Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp’s board is adding a woman to its ranks for the first time since 1999: a 27-year-old opera singer who lives in Europe and who is also a member of the Bancroft family.

As part of Mr Murdoch’s agreement to buy Dow Jones, owner of the Wall Street Journal, he offered Dow Jones’ controlling Bancroft family a seat on News Corp’s board. However, the family did not put forward a candidate within the timeframe offered to them, and Mr Murdoch then rejected some of their suggested candidates, settling on Natalie Bancroft.