Sir Henry Alan Walter Richard Percy, (14th Bt), 11th Duke of

Northumberland; born July 1, 1953, died October 30, 1995.

THE 11th Duke of Northumber-

land, who died on Monday at Syon House aged 42, was the eldest son of

the 10th Duke of Northumberland and his duchess, Lady Elizabeth Montagu

Douglas Scott, daughter of the 9th Duke of Buccleuch. He was a godson of

the Queen.

Belonging to one of Britain's most blue-blooded families, he was

directly related to six other dukedoms. His maternal grandmother was a

daughter of the 7th Duke of Richmond and Gordon. His maternal

great-grandmother was the daughter of the 8th Duke of Argyll; Lady

Elizabeth Percy, his aunt, was married to the 14th Duke of Hamilton &

Brandon; Lady Diana Percy was married to the 6th Duke of Sutherland. His

mother's cousin was married to the 7th Duke of Portland.

The Percy family have been an influential and turbulent dynasty in

England ever since their founder, William de Percy, arrived from

Normandy with William the Conqueror in 1066 for the Battle of Hastings.

Richard de Percy was one of the chief nobles to force King John to sign

the Magna Carta in 1215, and Henry de Percy assisted Edward I of England

in his attempts to subjugate Scotland. In return for his support, Henry

was granted Robert the Bruce's forfeited titles and lands in the north

of England.

Harry ''Hotspur'' Percy, the soldier-statesman, inspired the excitable

character featured in William Shakespeare's Henry IV. The 6th Earl of

Northumberland was the lover of Anne Boleyn; the 8th Earl was a

supporter of Mary Queen of Scots.

Educated at Eton, and Christ Church, Oxford, where he studied history,

Harry Northumberland inherited the great estates of Alnwick Castle,

Northumberland, and Syon House in Middlesex, at the age of 35. The

fortune, although entailed for future generations, was considerable.

Estimated at over #200m in total, assets include Tottenham football

ground. At Syon, the walls are hung with a vast collection of old

masters, numbering among them Titians, Tintorettos and Van Dycks.

From an early age he had been fascinated by the cinema and

film-making. This led him to found a film company, Hotspur Productions,

investing his own money into its first production Lost in Africa, shot

in Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Botswana, about a tourist party kidnapped by

ivory poachers. He was a regular guest at film premieres, and only last

week attended the opening of Haunted in London's Leicester Square.

Despite having been in ill-health for most of his adult life (he

suffered from ME, a renal illness, and depression), he took the

responsibilities of his title and inheritance very seriously, and was

deeply concerned for the welfare of all those who depended upon him.

A particular interest was the preservation of Britain's national

heritage, as evidenced by the care and attention he lavished upon his

own two great stately homes, notably Syon which has become one of

London's major tourist attractions.

He did not marry, but for a time his name was romantically linked with

a number of glamorous companions, including Barbara Carrera, the

Nicaraguan-born actress and former 007 girl. Athough shy by nature, his

shrewd intelligence, breadth of interests, and simple, unaffected charm

made him a much-loved figure by those who knew him well.

The dukedom now passes to his younger brother Lord Ralph Percy, a land

agent, who is married to Jane Richard, daughter of John Richard, former

chairman of the Scottish Stock Exchange, and Angela, Lady Buchan

Hepburn. They have two sons and two daughters.