Public mourners invited to Requiem Mass for Dowager Duchess of Rutland

The late Dowager Duchess of Rutland pictured with her son, David Manners, the current Duke of Rutland

Members of the public can pay their respects at the service, at 11.30am on Saturday at St Mary’s Church, at Bottesford.

Frances Manners, Duchess of Rutland, who was known as the Dowager, died at her home at Belvoir Lodge, on the Belvoir Castle estate.

She was the widow of Charles Manners, the 10th Duke of Rutland, who passed away in 1999.

The late Dowager Duchess of Rutland pictured with former Rutland and Melton MP, Alan Duncan

The couple, who married in 1958, had four children, including David Charles Robert Manners, the 11th Duke of Rutland, who is married to, but separated from, Emma Manners, the current Duchess of Rutland.

The Dowager was born Frances Helen Sweeny on June 19, 1937, in London.

She bred Arabian horses and, in her previous role at chatelaine of Belvoir Castle, played a leading role in transforming the gardens which had been neglected since the Second World War.