Fiona Mary Petty-Fitzmaurice, Marchioness of Lansdowne, (née Merritt; born 3 October 1954), previously known professionally as Fiona Shelburne, is a British aristocrat, socialite and interior designer.
Lady Lansdowne was appointed to the Royal Household as a Queen's Companion in 2022.
Life
Born in 1954, Fiona Merritt married in 1987, as his second wife, Charles Petty-Fitzmaurice, Earl of Shelburne, being styled by courtesy as Countess of Shelburne, then Marchioness of Lansdowne upon her husband succeeding to his father's titles in 1999.
The family seat is Bowood House, Wiltshire. Close friends of King Charles III and Queen Camilla, she is godmother of the Queen's daughter, Laura Lopes.
Career
Fiona Merritt trained as an interior designer at the Inchbald School of Design and worked for Colefax & Fowler. She first met her husband (then Lord Shelburne) on a working visit to Bowood while employed by Charles Hammond in the early 1980s.
Lord and Lady Lansdowne have overseen the restoration of Bowood House.
Appointments
Lady Lansdowne was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Wiltshire in 2019, and High Sheriff of Wiltshire for 2022–23.
In 2022, Lady Lansdowne was appointed one of six Queen's Companions, the modern equivalent of Ladies-in-Waiting, serving at the King's coronation on 6 May 2023 as one of Queen Camilla's Ladies-in-attendance.