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Last Mitford sister, Deborah, Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, dies at 94 Last Mitford sister, Deborah, Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, dies at 94
(35 minutes later)
Deborah, the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, and the last surviving Mitford sister, has died aged 94.Deborah, the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, and the last surviving Mitford sister, has died aged 94.
The death was confirmed by the press officers for her stately home Chatsworth House in Derbyshire. Her son, the Duke of Devonshire, announced the death in a statement from Chatsworth House, her stately home.
The Mitford sisters' activity fascinated - and sometimes scandalised - British society in the 1940s. The Mitford sisters fascinated - and sometimes scandalised - British society in the 1940s.
One of her sisters, Unity, was a friend of Hitler and another, Diana, the second wife of British fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley. Unity was a friend of Hitler, Diana, the second wife of British fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley, and Jessica a left-wing polemicist.
But Deborah was more focused on her home life. Nicknamed the "housewife duchess", she made Chatsworth one of the most successful and profitable stately homes in England. Deborah was more focused on her home life.
Nicknamed the "housewife duchess", she made Chatsworth in Derbyshire one of the most successful and profitable stately homes in England after marrying Andrew Cavendish in 1941.
But along with her siblings, during her lifetime she moved in the same circles as Sir Winston Churchill, John F Kennedy and Evelyn Waugh.
She also accompanied her sister Unity to tea with Hitler in 1937, acted as mistress of the robes at the Queen's coronation in 1953, was painted by Lucian Freud and amassed a collection of Elvis Presley memorabilia.
The statement from her son said: "It is with great sadness that I have to inform you that Deborah, Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, has passed away peacefully this morning."
It added that an announcement about funeral arrangements would be made shortly.
Born Deborah Vivien Freeman-Mitford on 31 March 1920, the duchess was the sixth daughter of the 2nd Baron Redesdale.Born Deborah Vivien Freeman-Mitford on 31 March 1920, the duchess was the sixth daughter of the 2nd Baron Redesdale.
The Mitfords' childhood at at the Mitford home in the Oxfordshire village of Swinbrook was immortalised in her sister Nancy's novels, The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate. The Mitfords' childhood at their family home in the Oxfordshire village of Swinbrook was immortalised in her sister Nancy's novels, The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate.
Her parents made a poor job of hiding their disappointment that Deborah had not been born a boy, leaving Thomas their only son.Her parents made a poor job of hiding their disappointment that Deborah had not been born a boy, leaving Thomas their only son.
The Mitfords' father disapproved of educating girls, famously insisting that hockey would make their ankles fat, and Deborah spent her formative years skating and hunting.The Mitfords' father disapproved of educating girls, famously insisting that hockey would make their ankles fat, and Deborah spent her formative years skating and hunting.
Her sister Unity's infatuation with Hitler saw the young Deborah invited to tea with the German dictator, although the visit made little impression on her.
"If you sat in a room with Churchill," she later recalled, "you were aware of this tremendous charisma. Kennedy had it too. But Hitler didn't - not to me anyway."