Arthur Ponsonby, 11th Earl of Bessborough

The Earl of Bessborough
Spouse(s)	1. Patricia Minnigerode 2. Anne Marie Galitzine (née Slatin) 3. Madeleine Lola Margaret Grand
Father	Maj. Hon. Cyril Myles Brabazon Ponsonby
Mother	Rita Narcissa Longfield
Born	11 December 1912
Died	5 April 2002 (aged 89)

Arthur Mountifort Longfield Ponsonby, 11th Earl of Bessborough (11 December 1912 – 5 April 2002), was a British peer.^[1]

He was the son of Maj. Hon. Cyril Myles Brabazon Ponsonby (1881–1915), second son of Edward Ponsonby, 8th Earl of Bessborough, and his wife Rita Narcissa Longfield, daughter of Lt. Col. Mountifort John Courtenay Longfield. He inherited the earldom on 5 December 1993 when his first cousin Frederick Ponsonby, 10th Earl of Bessborough, died without a male heir.

Education and career

He was educated at Harrow School and Trinity College, Cambridge. Later he rose to the rank of Captain in the service of the Welsh Guards and saw action in the Second World War.

Family

On 28 July 1939, he married Patricia Minnigerode (died 12 September 1952), daughter of Col. Fitzhugh Lee Minnigerode, and together they had two children:

• Hon. Myles Fitzhugh Longfield Ponsonby (born 16 February 1941), later the 12th Earl of Bessborough
• Lady Sarah Ponsonby (13 October 1943 – 13 March 2010)

Following the death of his first wife, he remarried, on 20 September 1956, Anne Marie Galitzine (née Slatin), former wife of Prince George Galitzine and daughter of Lt. Gen. Sir Rudolf Carl von Slatin (Baron von Slatin). They were divorced in 1963.

He married for the third time on 17 December 1963, Madeleine Lola Margaret Grand, daughter of Maj. Gen. Laurence Douglas Grand, and together they had two children:

• Hon. Matthew Douglas Longfield Ponsonby (born 27 January 1965), married Jamilie Emett Searle
• Hon. Charles Arthur Longfield Ponsonby (born 12 July 1967), married Jennifer Waghorn

Lady Bessborough is the founder of the New Art Centre in London and the Roche Court Sculpture Garden.^[2]

Death and succession

He died on 5 April 2002 and was succeeded by his eldest son Myles Ponsonby, 12th Earl of Bessborough.

Styles of address

• 1912-1993: Mr Arthur Ponsonby
• 1993-2002: The Right Honourable The Earl of Bessborough

Ancestry

Ancestors of Arthur Ponsonby, 11th Earl of Bessborough

16. John Ponsonby, 4th Earl of Bessborough               8. Walter Ponsonby, 7th Earl of Bessborough                       17. Lady Maria Fane               4. Edward Ponsonby, 8th Earl of Bessborough                             18. Edward Eliot, 3rd Earl of St Germans               9. Lady Louisa Eliot                       19. Lady Jemima Cornwallis               2. Maj. Hon. Myles Ponsonby                                   20. Thomas Guest               10. Sir John Guest, 1st Baronet                       21. Jemima Phillips               5. Blanche Guest                             22. Albemarle Bertie, 9th Earl of Lindsey               11. Lady Charlotte Bertie                       23. Charlotte Susannah Elizabeth Layard               1. Arthur Ponsonby, 11th Earl of Bessborough                                         24. Rev. Robert Longfield               12. Mountifort Longfield                       6. Lt.Col. Mountifort Longfield                             26. George Courtenay               13. Caroline Augusta Courtenay                       27. Caroline Augusta Smith-Barry               3. Rita Longfield

References

1. "Earl of Bessborough family update". The Peerage forum.
2. "Madeleine Lola Margaret Ponsonby (Grand), Countess Bessborough". National Portrait Gallery.

• Cracroft's Peerage
• Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages
• Lundy, Darryl. "FAQ". The Peerage.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Earl of Bessborough