Marriage and children
In 1941, the then Lord Andrew Cavendish married The Honourable Deborah Freeman-Mitford (31 March 1920 – 24 September 2014), youngest daughter of David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale, and one of the Mitford sisters, in the Priory Church of St Bartholomew-the-Great, Smithfield, London.
Devonshire and his wife had seven children, four of whom died in utero or in infancy. The three surviving children were a son, Peregrine Cavendish, 12th Duke of Devonshire, and two daughters, Lady Emma Cavendish and Lady Sophia Topley.
Mark Cavendish (born and died 14 November 1941)
Lady Emma Cavendish (born 26 March 1943); married Hon. Tobias Tennant, son of Christopher Tennant, 2nd Baron Glenconner, on 3 September 1963. They have three children (including Stella Tennant) and ten grandchildren
Peregrine Cavendish, 12th Duke of Devonshire (born 27 April 1944); married Amanda Heywood-Lonsdale on 28 June 1967. They have four children and eight grandchildren.
Lord Victor Cavendish (born and died 22 May 1947)
Lady Mary Alice Cavendish (born and died 5 April 1953)
Lady Sophia Cavendish (born 18 March 1957); married Anthony Murphy on 20 October 1979 and they were divorced in 1987. She married Alastair Morrison, 3rd Baron Margadale, on 19 July 1988 and they were later divorced. They have two children: Hon. Declean Morrison (born 1993) and Hon. Nancy Morrison (born 1995). She married William Topley on 25 November 1999.
In December 1946, the Duchess had a miscarriage; had the child been born, it would have been a twin of Victor Cavendish, born in 1947.
The Duke's extramarital affairs became public after he appeared as a witness at a burglary trial and was forced to admit, under oath, that he was on holiday with one of a series of younger women when the crime occurred at his London home. The Duke, however, claimed that much of his marriage's success was due to the Duchess's tolerance and broadmindedness. The Duchess, as châtelaine, was largely responsible for the success of Chatsworth as a commercial endeavour.
