Andrew Cavendish, 11th Duke Of Devonshire

Andrew Robert Buxton Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire, was born on 2 January 1920 and died on 3 May 2004. He was known as Lord Andrew Cavendish until 1944 and as Marquess of Hartington from 1944 to 1950. He was a member of the British peerage and engaged in political roles in the United Kingdom.

He was the second son of Edward Cavendish, 10th Duke of Devonshire, and Mary Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, whose maiden name was Lady Mary Alice Gascoyne-Cecil. Lady Mary was the daughter of James Gascoyne-Cecil, 4th Marquess of Salisbury. Cavendish received his education at Ludgrove School, Eton College, and Trinity College, Cambridge.

His elder brother was William Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington, the heir apparent to the dukedom until his death during World War II.

During World War II, Cavendish served in the British Army. After attending an Officer Cadet Training Unit, he was commissioned into the Coldstream Guards as a second lieutenant on 2 November 1940. He was promoted and recognized for gallantry in Italy, being awarded the Military Cross on 7 December 1944 for actions near Strada, Italy, on 27 July 1944, where his company was cut off for 36 hours during heavy combat. At the end of the war, he held the rank of major.

He held honorary military positions later in life. On 2 December 1953, he was appointed Honorary Colonel of a Territorial Army unit of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. On 2 October 1981, he was made Honorary Colonel of the Manchester and Salford Universities Officers' Training Corps, a position he relinquished on 2 January 1985.

In his political career, Cavendish unsuccessfully ran as a National Liberal candidate for Chesterfield in 1945 and as a Conservative in 1950. He succeeded to the dukedom in November 1950 following the death of his father. He served as Mayor of Buxton from 1952 to 1954.

He held parliamentary roles, including Under-Secretary for Commonwealth Relations (1960–1962), Minister of State at the Commonwealth Relations Office (1962–1963), and Minister for Colonial Affairs (1963–1964). He described these appointments as "the greatest act of nepotism ever" due to their connection to Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, his uncle by marriage.

Cavendish joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in early 1982 after contacting Roy Jenkins, the party leader, and supported David Owen, remaining with the party's rump after the 1988 merger with the Liberal Party. He occasionally appeared in the House of Lords as a crossbencher.

Beyond politics, Cavendish was a racehorse owner, notable for Park Top, which became the subject of his first published book, *A Romance of The Turf: Park Top* (1976). His autobiography, *Accidents of Fortune*, was published shortly before his death in 2004.

He was involved in land access issues, with longstanding disputes over paths near Chatsworth House. In 1991, he signed an agreement with the Peak National Park Authority, opening 1,300 acres of his estate to walkers.

His estate included Chatsworth House, Lismore Castle in Ireland, and Bolton Abbey in North Yorkshire. He also owned a bookshop, Heywood Hill, and the gentleman's club Pratt's. As a collector of contemporary British art, he was a patron of Lucian Freud and was involved in the Next Century Foundation, hosting talks between Arab and Israeli representatives at Chatsworth.

In 2004, he was listed at number 73 in the Sunday Times Rich List of the wealthiest people in Great Britain.

In marriage, he married The Honourable Deborah Freeman-Mitford in 1941. She was a member of the Mitford sisters, and the youngest daughter of David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale. They had seven children, three of whom survived infancy: Peregrine Cavendish, who became the 12th Duke of Devonshire; Lady Emma Cavendish; and Lady Sophia Topley.

Several of their children died early, including Mark Cavendish, who was born and died in 1941, and Lord Victor Cavendish, who was born and died in 1947.

The Duke inherited his titles following the death of his father in 1950. His older brother, William, who would have inherited the dukedom, was killed in WWII. The duke inherited the estate but also faced a significant inheritance tax bill, which led to the sale of valuable artworks and land holdings.

He was appointed a Knight of the Garter in 1996 and elected to the American Philosophical Society in the same year. He was also awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Christ by Portugal in 1955.

He is buried in the churchyard of St Peter's Church, Edensor, within the grounds of Chatsworth House.