THE Duke of Devonshire has died, aged 84. His ancestral home was Chatsworth House, in the heart of Derbyshire's Peak District National Park.
A Chatsworth Estate official said: "I can confirm that the Duke of Devonshire died late last night at his home."
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: "The Queen is saddened by the news."
The duke's family trust also owns the Bolton Abbey Estate in Wharfedale, North Yorkshire.
Andrew Cavendish, the 11th Duke of Devonshire, married the Hon Deborah Mitford, one of the legendary Mitford girls and daughter of Lord and Lady Redesdale, in 1941.
Passion
They have three children, eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
The Duke served in the Coldstream Guards during the war and was awarded the Military Cross. He was mayor of Buxton from 1952 to 1954.
Between 1960 and 1964, he was a minister in the Conservative government led by his uncle, Harold Macmillan.
On September 20 1998, the Duke and Duchess became the longest-serving holders of the Devonshire dukedom, having held the title for 17,101 days.
The duke recently reflected that he had been "much too lucky" in life. He had a long-standing marriage, and a passion for racing and art.
He and duchess kept up the family tradition of collecting and commissioning works of art, including paintings by Lucian Freud, sculpture by Elisabeth Frink and Angela Conner, and outstanding books and mineral specimens.
Imposing
The imposing family ancestral home of Chatsworth and the family trust ownership of the scenic Bolton Abbey Estate, coupled with rising art prices, led to the duke being listed as the 13th richest in the United Kingdom in this year's Mail on Sunday Rich Report.
He was not meant to be a duke but his elder brother William, Marquess of Hartington, was killed in action in September 1944.
His father died in 1950, leaving the estate with '7 million in death duties to pay.
He and the duchess survived the crisis by selling family treasures and turning Chatsworth into one of the country's most popular tourist attractions.
The duke's son and heir is Lord Hartington, Peregrine Andrew Morny Cavendish, 60.
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hazel wlkinson wright, pembrokeshire formally moston (05/05/2004 at 02:21)
I have lovely memories of him and his wife
when I viseted Chatsworth with my mum and dad Grace and Harry Cleworth who new the duke
he said he had a lucky life yes may be but also so were his friends and the people who loved chatsworth he leave a wonderful legacy and will always be remebered
bev woolliscroft, leek (28/07/2005 at 22:33)
Deborah Virgo, Adelaide Australia (13/08/2005 at 10:14)
I have been trying to make contact with Deborah Mitford for many years. My name is also Deborah Mitford, named after the Duchess of Devonshire. Our families are related (hence my naming)except our circumstances are very different. I come from one of the oldest and most successful sheep stations in Australia ( very harsh country in the middle of no-where!) As you would be aware Australia is one of the largest sheep/wool producers in the world and the family property contributes about 1/3 of stock to this.
The Mitford name has been passed on thru 6 Australian generations (also to my girls). Our family have been pioneers in Australia and as far as I am aware, I am the only one to be named directly after a "Mitford sister". I have always wanted to talk with Deborah to share our very interesting lives. Can you help?