Living in the North East region also means being a part of Northumberland County. But being the Duchess of Northumberland – a woman who is known for her active approach to helping and supporting charities and organisations around herself – well, that is a story that cannot be better told than by the Duchess herself.
Jane Percy, known as Duchess of Northumberland is the wife of the 12th Duke of Northumberland, Ralph Percy. Throughout her role as a duchess, she kept preserving what she considered to be the best to do and help.
Alnwick as a place of projects
Her work was notoriously marked by launching the biggest project in her hometown of Alnwick so far – The Alnwick Garden. The site, close to Alnwick Castle where the Percy family officially lives until today, had come under a radical change while the deprived land after the effects of the 20th century rose in 1996 under the eye and care of Jane Percy. The new ambitious plans represent one of the biggest garden renovations in the modern history of the UK.
Looking at the publicity it has gained, the Duchess herself express a slightly different point of view.
But as Jane Percy admits, the final (and original) plan for the Garden has not been done yet. “The previous lack of money caused there still will be some changes, the steps in the centre, for example, will go. So I am not done with this project yet.“
“The previous lack of money caused there still will be some changes … so I am not done with this project yet.” – Jane Percy
Clash of interests?
Not many months ago in March 2024 Jane Percy officially left the second title she held – Lord Lieutenant of Northumberland, so she could focus on projects involving more of her personal and business plans. Besides Alnwick Gardens there is another project that brought attention to Alnwick town and Jane Percy stands behind its happening – the largest play site Lilidorei which is dedicated to the Christmas theme and encourages children to be more interactive through their visit. But the projects as Lilidorei require more attention and care than simple supervising – as the Duchess agrees: “It is a real big business work and the reason behind I resigned from the position of Lord Lieutenant.“
As she put her focus on Lilidorei, that is not the only site she has in mind for the upcoming years.
Is being a duchess the same as ‘being a woman’?
Relating more to the gender question and how she sees her women’s role being affected by possessing the title, Jane Percy sees the answer pretty clear. “Things have changed a lot and the roles of women have changed a lot, and there is progress, which is good. And everything that I have done I would do anyway, I think“, as she states there is no difference in who has the title but what actions you take and how exactly you help.
“A lot of people just want to see a duchess coming throughout the door – but there are a lot of prejudices, and misconceptions and preconceptions” … – Jane Percy
But leaning more towards the negative aspects of having a title, there are doubts as well. “A lot of people just want to see a duchess coming throughout the door – but there are a lot of prejudices, and misconceptions and preconceptions … so I think sometimes I must work harder than others to get people to listen“. Being a duchess opens you a door but once the door is open it is up to you as an individual to make it work and made people believe I am serious about things and I mean real business“
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