Isobel Jane Miller Percy, Duchess of Northumberland, (née Richard; born 11 May 1958), is a British aristocrat and businesswoman. She served as Lord Lieutenant of Northumberland from 2009 to 2024, and is best known for redeveloping the Alnwick Garden at Alnwick Castle. She was the first woman to serve as Lord Lieutenant of Northumberland. Her husband, Ralph, is the 12th Duke of Northumberland.
Contents
Early life
Jane Richard was born in Edinburgh in 1958. She is one of four children of the stockbroker John Richard (1933–2003), as well as sororal grandniece of the all-round sportsman Max Woosnam. Her mother, Angela, Lady Buchan-Hepburn (née Scott), was the owner of Kailzie Gardens, an income-generating family garden located in the Scottish Borders. Her parents divorced in the early 1970s and both remarried; her stepmother Christine was a Conservative group leader on the City of Edinburgh Council, while her stepfather was Sir Ninian Buchan-Hepburn, 6th Baronet (1922–1992).
As a child, Jane Richard helped her mother maintain Kailzie Gardens and aspired to become a champion figure-skater, practicing for the Scottish Junior Championships at Murrayfield Ice Rink. She quit when she was 13 and was enrolled at Cobham Hall School in Kent.