Countess of Derwentwater

In September 1868, Amelia took active steps to assert her claim by forcibly taking possession of the old ruined castle at Dilston.

She hoisted the Radclyffe flag on the ancient tower, and suspended portraits of the family on the ruined walls of the principal hall.

The latter died in 1833, having married, late in life, Amelia Anna Charlotte, Princess Sobieski, a descendant of the noted Polish family of that name.

[4] The Countess of Derwentwater was quite a character: when she took a steamer at Jersey City for Liverpool, her wardrobe was said to consist of over two hundred rich and elaborately trimmed dresses.

Ralph Arnold in his 1959 book Northern Lights suggests that she may have been a lady’s maid from Dover by the name of Burke though he offers no further explanation of this.