According to The Daily Mail, Marina Hanbury and Rose Hanbury had a sibling rivalry, which may have led Marina to seek out an older, established man to marry. Rose Hanbury had been married to David Rocksavage (and had two of his kids) for over a year by the time that Marina and Ned Lambton’s romance culminated into an engagement. Whether or not sibling envy actually inspired their union remains to be seen. Regardless, Marina picked well as Lambton comes from a long line of wealth and social status. He also boasted an impressive real estate catalog at the time of their engagement. A few years earlier, he’d inherited £12 million and an Italian estate, from his late father, Lord Lambton.
According to a 2012 profile by Vanity Fair, Lambton completely renovated the property, dubbed Villa Cetinale, where his father once hosted King Charles III, and other important public figures. The project took five years and addressed upgrades for several features of the property — including the estate’s food, which was nearly universally panned in the past. “It was disgusting,” Lambton shared in the profile. “Mrs. Ward, instead of hiring a chef, had these Australian girls on their gap years do the cooking.” He continued, “I wasn’t here when Prince Charles visited, but he went to Gordonstoun, where the food is horrid, so it must have reminded him of his childhood. He may have liked it.”
