Colonel Whitbread

"Once again Rupert had acquired an interest in an enterprise with partners that were old, established firms. Again he had chosen his partners carefully, people who also had networks of influential friends and acquaintances. Heineken was an old Dutch brewery with a strong family tradition.10 Whitbread (London) had been launched in London by Samuel Whitbread I in 1742. Colonel Whitbread, who had close links with the royal family, was chairman of the British company in the 1960s and became vice-chairman of the South African company."

"When Colonel Whitbread announced his intention to visit South Africa at the end of 1964, Rupert had a large reception arranged for him. He and Huberte went to great lengths to welcome the colonel and his wife, as was typical of the way in which they received guests. Visitors, like the Whitbreads, not only found flowers and fruit in their hotel rooms but also a book, usually about South Africa’s cultural and natural heritage."