Napier Marten

Napier Marten
Born
Napier Anthony Sturt Marten

1959 (age 64–65)
NationalityBritish
EducationEton College
Occupation(s)Landowner, Crichel House
SpouseVirginie De Selliers (divorced)
Children4, including Constance Marten
Parent(s)Toby Marten
Mary Anna Marten
RelativesNapier Sturt, 3rd Baron Alington (grandfather)

Napier Anthony Sturt Marten (born in 1959) is a British aristocrat and former page to Queen Elizabeth II from 1973 to 1975. He is known for his connection to the Sturt-Marten family, a lineage of wealthy landowners with historical ties to the British royal family and his mother's friendship with Queen Elizabeth II.

Early life

Napier Anthony Sturt Marten (born 1959) was born into the Sturt/Marten family. His aristocrat mother was a British Museum trustee, Mary Anna Marten OBE (née Sturt) and his father, Royal Navy, lieutenant commander Toby Marten. Napier's maternal grandfather was land owner, Lord Alington, Captain Napier Sturt. Marten's sister is the writer Charlotte Mosley.[1][2][3] Marten grew up in Crichel House, (which he subsequently inherited) a palatial 18th-century Georgian estate in Dorset, England, with his five sisters. He was educated at Eton College.[1]

Personal life

Napier's familial ties extended to the royal family through his mother, Mary Anna Marten, a childhood friend of royal sisters, Princess Margaret, and Queen Elizabeth II. She was the god-daughter of the late Queen Mother.[4][5]

Marten and his ex-wife, counsellor Virginie De Selliers (b.1959) had four children together, daughter Constance (b.1987) and their sons Maximilian[3] (b.1989) Freddie and Tobias (b.1992).[6] The Independent newspaper reported that in or around 1996, Marten disappeared and emerged in Australia. He subsequently handed control of the Crichel Estate to his son Max in 2013. Max reportedly sold the house with part of the farming acreage, for £34m. Marten on his return to the UK from Australia, worked as a tree surgeon and is now a film and music producer and philanthropist.[6]

Honours

From 1973 to 1975, Napier served as a Page of Honour to Queen Elizabeth II.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b "Constance Marten arrested: who is her father and when was his own disappearance?". Yahoo News. 1 March 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  2. ^ Edemariam, Aida (23 May 2008). "Hay festival: Hitler, my sisters and me". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  3. ^ a b "A Romantic Late Summer Wedding at St. Giles House in Dorset, England". Vogue. 23 February 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  4. ^ "Who is Napier Marten? Father who made emotional appeal for daughter missing with baby". The Independent. 1 March 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  5. ^ "Inside Crichel House, the family home where aristocrat Constance Marten grew up". The Independent. 2 March 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Constance Marten: The missing aristocrat, her rapist partner and the family rift". The Independent. 3 March 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  7. ^ "CROWN OFFICE" (PDF). The London Gazette. 11 May 1973. The QUEEN has been graciously pleased to appoint Napier Anthony Sturt Marten, Esquire, to be a Page of Honour to Her Majesty in the room of the Honourable George Reginald Oliver Molyneux Herbert, who relinquishes the Appointment having reached the age limit for retirement.