Deborah Mitford
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Deborah Vivien Cavendish, Dowager Duchess of Devonshire (born March 31, 1920), née Deborah Freeman-Mitford, is the last of the noted Mitford sisters.
She married Andrew Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire in 1941. At the time he was not expected to inherit the dukedom but his older brother William was killed in combat in 1944. Andrew became duke, and Deborah became duchess, when the 10th Duke died in 1950.
The Duchess has been the main public face of Chatsworth for many decades, and has remained so in her widowhood, now in partnership primarily with her grandson, the present Marquess of Hartington, who seems to play a more public role than his father. She has written several books about Chatsworth, and has played a key role in the restoration of the house, the enhancement of the garden and the development of commercial activities such as Chatsworth Farm Shop (which is on a quite different scale from most farm shops as it employs a hundred people); Chatsworth's other retail and catering operations; and assorted offshoots such as Chatsworth Food, which sells luxury foodstuffs which carry her signature and Chatsworth Design which sells image rights to items and designs from the Chatsworth collections. She also supervised the development of the Cavendish Hotel at Baslow near Chatsworth and the Devonshire Arms Hotel at Bolton Abbey, which are both highly regarded.
In 1999 she was appointed a Dame Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (DCVO) by Queen Elizabeth II. She has three children, including the 12th Duke. She is a grandmother of fashion model Stella Tennant.
Deborah became the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire in 2004 when her son inherited the Dukedom upon the death of her husband of over 60 years.
Books written by the Duchess
- Chatsworth: The House (1980; revised edition 2002)
- The Estate: A View from Chatsworth (1990)
- The Farmyard at Chatsworth (1991) - for children
- Treasures of Chatsworth: A Private View (1991)
- The Garden at Chatsworth (1999)
- The Chatsworth Cookery Book (2003)
She has also contributed to The Spectator and published a collection of essays, Counting My Chickens and Other Home Thoughts