Rose Hanbury's Sister Marina Also Married A Much Older British Aristocrat
The age gap between Rose Hanbury, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley, and David Rocksavage, the 7th Marquis of Cholmondeley, has been keeping social media afloat since rumors of her affair with Prince William took off. Rose is nearly 2.5 decades younger than Rocksavage, making their respective ages 40 and 63, as of April 2024. Although the Rocksavages share a considerable age gap, their relationship appears perfectly normal. They even have three children — two of whom were born during their first year of marriage, in 2009. They live in an enormous Norfolk estate called Houghton Hall.
Rose's older sister Marina also married a British aristocrat who is several decades older. Marina's husband is Edward "Ned" Lambton, the 7th Earl of Durham, who is 21 years her senior. They took the marital plunge in 2011, and Marina announced their engagement one year earlier, in March of 2010, after only dating for three weeks The Daily Mail reported that Rose's previous relationship with Lambton's son helped push Marina and her soon-to-be husband into the same circle. "It's all a bit incestuous because Rose dated Fred when she was younger and Marina also shared a flat with him for a while," shared an insider.
Ned Lambton is incredibly wealthy
According to The Daily Mail, Marina Hanbury and Rose Hanbury had a sibling rivalry, which may have led Marina to seek out an older, established man to marry. Rose Hanbury had been married to David Rocksavage (and had two of his kids) for over a year by the time that Marina and Ned Lambton's romance culminated into an engagement. Whether or not sibling envy actually inspired their union remains to be seen. Regardless, Marina picked well as Lambton comes from a long line of wealth and social status. He also boasted an impressive real estate catalog at the time of their engagement. A few years earlier, he'd inherited £12 million and an Italian estate, from his late father, Lord Lambton.
According to a 2012 profile by Vanity Fair, Lambton completely renovated the property, dubbed Villa Cetinale, where his father once hosted King Charles III, and other important public figures. The project took five years and addressed upgrades for several features of the property — including the estate's food, which was nearly universally panned in the past. "It was disgusting," Lambton shared in the profile. "Mrs. Ward, instead of hiring a chef, had these Australian girls on their gap years do the cooking." He continued, "I wasn't here when Prince Charles visited, but he went to Gordonstoun, where the food is horrid, so it must have reminded him of his childhood. He may have liked it."
Ned Lambton dreamed of marrying Marina Hanbury
Ned Lambton knew that he wanted to marry Marina Hanbury before he popped the question. In fact, Lambton even once dreamed about wedding her. "I had this dream that Marina and I were married," he said later in the Vanity Fair piece. "We were in love and blissfully happy." Unfortunately, Lambton didn't know if they could work because of their age differences. "I've known Marina forever. But I never thought I would end up with her," he continued. "There is a 20-year age gap." However, he took a leap of faith and professed his love for her. "I know I am way too old for you but I love you," he shared in a Facebook message.
Fortunately, Marina was on board and returned his affection. "I told him I'd loved him since I was 18," Marina shared with Vanity Fair. "I'd always had a crush on him, but I felt it was unrealistic. I never thought anything would happen. But we met up for dinner in London, and three weeks later we were engaged." Today, Hanbury and Lambton are still just as happy and still living in the palatial property. In 2020, Marina debuted their youngest child, Arthur, on Instagram. "Wearing my Villa Cetinale robe with my newborn son, Arthur. Both perfect!" Marina wrote alongside the post.