caption predecessor successor death_date birth_place death_place children title parents term birth_date spouse image article_title birth_name
hathaway in may 1945 william frederick collings michael beaumont 14 july 1974 guernsey sark francis william beaumont and 7 others dame of sark william frederick collings and sophie moffatt 1927 -- 1974 13 january 1884 dudley died beaumont 1901 1918 died robert hathaway 1929 1954 sibyl hathaway.jpg sibyl hathaway
 sibyl mary collings
sibyl hathaway

dame sibyl mary hathaway , dbe -lrb- née collings ; 13 january 1884 -- 14 july 1974 -rrb- was dame of sark from 1927 until her death .
her 47-year tenure spanned the reigns of four overlords : george v , edward viii , george vi and elizabeth ii .
hathaway was a financially troubled widow with six children when she succeeded her eccentric father , william frederick collings , as feudal lord of sark , one of the small channel islands .
she immediately set about reinforcing her feudal rights and promoting tourism on the island , which she affectionately called `` the last bastion of feudalism '' .
when she remarried in 1929 , her second husband , robert hathaway , legally became her senior co-ruler , but she kept control of the government .
hathaway 's tenure as dame saw the german occupation of the channel islands in the second world war , during which she refused to evacuate and convinced the islanders to stay as well .
her eldest son and heir apparent , francis william beaumont , was killed in 1941 , while her husband was deported to a nazi concentration camp in 1943 .
hathaway remains best known for her indomitable conduct during the occupation .
after the war , she continued her publicity campaign , strengthening the island 's tourism industry .
having been widowed again in 1954 , she went on to rule alone , and was made dame commander of the order of the british empire in 1965 .
she was described by a british government official as a `` lady of unusual personality '' , and is often referred to as a benevolent dictator .
dame sibyl died at the age of 90 , and was succeeded by her grandson , michael beaumont .
