Henry Bathurst, 8th Earl Bathurst
Encyclopedia
Henry Allen John, 8th Earl Bathurst DL
(1 May 1927 – 16 October 2011), known as Lord Apsley from 1942 to 1943, was a British
Peer
, soldier and Conservative
politician. He was most recently known for an altercation with Prince William.
The eldest son of Allen Bathurst, Lord Apsley
, and his wife Violet
(née Meeking), he was educated at Eton College
, Ridley College
, St. Catharines, Ontario
, Canada
, and Christ Church, Oxford
. His father having been killed in 1942 while on active duty during World War II
he succeeded to the family titles on the death of his grandfather, the 7th Earl Bathurst
, in 1943.
Bathurst joined the military in 1948 and served in the 10th Royal Hussars and later the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars
. He later held political office under Harold Macmillan
as a Lord-in-Waiting
(government whip in the House of Lords) from 1957 to 1961 and as Joint Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department
from 1961 to 1962. He was a Deputy Lieutenant
for Gloucestershire
from 1960 to 1986, following which he left politics to run the family estate based around Cirencester Park
.
According to the 2003 Sunday Times Rich List he was tied at position #904 with a number of others.
Park, Gloucestershire
, the altercation occurred on the property of Lord Bathurst, who was driving a Land Rover
jeep, when Prince William, after playing polo at the club, overtook Lord Bathurst in a Volkswagen Golf
car. Lord Bathurst, unaware of the driver's identity, was infuriated by what he saw as a reckless disregard for the driving rules that guide the cooperation between his estate and the polo club. In his attempt to keep up with the Prince, Lord Bathurst engaged in off-road manoeuvres, finally being stopped by the Prince's security team. As Lord Bathurst told the BBC, "There are rules in the polo club about driving on [the Bathurst family] estate, and people have to stick to them." Ultimately, no harm was done, as there were no resulting injuries and Clarence House
issued a formal apology to Lord Bathurst.
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
(1 May 1927 – 16 October 2011), known as Lord Apsley from 1942 to 1943, was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Peer
Peerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
, soldier and Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politician. He was most recently known for an altercation with Prince William.
The eldest son of Allen Bathurst, Lord Apsley
Allen Bathurst, Lord Apsley
Allen Algernon Bathurst, Lord Apsley, DSO, MC, TD, DL was a British Conservative Party politician.-Family:...
, and his wife Violet
Violet Bathurst, Lady Apsley
Violet Emily Mildred Bathurst, Lady Apsley, CBE was a British Conservative Party politician. Upon the death of her husband Lord Apsley, she succeeded him as Member of Parliament for Bristol Central in a 1943 by-election...
(née Meeking), he was educated at Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
, Ridley College
Ridley College
Ridley College is a co-educational boarding and day university-preparatory school located in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, 20 miles from Niagara Falls...
, St. Catharines, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
. His father having been killed in 1942 while on active duty during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he succeeded to the family titles on the death of his grandfather, the 7th Earl Bathurst
Seymour Bathurst, 7th Earl Bathurst
Seymour Henry Bathurst, 7th Earl Bathurst, CMG, TD was a British nobleman, soldier and newspaper owner.-Family:He was a son of Allen Bathurst, 6th Earl Bathurst and Meriel Leicester Warren...
, in 1943.
Bathurst joined the military in 1948 and served in the 10th Royal Hussars and later the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars
Royal Gloucestershire Hussars
The Royal Gloucestershire Hussars was a unit of the British Army.Raised in 1795 following William Pitt's 1794 order to raise volunteer bodies of men to defend Great Britain, through various re-organisations, the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars remain today on the establishment of the Territorial...
. He later held political office under Harold Macmillan
Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....
as a Lord-in-Waiting
Whip (politics)
A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
(government whip in the House of Lords) from 1957 to 1961 and as Joint Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department
Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department
-Non-permanent and parliamentary under-secretaries, 1782-present:*April 1782: Evan Nepean*April 1782: Thomas Orde*July 1782: Henry Strachey*April 1783: George North*February 1784: Hon. John Townshend*June 1789: Scrope Bernard*July 1794: The Hon...
from 1961 to 1962. He was a Deputy Lieutenant
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
for Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
from 1960 to 1986, following which he left politics to run the family estate based around Cirencester Park
Cirencester House
Cirencester House , at Cirencester in Gloucestershire, England, is the seat of the Bathurst family, Earls Bathurst. Allen Bathurst, the first Earl Bathurst , inherited the estate on the death of his father, Sir Benjamin Bathurst, in 1704...
.
According to the 2003 Sunday Times Rich List he was tied at position #904 with a number of others.
Publicity
Bathurst was rather notoriously involved in an altercation with Prince William in the summer of 2003. According to the noted sources, Lord Bathurst, owner of CirencesterCirencester
Cirencester is a market town in east Gloucestershire, England, 93 miles west northwest of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswold District. It is the home of the Royal Agricultural College, the oldest agricultural...
Park, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, the altercation occurred on the property of Lord Bathurst, who was driving a Land Rover
Land Rover
Land Rover is a British car manufacturer with its headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire, United Kingdom which specialises in four-wheel-drive vehicles. It is owned by the Indian company Tata Motors, forming part of their Jaguar Land Rover group...
jeep, when Prince William, after playing polo at the club, overtook Lord Bathurst in a Volkswagen Golf
Volkswagen Golf
The Volkswagen Golf is a small family car manufactured by Volkswagen since 1974 and marketed worldwide across six generations, in various body configurations and under various nameplates – as the Volkswagen Rabbit in the United States and Canada , and as the Volkswagen Caribe in Mexico .The...
car. Lord Bathurst, unaware of the driver's identity, was infuriated by what he saw as a reckless disregard for the driving rules that guide the cooperation between his estate and the polo club. In his attempt to keep up with the Prince, Lord Bathurst engaged in off-road manoeuvres, finally being stopped by the Prince's security team. As Lord Bathurst told the BBC, "There are rules in the polo club about driving on [the Bathurst family] estate, and people have to stick to them." Ultimately, no harm was done, as there were no resulting injuries and Clarence House
Clarence House
Clarence House is a royal home in London, situated on The Mall, in the City of Westminster. It is attached to St. James's Palace and shares the palace's garden. For nearly 50 years, from 1953 to 2002, it was home to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, but is since then the official residence of The...
issued a formal apology to Lord Bathurst.
Marriages and Children
- Judith Mary Nelson (1959 –divorced 1976), with whom the Earl had three children:
- Allen Bathhurst, 9th Earl BathurstAllen Bathhurst, 9th Earl BathurstAllen Christopher Bertram Bathurst, 9th Earl Bathurst , known as Lord Apsley till 2011, is a British peer and conservationist.-Life:...
, born 11 March 1961 - Lady Henrietta Mary Lilias Bathurst, born 17 October 1962
- The Hon Alexander Edward Seymour Bathurst, born 8 August 1965
- Allen Bathhurst, 9th Earl Bathurst
External links
Titles and styles
- The HonThe HonourableThe prefix The Honourable or The Honorable is a style used before the names of certain classes of persons. It is considered an honorific styling.-International diplomacy:...
Henry Bathurst (1927–1942) - Lord Apsley (1942–1943)
- The Rt HonThe Right HonourableThe Right Honourable is an honorific prefix that is traditionally applied to certain people in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Anglophone Caribbean and other Commonwealth Realms, and occasionally elsewhere...
The Earl Bathurst (1943–2011)