Caroline, Lady Worsley

Caroline Cecily Worsley, Lady Worsley^[1] (née Dewar; born 12 February 1934), is a Scottish aristocrat. She is the former wife of the 3rd Duke of Fife and the widow of General Sir Richard Worsley.^[2]

Early life

Lady Worsley was born Miss Caroline Dewar at Bardowie Castle at Milngavie, a suburb in Glasgow, Scotland, to The Honourable Henry Evelyn Alexander Dewar, a younger son of the 1st Baron Forteviot. Her mother was the former Cynthia Monica Starkie. She later had a younger brother, John James Evelyn.

Her father's half-brother was John Dewar, 2nd Baron Forteviot. He was 49 and childless, and even at her birth it seemed likely that Caroline's father would become the 3rd Baron. This expectation was met when Lord Forteviot died childless on 24 October 1947. When her father succeeded as 3rd Baron Forteviot, Miss Dewar became The Honourable Caroline Dewar.

First marriage

Miss Dewar became engaged to the then-Lord Carnegie in May 1956. Lord Carnegie was the son of the 11th Earl of Southesk (1893–1992), and HH Princess Maud of Fife (1893–1945), and heir-apparent to Lord Southesk's Earldom. Lord Carnegie's maternal aunt, Princess Arthur of Connaught, was the Duchess of Fife in her own right, and Lord Carnegie was also the heir-presumptive to that Dukedom, as Princess Arthur's only child was no longer living. Through his mother, Princess Maud, Lord Carnegie was a great-grandson of King Edward VII.

Miss Dewar and Lord Carnegie were married on 11 September 1956 at Perth in Perthshire. She thus became Lady Carnegie. They had three children.

• Stillborn son (4 April 1958)
• The Lady Alexandra Clare Carnegie (born 20 June 1959) m. London 11 May 2001 Mark Fleming Etherington, and has issue.
• David Carnegie, 4th Duke of Fife (born 3 March 1961), styled Earl of Macduff (by courtesy) from birth until his paternal grandfather's death 16 February 1992, thereafter styled Earl of Southesk until 22 June 2015; m. 16 July 1987 Caroline Anne Bunting (born 13 November 1961); and has issue.

Lord Carnegie's aunt, Princess Arthur of Connaught, died on 26 February 1959. At that point, he became the 3rd Duke of Fife and Lady Carnegie became Her Grace The Duchess of Fife. However, the Duchess was not to have that position forever. In December 1966, the Duke and Duchess of Fife were divorced. On account of this, the Duchess lost the style of Her Grace and became known as Caroline, Duchess of Fife.

Second marriage

On 7 November 1980, she remarried, at the age of 46, to General Sir Richard Worsley at London, England. She thereafter became The Honourable Lady Worsley. She has no children from this marriage.

Shorthand styles

• Miss Caroline Dewar (12 February 1934 – 24 October 1947)
• The Honourable Caroline Dewar (24 October 1947 – 11 September 1956)
• The Honourable Lady Carnegie (11 September 1956 – 26 February 1959)
• Her Grace The Duchess of Fife (26 February 1959–December 1966)
• The Honourable Caroline, Duchess of Fife (December 1966–7 November 1980)
• The Honourable Lady Worsley (7 November 1980—)

References