David George Philip Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley, GCVO, DL (/ˈtʃʌmli/ CHUM-lee; born 27 June 1960), styled Viscount Malpas from birth until 1968, and subsequently Earl of Rocksavage until 1990, is a British peer and filmmaker who acted as Lord Great Chamberlain of the United Kingdom from 1990 to 2022.
Lord Cholmondeley is a descendant of Sir Robert Walpole (1676–1745), the first Prime Minister of Great Britain. He is the son of Hugh Cholmondeley, 6th Marquess of Cholmondeley, and Lavinia, Marchioness of Cholmondeley (née Leslie).[1] He is also a descendant of both the Rothschild family and the Sassoon family through his paternal grandmother, Sybil Sassoon.[2] He has three older sisters: the Ladies Rose, Margot (previously married to Tony Huston), and Caroline (married to Baron Rodolphe d'Erlanger).
Like many members of his family, Cholmondeley was educated at Eton College.[3] He later studied at the Sorbonne in Paris.[4]
Lord Cholmondeley is a filmmaker. As David Rocksavage, he also appeared in a small part in Eric Rohmer's film 4 aventures de Reinette et Mirabelle (1987). His professional name is derived from his title of Earl of Rocksavage.
He has made the following documentaries for television:
In 1995, he directed the film adaptation of Truman Capote's novel Other Voices, Other Rooms.
In 2007, he directed Shadows in the Sun, starring Jean Simmons and James Wilby, which was shot in Norfolk. The film was released in 2009.
Cholmondeley became Marquess of Cholmondeley on 13 March 1990, upon the death of his father. Cholmondeley also inherited a half share of the office of Lord Great Chamberlain, and succeeded his father in exercising the function of the office for the duration of Queen Elizabeth II's reign. As Lord Great Chamberlain, Cholmondeley was ex officio a member of the House of Lords and attended the House of Lords in his ceremonial role such as at the State Opening of Parliament, although he did not sit in the House of Lords for debates as he was on a leave of absence.[5] Upon Queen Elizabeth II's death on 8 September 2022, Lord Cholmondeley ceased to be Lord Great Chamberlain and a member of the House of Lords, with the office of the Lord Great Chamberlain passing to Rupert Carington, 7th Baron Carrington.
The family seats are Houghton Hall in Norfolk, and Cholmondeley Castle, which is surrounded by a 7,500-acre (3,000-hectare) estate near Malpas, Cheshire.[6]
According to the Sunday Times Rich List in 2008, Cholmondeley has an estimated net worth of approximately £60m, attributed primarily to his inherited landholdings.[7] Houghton Hall, ancestral home of the Marquesses of Cholmondeley since the establishment of the title in 1815, opens some of its rooms to the public, as well as the walled garden and extensive sculpture park.
The gardens of Cholmondeley Castle are also open to the public.
Cholmondeley was the co-author of the 2014 monograph on Houghton Hall published by Rizzoli.[8]
In 2000 Cholmondeley commissioned Garlinda Birkbeck to photograph all the residents of his estates and the buildings within them in a survey that was bound in three volumes.[9]
In 1974, at the age of fourteen, Cholmondeley, then known as the Earl of Rocksavage, was appointed as a Page of Honour to Queen Elizabeth II.[10] He relinquished this role upon reaching the age limit in 1976.[11]
One moiety of the ancient office of Lord Great Chamberlain is a Cholmondeley inheritance.[12] This hereditary honour came into the Cholmondeley family through the marriage of the first Marquess of Cholmondeley to Lady Georgiana Charlotte Bertie, daughter of General Peregrine Bertie, 3rd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven.[13] The second, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh holders of the marquessate have all held this office.
Cholmondeley exercised the office of Lord Great Chamberlain from 1990 to 2022, during the reign of Elizabeth II; in the event Charles III ceased to be king before Cholmondeley's death, he would either exercise the office again or nominate a deputy to act on his behalf.[14][15] In March 2023, he was appointed a permanent lord-in-waiting.[16]
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Lord Cholmondeley married (Sarah) Rose Hanbury, a fashion model,[17] on 24 June 2009, their engagement having been announced two days prior.[18][19] She is a daughter of Timothy Hanbury, a website designer, and Emma Hanbury (née Longman), a fashion designer. The landed gentry Hanbury family lived at Holfield Grange, Coggeshall, Essex.[20][21]
Her maternal grandmother is Lady Elizabeth Lambart, daughter of Field Marshal Rudolph Lambart, 10th Earl of Cavan; Lady Elizabeth was one of the bridesmaids at the 1947 wedding of Princess Elizabeth;[22] her paternal grandmother, Sara, was the daughter of racing driver Sir Tim Birkin, 3rd Baronet.[23]
On 12 October 2009, the Marchioness gave birth to twin sons, Alexander Hugh George and Oliver Timothy George.[24][25] The elder son, Alexander, as heir apparent to the Marquessate, bears the courtesy title of Earl of Rocksavage; his brother is known as Lord Oliver Cholmondeley.
In March 2016, the Marquess and Marchioness had their third child, a daughter, Lady Iris Marina Aline Cholmondeley.[26]
Lord Oliver Cholmondeley was a page of honour at the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla on 6 May 2023 at which the Marquess wore his Coronation robes.[27] He subsequently served as a page of honour to the King.[28]
As the eldest son of the heir apparent of the 5th Marquess, he was known from birth by the courtesy title of Viscount Malpas. Upon his grandfather's death, he became the heir to the marquessate and was thus known by the courtesy title of Earl of Rocksavage, before inheriting the marquessate in 1990. He also inherited the following subsidiary titles:[31]