingworth, in 1964. They divorced in 1970 and she married Sir William Gordon-Cumming, 6th Baronet, son of Maj. Sir Alexander Gordon-Cumming, 5th Baronet, in 1972. They were divorced in 1976 and she married Hugh Richard Sykes in 1976. They too divorced and she married David John Nicholson in 1989.[5]

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.[7]

Her former husband died of cancer on 26 March 1960.[6] Lady Seafield died of cancer in a London hospital on 30 September 1969 and was succeeded by her son Ian in the earldom of Seafield.[7][8]

Reputed wealth

The Countess of Seafield was reportedly the second richest woman in Britain after Queen Elizabeth II.[9] At the time of her death, she earned $250,000 a year and owned "300 square miles in the shires of Banff, Moray and Inverness."[7] She owned Cullen House Scotland, which boasted forty bedrooms and seven miles of corridors, but spent most of her time in Paris and the Bahamas where she owned properties.[7][10]

References

  1. ↑ "James Ogilvie-Grant". Lincoln University Living Heritage: Tikaka Tuku Iho. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  2. 1 2 "EARL OF SEAFIELD KILLED.; Was a Captain in Cameron Hlghlanders and Chief of His Clan". The New York Times. 16 November 1915. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 TIMES, Wireless to THE NEW YORK (3 January 1930). "COUNTESS OF SEAFIELD IS REPORTED ENGAGED; Wealthy Scottish Peeress Said to Be Betrothed to Derek S. Herbert, Eton Athlete". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  4. ↑ TIMES, Special Cable to THE NEW YORK (16 July 1922). "HISTORIC CASTLE IN THE HIGHLANDS LEASED BY GOULD; Principal Seat of the Earls of Seafield, Chiefs of Clan Grant, Since 1701. THE KING'S FAVORITE MOORS Red Deer So Plentiful That Lawn Mowers Are Superfluous on Castle Grounds. LAST EARL KILLED IN WAR Vast Estates Now Held by Trustees for His Daughter, Lady Nina, Not Yet of Age". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 3, page 3552.
  6. 1 2 "Lady Pauline Ogilvie-Grant Nicholson; Aristocrat". The Herald. 5 February 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Times, Special to The New York (1 October 1969). "Countess of Seafield Is Dead; Wealthy Scottish Landowner". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  8. ↑ "Wealthiest Peeress Dies, Aged 63". EveningStandard. 30 September 1969. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  9. ↑ "The Londoner's Diary". Evening Standard. 16 March 1957. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  10. ↑ Times, della Denman Special to The New York (27 January 1974). "An Earl's Estate Becomes a Luxury Retreat". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
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