Hugh van Cutsem
Hugh van Cutsem | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Hugh Bernard Edward van Cutsem 21 July 1941 |
| Died | 2 September 2013 (aged 72) |
| Nationality | English |
| Education | Ampleforth College |
| Alma mater | University of Cambridge |
| Occupation(s) | Landowner Banker Businessman Horsebreeder |
| Spouse |
Emilie Quarles van Ufford
(m. 1971) |
| Children | 4 |
| Parent(s) | Bernard van Cutsem Mary Compton |
| Relatives | Jonkheer Pieter Quarles van Ufford (father-in-law) |
Hugh Bernard Edward van Cutsem (21 July 1941 – 2 September 2013) was an English banker, businessman, landowner and horse-breeder.
Early life and education
[edit]Hugh Bernard Edward van Cutsem was born on 21 July 1941.[1][2] His father Bernard van Cutsem was a millionaire horse-trainer and -breeder.[2] His mother was Mary Compton, a descendant of the chiefly line of Clan Farquharson.[2] The van Cutsems were Catholics of Belgian origin[3] who had moved to England in the nineteenth century.[2]
He was educated at Sunningdale School and Ampleforth College,[4] a Roman Catholic boarding school in Ampleforth, North Yorkshire, and graduated from the University of Cambridge.[2][5] He then served as an officer in the Life Guards.[2]
Business career
[edit]Van Cutsem worked as an investment banker at Hambros Bank.[2] Later he began his own company and purchased further companies, including a data storage company.[2]
Land ownership
[edit]Van Cutsem inherited his father's stud Northmore Farm in Exning near Newmarket, Suffolk, in 1976.[2] He also owned a 4,000-acre estate in Norfolk, best known for its private wild game shoots.[2] In 2001, the estate had thirty-five pairs of stone-curlews, a very rare bird.[2] In addition he owned a hunting lodge and grouse moor managed for shooting interest on the North Yorkshire-Cumbria border.[2] In the 1990s, he sold his father's farm in Exning and purchased the Hilborough estate in Norfolk, whence he transferred his horse-breeding operations.[2] In 1994, he won a Country Landowners' Association award for his restoration of an old barn on the Hilborough estate; the Prince of Wales (later Charles III) presented the award.[2]
He was a founding member of the Countryside Movement, a non-profit organization which later became the Countryside Alliance, focussed on shooting.[2] He was also a significant fundraiser for the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, a British charity promoting game and wildlife management whilst working with the shooting and hunting community.[2] Moreover, he served as Chairman of the Countryside Business Trust.[2] He was also elected to the Council of the National Trust.[2]
Marriage and issue
[edit]On 10 June 1971, he married Emilie Quarles van Ufford, who was born in the Netherlands as the daughter of Jonkheer Pieter Quarles van Ufford, at Guards Chapel, Wellington Barracks.[1][2] They had four sons:[2]
- Edward Bernard Charles van Cutsem (born 1973); godson of King Charles III and a page boy at his wedding to Lady Diana Spencer;[6] educated at Ampleforth College (1991), he graduated from Durham University (1995) with a degree in Combined Arts;[7] managing director at BlackRock; married Lady Tamara Katherine Grosvenor, daughter of Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster, and Natalia Phillips, in 2004. They have three children:
- Jake Louis Hannibal van Cutsem (born 2009)
- Louis Hugh Lupus van Cutsem (born 2012)
- Isla van Cutsem (born 2015)
- Hugh Ralph van Cutsem (born 1974); married Rose Nancy Langhorne Astor, daughter of David Waldorf Astor (a grandson of Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor) and Clare Pamela St. John in 2005. They have three children:
- Grace Emilie Clare van Cutsem (born 2007); goddaughter of the Prince of Wales and a bridesmaid at his wedding to Catherine Middleton.
- Rafe Michael Waldorf van Cutsem (born 2009)
- Charles Hugh Valentine van Cutsem; a page of honour to King Charles III.[8]
- Nicholas Peter Geoffrey van Cutsem (born 1977); godfather to Prince Louis of Wales; married Alice C. Hadden-Paton, daughter of former cavalry officer Nigel Hadden-Paton, and sister of actor Harry Hadden-Paton, on 14 August 2009. They have one daughter:
- Florence van Cutsem (born 2014); goddaughter of the Duke of Sussex and a bridesmaid at his wedding to Meghan Markle.[9]
- William Henry van Cutsem (born 1979); godfather to Prince George of Wales;[10] educated at Ampleforth College;[11] married Rosanna Ruck-Keene on 11 May 2013.
For ten years the family rented Anmer Hall in Anmer, Norfolk, on the royal family's Sandringham estate.[2] They later moved into a neo-Palladian mansion designed by architect Francis Johnson in Hilborough, on their estate.[2]
A devout Catholic, he built a chapel near his Hilborough residence for family occasions, and arranged for priests to visit.[2] However, he also regularly attended Mass at Our Lady of Pity in Swaffham with his family.[2] In 1993, he was appointed a Knight of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.[2]
Hugh van Cutsem became a friend of King Charles III during his university days.[2]
Death and funeral
[edit]Van Cutsem died on 2 September 2013, aged 72.[1] His funeral took place in Brentwood Cathedral in Essex and was conducted by Thomas McMahon, Bishop of Brentwood. Each of his four sons also gave a reading; Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor read the prayer of commendation; the choir sang "Pie Jesu". It was attended by the then Prince of Wales (later Charles III); his sons, Prince William and Prince Harry; and his wife, Camilla, then-Duchess of Cornwall; together with Andrew Parker Bowles; Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester; Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester; the Prince and Princess of Liechtenstein; Ralph Percy, 12th Duke of Northumberland; Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster; and Natalia Grosvenor, Duchess of Westminster.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Gordon Cramb, Hugh van Cutsem, countryman, 1941-2013, Financial Times, 6 September 2013
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z "Hugh van Cutsem". The Telegraph. 3 September 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
- ^ COLIN, Eugène. (1924). La Famille van Cutsem. Fragment généalogique. [With plates, including portraits.]. BIbliothèque Nationale de France. OCLC 558096576.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ ‘van CUTSEM, Hugh Bernard Edward’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016
- ^ a b Josh Duboff, William and Harry Join Prince Charles at Funeral of His Closest Friend, Vanity Fair, 11 September 2013
- ^ Foster, Peter. "Has the puppet-master of St James's finally pulled one string too many?". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
- ^ Stephens, Felix, ed. (Spring 1996). "1995 Graduates". The Ampleforth Journal. 101 (1): 124.
- ^ State Opening of Parliament 2023, Court Circular 8 November 2023
- ^ "Meghan Markle bridesmaids: Benita Litt's daughters Remi and Rylan, Princess Charlotte, Florence van Cutsem and others announced as bridesmaids as Prince Harry's bride takes after Kate Middleton". OK!. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
- ^ "Prince George christening: profiles of the godparents". The Telegraph. 22 October 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
- ^ "Pigeon Management Team website". Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
- 1941 births
- 2013 deaths
- People educated at Sunningdale School
- People educated at Ampleforth College
- Alumni of the University of Cambridge
- People from Hilborough
- English bankers
- English landowners
- English racehorse owners and breeders
- English Roman Catholics
- Knights of Malta
- English people of Belgian descent
- English people of Flemish descent
- Van Cutsem family
- 20th-century English businesspeople
- People named in the Paradise Papers