Rufus Arnold Alexis Keppel, 10th Earl of Albemarle (born 16 July 1965) is an award-winning product designer and the founder of the men's-shirt company Albemarle of London.http://www.albemarleoflondon.com

Early life and education

Albemarle is the son of Derek William Charles Keppel, Viscount Bury and his wife, the former Marina Davidoff, a daughter of Count Serge Orloff-Davidoff. Since his father predeceased his grandfather, the 9th Earl of Albemarle, Keppel succeeded to the Earldom at the age of fourteen on the death of his paternal grandfather in 1979. He is known professionally as Rufus Albemarle.

Keppel's early life was spent living with his parents successively in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. He was educated at St. Christopher School in Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...

 and Chelsea School of Art in London as well as Central St Martins School of Art & Design.

Marriage and child

The Earl of Albemarle married Sally Claire Tadayon, a sculptor of Danish and Persian ancestry, in 2001 in Havana

Havana

Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...

, Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

. Tom Ford

Tom Ford

Thomas Carlyle "Tom" Ford is an American fashion designer and film director. He gained international fame for his turnaround of the Gucci fashion house and the creation of the Tom Ford label before directing the Oscar-nominated film A Single Man.-Early life :Tom Ford was born August 27, 1961 in...

 of Yves St Laurent designed the bride's gown and the wedding was featured in Town & Country

Town & Country (magazine)

Town & Country, formerly the Home Journal and The National Press, is a monthly American lifestyle magazine. It is the oldest continually published general interest magazine in the United States.-Early history:...

and Vanity Fair

Vanity Fair (magazine)

Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...

.

The couple have one child, who is heir apparent

Heir apparent

An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....

 to the earldom:

• Augustus Sergei Darius Keppel, Viscount Bury, born in 2003.

Succession for Lord Great Chamberlain and its rotation system

Through his grandmother, Lord Albermarle has a one twentieth share in the succession for the office of Lord Great Chamberlain

Lord Great Chamberlain

The Lord Great Chamberlain of England is the sixth of the Great Officers of State, ranking beneath the Lord Privy Seal and above the Lord High Constable...

, one of the Great Officers of State in England and Wales.
His great-grandfather, the 1st Marquess of Lincolnshire (1843–1928) held a quarter share in the Office and was Lord Great Chamberlain from the accession of George V

George V

George V was king of the United Kingdom and its dominions from 1910 to 1936.George V or similar terms may also refer to:-People:* George V of Georgia * George V of Imereti * George V of Hanover...

until his death in 1928.

As his only son, Viscount Wendover, had been killed in action in 1915 his share was, according to the rule, equally divided between his five daughters (or in Lady Judith's case, her heir) as follows:

• Lady Marjorie Wynn-Carrington (1880–1968) oo Charles Wilson, 2nd Baron Nunburnholme
• Lady Alexandra Wynn-Carrington (1881–1955) oo Col. William Llewellyn Palmer
• Lady Ruperta Wynn-Carrington (1883–1963) oo Lord Dartmouth
• Derek Keppel, Viscount Bury, son of Lady Judith Wynn-Carrington (1889–1928) and Walter Keppel, 9th Earl of Albemarle.
• Lady Victoria Wynn-Carrington (1892–1966) oo (1) Lt. Nigel Legge-Bourke, (2) Maj. Hon Edric Weld-Forester.

Each of the above held one fifth of Lord Lincolnshire's quarter share in the office i.e. each held one twentieth share.

Derek Keppel, Viscount Bury died in 1968 and the current Lord Albermarle has held his father's one twentieth share since then. The then holder of this share will serve as Lord Great Chamberlain in the thirteenth reign after the current reign.

Titles and styles

• The Honourable Rufus Arnold Alexis Keppel (1965–1968)
• Viscount Bury (1968–1979)
• The Right Honourable The Earl of Albemarle (since 14 July 1979)