View source for Andrew Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire

{{short description|British politician and duke (1920–2004)}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2015}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = [[Grace (style)|His Grace]]
| name             = The Duke of Devonshire
| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100|KG|MC|PC|DL}}
| image            = Andrew Robert 11th Duke of Devonshire.jpg
| caption          = Portrait by [[Allan Warren]]
| office1          = [[Minister of State for Commonwealth Relations]]
| term_start1      = 6 September 1962
| term_end1        = 16 October 1964
| primeminister1   = [[Harold Macmillan]]<br />[[Alec Douglas-Home]]
| predecessor1     = [[Cuthbert Alport, Baron Alport|The Lord Alport]]
| successor1       = [[Cledwyn Hughes, Baron Cledwyn of Penrhos|Cledwyn Hughes]]
| office2          = [[Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations|Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations]]
| term_start2      = 28 October 1960
| term_end2        = 6 September 1962
| primeminister2   = [[Harold Macmillan]]
| predecessor2     = [[Sir Richard Thompson, 1st Baronet|Richard Thompson]]
| successor2       = [[John Tilney]]
| office3          = Member of the [[House of Lords]]
| status3          = Lord Temporal
| term_start3      = 26 November 1950
| term_end3        = 11 November 1999<br />as a [[hereditary peer]]
| predecessor3     = [[Edward Cavendish, 10th Duke of Devonshire|The 10th Duke of Devonshire]]
| successor3       = ''Seat abolished''{{thin space|{{efn|Pursuant to the [[House of Lords Act 1999]].}}}}
| birth_name       = Andrew Robert Buxton Cavendish
| birth_date       = 2 January 1920
| birth_place      = London, England
| death_date       = {{death date and age|2004|5|3|1920|1|2|df=y}}
| death_place      = [[Chatsworth House|Chatsworth]], Derbyshire
| party            = [[National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)|National Liberal]] (1940s)<br />[[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] (1950–1982)<br />[[Social Democratic Party (UK)|SDP]] (1982–1988)<br />[[Social Democratic Party (UK, 1988–1990)|'Continuing' SDP]] (1988–1990)<br />None (1990–2001)<br />[[UK Independence Party|UKIP]]<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/3607413/Notebook.html |title=Notebook |first=Frank |last=Johnson |author-link=Frank Johnson (journalist) |date=19 June 2004 |work=The Telegraph |access-date=16 April 2011 |quote="[...] the three dukes among Ukip's patrons – Somerset, Rutland and the late Devonshire, as well as the Earl of Bradford and Lord Neidpath, heir to the earldom of Wemyss [...]" |location=London}}</ref> (2001–2004)
| alma_mater       = [[Trinity College, Cambridge]]
| spouse           = {{marriage|[[Deborah Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire|Deborah Mitford]]|1941}}
| children         = 7, including [[Peregrine Cavendish, 12th Duke of Devonshire]], and Lady Sophia Topley
| parents          = [[Edward Cavendish, 10th Duke of Devonshire]]<br />[[Mary Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire|Lady Mary Gascoyne-Cecil]]
}}
'''Andrew Robert Buxton Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire''' (2 January 1920 – 3 May 2004), styled '''Lord Andrew Cavendish''' until 1944 and '''Marquess of Hartington''' from 1944 to 1950, was a British peer and politician. He was a minister in the government of Prime Minister [[Harold Macmillan]] (his uncle by marriage), and is also known for opening [[Chatsworth House]] to the public.

==Early life==
{{unreferenced section|date=June 2020}}
Cavendish was the second son of [[Edward Cavendish, 10th Duke of Devonshire]], and [[Mary Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire]], the former Lady Mary Alice Gascoyne-Cecil, daughter of [[James Gascoyne-Cecil, 4th Marquess of Salisbury]]. He was educated at [[Ludgrove School]], [[Eton College]] and [[Trinity College, Cambridge]]. Growing up, his elder brother, [[William Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington]], was the heir apparent to the dukedom. 

==Career==

===Military service===
Cavendish served in the [[British Army]] during [[World War II]]. Having attended an Officer Cadet Training Unit, he was commissioned into the [[Coldstream Guards]] as a [[second lieutenant]] on 2 November 1940.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=34995 |date=15 November 1940 |page=6621 |supp=y }}</ref> On 7 December 1944, while holding the rank of [[acting rank|acting]] [[Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|captain]], he was awarded the [[Military Cross]] 'in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in Italy'.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=36828 |date=5 December 1944 |pages=5609–5610 |supp=y }}</ref> The action took place on 27 July 1944 when his [[Company (military unit)|company]] was cut off for 36 hours in heavy combat near [[Cesta, Ajdovščina|Strada]], Italy. He held the rank of major at the end of the war.

In later life, he took on a number of honorary positions within the military. On 2 December 1953, he was appointed [[Colonel (United Kingdom)#Honorary Colonel|Honorary Colonel]] of a [[Territorial Army (United Kingdom)|Territorial Army]] unit of the [[Royal Regiment of Artillery]].<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=40064 |date=1 January 1954 |page=152 |supp=y }}</ref> On 2 October 1981, he was appointed Honorary Colonel of the Manchester and Salford Universities [[Officers' Training Corps]].<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=48776 |date=26 October 1981 |page=13608 |supp=y }}</ref> He relinquished this appointment on 2 January 1985.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=50026 |date=4 February 1985 |page=1621 |supp=y }}</ref>

===Political career===
[[File:The National Archives UK - CO 1069-82-11.jpg|thumbnail|left|The 11th Duke of Devonshire at a reception given by the Agent-General for [[Northern Nigeria]] in the early 1960s]]

Cavendish, now styled as Marquess of Hartington, ran unsuccessfully as a [[National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)|National Liberal]] candidate for [[Chesterfield (UK Parliament constituency)|Chesterfield]] in the [[1945 United Kingdom general election|1945 general election]] and as a [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] for the same seat [[1950 United Kingdom general election|in 1950]]. He succeeded as 11th [[Duke of Devonshire]] in November 1950, and served as Mayor of [[Buxton]] from 1952 to 1954. Devonshire served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Commonwealth Relations from 1960 to 1962, Minister of State at the [[Commonwealth Relations Office]] from 1962 to 1963, and for Colonial Affairs from 1963 to 1964. He once said that these appointments by his uncle, [[Harold Macmillan]], the then-prime minister, were "the greatest act of [[nepotism]] ever".<ref name="Cullen"/><ref>Graham Stewart [https://web.archive.org/web/20080706201347/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/graham_stewart/article3291157.ece Nepotism on a majestic scale], ''The Times'', 2 February 2008. Accessed 27 March 2008.</ref>

He joined the [[Social Democratic Party (UK)|Social Democratic Party]] (SDP) in early 1982, having contacted the party's leader [[Roy Jenkins]] directly to offer his support soon after the [[1981 Warrington by-election|Warrington by-election]] the previous summer.<ref>Jenkins, Roy, ''A Life at the Centre'' (London: Pan Macmillan, 1992), pp. 554–5. {{ISBN|9780330323772}}</ref> Latterly a supporter of [[David Owen]] – whom he later described as "the best of them"<ref>{{cite web |title=The original Thin White Duke |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2002/oct/20/features.magazine87 |access-date=23 September 2007 |last=Barber |first=Lynn |author-link=Lynn Barber |date=20 October 2002 |work=The Observer}}</ref> – Devonshire chose to remain with the rump [[Social Democratic Party (UK, 1988–1990)|'continuing' SDP]] after the majority of the party's members voted to merge with the [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]] in 1988.<ref>Sheila Gunn, 'Diamond refuses to yield ground.' ''The Times'', 15 March 1988, p. 4.</ref> He later sat as a [[crossbencher]] during his rare appearances in the [[House of Lords]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2004/may/05/guardianobituaries.conservatives |title=Obituary: The Duke of Devonshire |access-date=23 September 2007 |last=Barker |first=Dennis |date=5 May 2005 |work=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3683081.stm |title=Obituary: The Duke of Devonshire |access-date=23 September 2007 |date=4 May 2004 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

===Other pursuits===
The duke followed the family tradition of owning racehorses, the most famous of which was [[Park Top]], the subject of the duke's first published book, ''A Romance of The Turf: Park Top'', which was published in 1976. His autobiography, ''Accidents of Fortune'', was published just before his death in 2004. The duke had many disputes over the years with the [[ramblers]] who used the paths near Chatsworth. Eventually though, in 1991, he signed an agreement with the [[Peak District|Peak National Park Authority]] opening <span style="white-space:nowrap">1,300&nbsp;acres&nbsp;(5&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>)</span> of his estate to walkers. He said that everyone was "welcome in my back garden". The duke's real estate holdings were vast. In addition to Chatsworth he also owned [[Lismore Castle]] in Ireland and [[Bolton Abbey]] in North Yorkshire. He also owned the bookshop [[Heywood Hill]] and the gentleman's club [[Pratt's]].

Devonshire was a major collector of contemporary British art, known especially for his patronage of [[Lucian Freud]]. He was one of the founders, and the chief patron of, the Next Century Foundation, in which capacity he hosted the private Chatsworth talks between representatives of the governments of the Arab world and Israel. The duke was listed at number 73 in the ''[[Sunday Times Rich List]]'' of the richest people in Great Britain in 2004.

==Family==
[[File:St Peter's Churchyard, Edensor - grave of Andrew Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire.JPG|thumb|[[St Peter's Church, Edensor|St Peter's Churchyard, Edensor]] – grave of Andrew Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire KG, MC, PC, DL (1920–2004)]]

===Marriage===
{{Unreferenced section|date=June 2020}}
In 1941, the then Lord Andrew Cavendish married [[The Honourable]] [[Deborah Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire|Deborah Freeman-Mitford]] (31 March 1920 – 24 September 2014), youngest daughter of [[David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale]], and one of the [[Mitford sisters]], in the Priory Church of [[St Bartholomew-the-Great]], [[Smithfield, London]].

Four of the couple's seven children died soon after birth, and the Duke's extramarital affairs became public after he appeared as a witness at a burglary trial and was forced to admit, under oath, that he was on holiday with one of a series of younger women when the crime occurred at his London home.

The Duke, however, claimed that much of his marriage's success was due to the Duchess's tolerance and broadmindedness. The Duchess, as ''[[châtelain]]e'', was largely responsible for the success of Chatsworth as a commercial endeavour.

===Issue===
Devonshire and his wife had seven children, three of whom died in infancy.<ref>Deborah Mitford, Duchess of Devonshire, ''Wait for Me!'' (Farrar Straus Giroux, 2010), pages 128–132</ref> The three surviving children were a son, [[Peregrine Cavendish, 12th Duke of Devonshire]], and two daughters, Lady Emma Cavendish and Lady Sophia Topley.

*Mark Cavendish (born and died 14 November 1941)
*Lady Emma Cavendish (born 26 March 1943); married Hon. Tobias Tennant, son of [[Christopher Tennant, 2nd Baron Glenconner]], on 3 September 1963. They have three children (including [[Stella Tennant]]) and ten grandchildren
*[[Peregrine Cavendish, 12th Duke of Devonshire]] (born 27 April 1944); married Amanda Heywood-Lonsdale on 28 June 1967. They have four children and eight grandchildren.
*Lord Victor Cavendish (born and died 22 May 1947)
*Lady Mary Alice Cavendish (born and died 5 April 1953)
*Lady Sophia Cavendish (born 18 March 1957); married Anthony Murphy on 20 October 1979 and they were divorced in 1987. She married [[Alastair Morrison, 3rd Baron Margadale]], on 19 July 1988 and they were later divorced. They have two children: Hon. Declean Morrison (born 1993) and Hon. Nancy Morrison (born 1995). She married William Topley on 25 November 1999.

In December 1946, the Duchess had a miscarriage; had the child been born, it would have been a twin of Victor Cavendish, born in 1947.<ref>Deborah Mitford, Duchess of Devonshire, ''Wait for Me!'' (Farrar Straus Giroux, 2010), pages 130</ref>

===Inheritance===
Devonshire's older brother [[William Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington|William, Marquess of Hartington]], who would have inherited the dukedom, was killed in combat near the end of the [[Second World War]]. With William's death, Andrew became heir and received the [[Courtesy titles in the United Kingdom|courtesy title]] of [[Marquess]] of Hartington, by which he was known from September 1944 until November 1950.

Devonshire's uncle, [[Lord Charles Cavendish (1905–1944)|Lord Charles Cavendish]], died aged 38 as a result of alcoholism.<ref name="Devonshire2011">{{cite book |author=Deborah Devonshire |title=All in One Basket |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6mh-bEAsxNUC&pg=PT292 |date=15 September 2011 |publisher=John Murray |isbn=978-1-84854-594-6 |pages=292–}}</ref> Lord Charles's will bequeathed [[Lismore Castle]] to Andrew upon the remarriage of Charles's wife, [[Adele Astaire]], in 1947.<ref name="Devonshire2011"/>

The 10th Duke died of a heart attack while visiting [[Eastbourne]] in November 1950 and Andrew, who was in Australia at the time, inherited the title.<ref name="Cullen">Pamela V. Cullen. ''A Stranger in Blood: The Case Files on Dr John Bodkin Adams'', London, Elliott & Thompson, 2006, {{ISBN|1-904027-19-9}}</ref> The Duke died while being attended by suspected [[serial killer]] [[John Bodkin Adams|Dr John Bodkin Adams]], who was his doctor when visiting Eastbourne. No proper police investigation was ever conducted into the death, but Devonshire later said "it should perhaps be noted that this doctor was not appointed to look after the health of my two younger sisters, who were then in their teens";<ref name="Cullen"/> Adams had a reputation for grooming older patients to extract bequests.

Devonshire inherited the estate but also an [[Inheritance Tax (United Kingdom)|inheritance tax]] bill of [[Pound Sterling|£]]7&nbsp;million (£{{Inflation|UK|7|1950|fmt=c}} million in {{Inflation-year|UK}}), nearly 80 per cent of the value of the estate.{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}}<ref name="ColquhounWroe2008">{{cite book |author1=Keith Colquhoun |author2=Ann Wroe |title=Economist Book of Obituaries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l0yKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT140 |year=2008 |publisher=Profile Books |isbn=978-1-84765-041-2 |pages=140–}}</ref> To meet this, the Duke had to sell off many art objects and antiques, including several [[Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn|Rembrandt]]s, [[Van Dyck]]s and [[Raffaello Santi]]s, as well as thousands of acres of land.<ref name="ColquhounWroe2008"/>

The Duke is buried in the churchyard of [[St Peter's Church, Edensor]] – in the grounds of Chatsworth.{{Citation needed|date=November 2011}}

==Honours==
In 1996 he was made a [[Knight of the Garter|Knight Companion of the Garter]]. He was elected to the [[American Philosophical Society]] later that year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=APS Member History |url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=The+Duke+of+Devonshire&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced |access-date=2021-12-16 |website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref>

On 10 December 1955, he was made a [[Grand Cross]] of the [[Military Order of Christ|Order of Christ]] by the Portuguese government.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cidadãos Estrangeiros Agraciados com Ordens Portuguesas |url=http://www.ordens.presidencia.pt/?idc=154 |website=Página Oficial das Ordens Honoríficas Portuguesas |access-date=8 October 2021}}</ref>

==Coat of arms==
{{Emblem table
| name = Andrew Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire, KG, MC, PC, DL
| image = File:Coat of Arms of Andrew Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire, KG, MC, PC, DL.png
| imagesize = 250px
| coronet = [[Coronet]] of a Duke
| bannerimage = 
| badgeimage = 
| notes = 
| crest = ''A serpent nowed Vert.''
| torse = 
| helm = 
| escutcheon = ''Sable three stags' heads cabossed Argent.''
| supporters = ''Two hinds proper each gorged with a chaplet of roses Argent and Azure alternately barbed Or seeded Vert.''
| compartment = 
| motto = CAVENDO TUTUS (Safe through Caution)
| orders = [[Order of the Garter]]
| other_elements = 
| banner = 
| symbolism = 
| other_versions = Full achievement of arms:<br/>[[File:Coat of arms of Cavendish, Dukes of Devonshire, KG.svg|120px]].<br/><ref>{{cite book |title=Burke's peerage and baronetage |year=1894 |page=424 |URL=https://ukga.org/browse.php?action=ViewRec&DB=33&bookID=227&pagecount=564}}</ref>
}}

==Other==
He once told an interviewer:<blockquote>"Wonderful things have happened in my life — it's time my son had his turn. When I was young I used to like casinos, fast women and God knows what. Now my idea of Heaven, apart from being at Chatsworth, is to sit in the hall of [[Brooks's]], having tea." </blockquote>

==Bibliography==
*''writing as'' The Duke of Devonshire: ''A Romance of the Turf: Park Top'' (2000 edition {{ISBN|0-7195-5482-9}})
*''writing as'' Andrew Devonshire: ''Accidents of Fortune'' [Autobiography] (2004) {{ISBN|0-85955-286-1}}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://archive.today/20130111072236/http://onefineart.com/en/artists/richard_of_eire/index.shtml ''Generations Reaching''] – on a chance meeting with the late 11th Duke of Devonshire, and with [[Kathleen Agnes Kennedy]] and [[John F. Kennedy]] beside [[Lismore Castle]], [[County Waterford]], Ireland in mid-May 2004.
*{{Hansard-contribs | mr-andrew-cavendish | the Duke of Devonshire }}

{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Sir Richard Thompson, 1st Baronet|Richard Thompson]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations]]|years=1960–1962|with=[[Bernard Braine]] {{nobold|1961–1962}}|with2=[[John Tilney]] {{nobold|1962}}}}
{{s-aft|after=[[John Tilney]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Cuthbert Alport, Baron Alport|Cuthbert Alport]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Minister of State for Commonwealth Relations]]|years=1962–1964}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Cledwyn Hughes]]}}
{{s-reg|en}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Edward Cavendish, 10th Duke of Devonshire|Edward Cavendish]]|rows=3}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Duke of Devonshire]]|years=1950–2004|lords=1950–2004}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Peregrine Cavendish, 12th Duke of Devonshire|Peregrine Cavendish]]|rows=3}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Earl of Devonshire]]|years=1950–2004}}
{{s-break}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Baron Cavendish of Hardwick]]|years=1950–2004}}
{{s-reg|uk}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Edward Cavendish, 10th Duke of Devonshire|Edward Cavendish]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Earl of Burlington]]|years=1950–2004}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Peregrine Cavendish, 12th Duke of Devonshire|Peregrine Cavendish]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Dukes of Devonshire}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Devonshire, Andrew Cavendish, 11th Duke Of}}
[[Category:1920 births]]
[[Category:2004 deaths]]
[[Category:Military personnel from London]]
[[Category:Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:20th-century British landowners]]
[[Category:Cavendish family|Andrew Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire]]
[[Category:Coldstream Guards officers]]
[[Category:Conservative Party (UK) hereditary peers]]
[[Category:Deputy lieutenants of Derbyshire]]
[[Category:Dukes of Devonshire|111]]
[[Category:Earls of Burlington (1831 creation)|*06]]
[[Category:Knights of the Garter]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of Christ (Portugal)]]
[[Category:Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Ministers in the Macmillan and Douglas-Home governments, 1957–1964]]
[[Category:People educated at Eton College]]
[[Category:People from Derbyshire Dales (district)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Military Cross]]
[[Category:Social Democratic Party (UK) hereditary peers]]
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[[Category:Vice-lieutenants of Derbyshire]]
[[Category:20th-century British businesspeople]]
[[Category:20th-century English nobility]]
[[Category:Members of the American Philosophical Society]]
[[Category:People educated at Ludgrove School]]
[[Category:Hereditary peers removed under the House of Lords Act 1999|Devonshire]]
[[Category:Younger sons of dukes]]