Sir Michael Duff
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Sir Michael Duff (d. 1980), the bon vivant and society figure, was the son of Sir Robin Duff, 2nd Bt, of Vaynol, and his wife Lady Juliet Lowther, only child of the 4th Earl of Lonsdale and his wife Lady Gwladys Herbert (later Marchioness of Ripon).
Family and Court Connections
His maternal grandmother was a sister of the 13th and 14th Earls of Pembroke & Montgomery, and a daughter of the Rt. Hon. Sidney Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Lea, the half-Russian yr son of the 10th Earl of Pembroke, and a good friend to Florence Nightingale.
Sir Michael Duff was a godson of Mary of Teck (queen of King George V), and a close relative of several aristocratic families. Among his relatives was his maternal aunt, Lady Diana Cooper (nee Manners). Exceedingly handsome and with the courteous manners of a true gentleman, he was a favourite of the Royal Family.
He was twice married, secondly to Lady Caroline Paget (d. 1973), eldest daughter of the 6th Marquess of Anglesey and his wife Lady Marjorie Manners, eldest daughter of the 8th Duke of Rutland. They adopted a son, Charles Duff, who became a theatre historian.
A documentary screened on BBC Two Wales in 2005 ('Faenol (sic): Secrets Behind the Wall') featured Charles Duff discussing his childhood, the bisexuality of both his adoptive parents, and the mystery of his true parentage. He did not inherit the estate, and when it was sold all the records were burnt, so compounding the mystery.
The Duff Estate
The Vaynol estate, in northern Wales, close to the Anglesey estate at Plas Newydd, passed out of Duff family hands, the last main portion including the demesne within the walls being sold off in 1984. This came into the family via Mary Assheton-Smith, niece and heiress of the famous squire Assheton-Smith, the celebrated foxhunter.
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