You might recognise her dulcet tones from the podcasting airwaves, but Emma Manners, Duchess of Rutland is also at the helm of one of the UK’s finest stately homes, Belvoir Castle.
Who is Emma Manners, Duchess of Rutland?
Emma Manners, Duchess of Rutland, was born Emma Watkins. She is the daughter of a farmer from Knighton, Powys, and grew up to work as an estate agent in London and subsequently as an interior designer.
As well as helping run the Belvoir Castle estate, Emma Manners has presented on various TV programmes, including ITV’s Castles, Keeps and Country Homes.
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In 2021 she created the Duchess podcast, in which she interviewed the women at the head of other castles and stately homes around the UK. Her guests included Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill of Blenheim Palace and Lady Mansfield of Scone Palace.
Find out what the difference is between a palace and a castle here.
Her autobiography The Accidental Duchess: From Farmer’s Daughter to Belvoir Castle was published in 2022 with Pan Macmillan. In it, she outlines her journey to being the chatelaine (lady of the castle) of Belvoir Castle, the ancestral home of the Dukes of Rutland, and the challenges she faced and advice she picked up along the way.
Buy The Accidental Duchess from Amazon
Belvoir Castle is not only the Duke and Duchess of Rutland’s home, but also the venue for many commercial activities, such as shooting parties and weddings, which the Duchess manages.
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Who is Emma Manners married to and how many children do they have?
Emma Manners married her husband David Manners, 11th Duke of Rutland, in 1992. They have gone on to have five children together.
The children of Emma Manners, Duchess of Rutland:
- Lady Violet Diana Louise Manners
- Lady Alice Louisa Lilly Manners
- Lady Eliza Charlotte Manners
- Charles John Montague, Marquess of Granby
- Lord Hugo William James Manners