David Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley

Lord Cholmondeley is a descendant of Sir Robert Walpole (1676–1745), the first Prime Minister of Great Britain.

He is the son of Hugh Cholmondeley, 6th Marquess of Cholmondeley, and Lavinia, Marchioness of Cholmondeley (née Leslie).

He is also a descendant of both the Rothschild family and the Sassoon family through his paternal grandmother, Sybil Sassoon.

He has three older sisters: the Ladies Rose, Margot (previously married to Tony Huston), and Caroline (married to Baron Rodolphe d'Erlanger).

Like many members of his family, Cholmondeley was educated at Eton College.

He later took classes at the Sorbonne in Paris.

Lord Cholmondeley is a filmmaker.

Houghton Hall, ancestral home of the Marquesses of Cholmondeley since the establishment of the title in 1815, opens some of its rooms to the public.

Her maternal grandmother is Lady Elizabeth Lambart, daughter of Field Marshal Rudolph Lambart, 10th Earl of Cavan; Lady Elizabeth was one of the bridesmaids at the 1947 wedding of Princess Elizabeth; her paternal grandmother, Sara, was the daughter of racing driver Sir Tim Birkin, 3rd Baronet.

David George Philip Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley, (born 27 June 1960), styled Viscount Malpas from birth until 1968, and subsequently Earl of Rocksavage until 1990, is a British peer and filmmaker who acted as Lord Great Chamberlain of the United Kingdom from 1990 to 2022.

In 1974, at the age of fourteen, Cholmondeley, then known as the Earl of Rocksavage, was appointed as a Page of Honour to Queen Elizabeth II.

He relinquished this role upon reaching the age limit in 1976.

One moiety of the ancient office of Lord Great Chamberlain is a Cholmondeley inheritance.

This hereditary honour came into the Cholmondeley family through the marriage of the first Marquess of Cholmondeley to Lady Georgiana Charlotte Bertie, daughter of General Peregrine Bertie, 3rd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven.

The second, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh holders of the marquessate have all held this office.

As David Rocksavage, he also appeared in a small part in Eric Rohmer's film 4 aventures de Reinette et Mirabelle (1987).

His professional name is derived from his title of Earl of Rocksavage.

His chosen career was put on hold when he succeeded to the marquessate in 1990.

Cholmondeley became Marquess of Cholmondeley on 13 March 1990, upon the death of his father.

Cholmondeley also inherited a half share of the office of Lord Great Chamberlain, and succeeded his father in exercising the function of the office for the duration of Queen Elizabeth II's reign.

As Lord Great Chamberlain, Cholmondeley was ex officio a member of the House of Lords and attended the House of Lords in his ceremonial role such as at the State Opening of Parliament, although he did not sit in the House of Lords for debates as he was on a leave of absence.

Upon Queen Elizabeth II's death on 8 September 2022, Lord Cholmondeley ceased to be Lord Great Chamberlain and a member of the House of Lords, with the office of the Lord Great Chamberlain passing to Rupert Carington, 7th Baron Carrington.

The family seats are Houghton Hall in Norfolk, and Cholmondeley Castle, which is surrounded by a 7500 acre estate near Malpas, Cheshire.

Cholmondeley exercised the office of Lord Great Chamberlain from 1990 to 2022, during the reign of Elizabeth II; in the event Charles III ceases to be king before Cholmondeley's death, he would exercise the office again (or nominate a deputy).

In March 2023, he was appointed a permanent lord-in-waiting.

In 1995, he directed the film adaptation of Truman Capote's novel Other Voices, Other Rooms.

In 2007, he directed The Wreck (working title), starring Jean Simmons and James Wilby.

The film was shot in Norfolk.

According to the Sunday Times Rich List in 2008, Cholmondeley has an estimated net worth of approximately £60m, attributed primarily to his inherited landholdings.

It was later renamed Shadows in the Sun and released in 2009.

Lord Cholmondeley married (Sarah) Rose Hanbury, a fashion model, on 24 June 2009, their engagement having been announced two days prior.

She is a daughter of Timothy Hanbury, a website designer, and Emma Hanbury (née Longman), a fashion designer.

The landed gentry Hanbury family lived at Holfield Grange, Coggeshall, Essex.

Three-and-a-half months after their wedding, on 12 October 2009, the Marchioness gave birth to twin sons, Alexander Hugh George and Oliver Timothy George.

The elder son, Alexander, as heir apparent to the Marquessate, bears the courtesy title of Earl of Rocksavage; his brother is known as Lord Oliver Cholmondeley.

In March 2016, the Marquess and Marchioness had their third child, a daughter, Lady Iris Marina Aline Cholmondeley.

A friendship between the Marquess and Marchioness and Prince William and his wife, the Princess of Wales, has been reported; the Marchioness is a patron of the charity East Anglia's Children's Hospices (EACH), along with the Princess.

Lord Oliver Cholmondeley was a page of honour at the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla on 6 May 2023 at which the Marquess wore his Coronation robes.

He subsequently served as a page of honour to the King.

As the eldest son of the heir apparent of the 5th Marquess, he was known from birth by the courtesy title of Viscount Malpas.