Conrad Penny was born on 31 May 1951 in Durban, South Africa, the son of Errol Penny and Nina Hartdegen, Grandson of Magnus Penny and Elizabeth le Sueur, Great-Grandson of Herbert Penny (founder of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve in the Cape which ultimately led to the formation of the South African Navy) and Carlotta Forssman (daughter of Chevalier Oscar Wilhelm Alric Forssman).
He was educated at Street Stithians College (1964-1965) and Hyde Park High School (1966-1968) in Johannesburg and later passed the Valuer’s Exam set by The South African Council of Property Valuers Profession (SACPVP).
In 1996, Penny"s company Penny Brothers Brokers & Valuers (Pty) Limited. was awarded tenders for the valuation of the whole of Soweto, in Johannesburg), which valuation included over 325 000 dwellings. The tenders were awarded by the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality for taxing and rating purposes. This was the single largest valuation ever undertaken in Africa.
The Minister of Justice in South Africa, and is registered as a Professional Valuer with the South African Council for the Property Valuers Profession.
He is the owner of Chartwell Castle, in north western Johannesburg, where he laid out the largest permanent hedgerow maze in the Southern Hemisphere. In March 2015, Richard III of England"s descendants were in attendance at his re-internment having been traced by Kevin Schürer, a Professor in genealogy at the University of Leicester, and it was confirmed that Conrad Penny is related to Richard III. Penny is also a descendant of the following;
He thus attended the interment of King Richard III of England on 26 March 2015 as a recognized descendant, of not only the House of York and the House of Lancaster, but also of more than ten other participants in the 1485 Battle of Bosworth Field, namely:
Sir William Stanley Knight of the Order of the Garter, who led his men in a surprise attack on Richard lll (from behind, resulting in Richard’s death), John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford (leader of Henry Tudor’s Army), Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland (leader of the left flank of Richard lll’s army), Sir Roger Kynaston, Sir James Harrington (Yorkist Knight), Robert Harrington, (brother of the above), Charles Beaufort, 1st Earl of Worcester the son of the 2nd Duke of Somerset, Sir Humphrey Stafford Knight of the Order of the Garter, Humphrey of Grafton and Sir Richard Ratcliffe Knight of the Order of the Garter. The Penny family Pedigree is registered at The College of Arms in London.
Other lines of descent outside England include King Gustav I and Eric XIV of Sweden. Kings Louis IX and Philip IV of France and Robert the Bruce, King of the Scots.
Penny is a member of the Institute of Estate Agents of South Africa, a member of the South African Institute of Valuers, Appraiser to the Honorary
