His Grace
The Duke of Beaufort
Personal details
Born
Henry John FitzRoy Somerset

(1952-05-22) 22 May 1952
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1987; div. 2018)​
    ​
    (m. 2018)​
    Children
    • Robert Somerset, Marquess of Worcester
    • Lady Isabella Somerset
    • Lord Alexander Somerset
    Parents

    Henry John FitzRoy Somerset, 12th Duke of Beaufort (born 22 May 1952), styled Marquess of Worcester between 1984 and 2017, also known as Harry Beaufort or Bunter Beaufort, previously as Bunter Worcester,[1] is an English peer and landowner with estates in Gloucestershire and Wiltshire based at Badminton House.

    Biography

    Beaufort is the son of the 11th Duke of Beaufort and his wife, Lady Caroline Jane Thynne (1928–1995), a daughter of the 6th Marquess of Bath of Longleat House. He and his family are descended in the male line from the House of Plantagenet, through an illegitimate line, although this descent has been questioned after the University of Leicester analysis of the Y chromosomal DNA of Richard III found most living male heirs of the 5th Duke of Beaufort carried a relatively common Y chromosome type different from the rare lineage found in Richard III's remains.

    Beaufort was educated at Hawtreys, Eton College, and the Royal Agricultural College.

    He is a singer and songwriter with the rock group The Listening Device. This was a support act at the Highclere Rocks concert in 2006, which also featured Bryan Ferry, Eric Clapton, and Roger Waters.[2]

    Since the death of his father, Beaufort is also master of the Duke of Beaufort's Hunt.[3]

    Personal life

    His first wife was the environmentalist and former actress Tracy Louise Ward (a sister of Rachel Ward and a granddaughter of William Ward, 3rd Earl of Dudley). They were married on 13 June 1987 at Cornwell, in Oxfordshire, but later separated, and were divorced in 2018. The marriage produced three children:[4]

    • Henry Robert FitzRoy Somerset, Marquess of Worcester, formerly known as Earl of Glamorgan (b. 20 January 1989);[5] married Lucy Eleanor Yorke-Long (b. 23 June 1986), in August 2020.[6] They have one son: Henry, Earl of Glamorgan (b. 28 May 2021)
    • Lady Isabella Elsa Somerset (b. 3 August 1992)[5]
    • Lord Alexander Lorne Somerset (b. 19 November 1993)[5]

    On 30 April 2018, Beaufort married secondly Georgia Powell (born 18 February 1969), a granddaughter of the novelist Anthony Powell.[5][7]

    Family tree

    Arms

    Coat of arms of Henry Somerset, 12th Duke of Beaufort
    Notes
    The coat of arms of the Duke of Beaufort
    Coronet
    The coronet of a Duke
    Crest
    A Portcullis Or nailed Azure and chained of the first
    Escutcheon
    Quarterly, 1st and 4th, Azure three Fleurs-de-lys Or (France), 2nd and 3rd, Gules three Lions passant guardant in pale Or (England), all within a Bordure compony Argent and Azure
    Supporters
    Dexter: a Panther Argent flames issuing from his mouth and ears proper plain collared and chained Or and semée of Torteaux, Hurts and Pommes alternately
    Sinister: a Wyvern with wings endorsed Vert holding in its mouth a Sinister Hand couped at the wrist Gules
    Motto
    Mutare vel timere sperno (Latin for "I scorn to change or to fear")

    Notes

    1. ↑ Tatler http://www.tatler.com/the-tatler-list/w/bunter-worcester Archived 28 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine
    2. ↑ Countryside Alliance: Ferry joins Clapton and Waters for rock benefit Archived 21 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine, politics.co.uk, 13 April 2006. Accessed 25 April 2008.
    3. ↑ Duke of Beaufort's Hunt Contact List, beauforthunt.com, accessed 21 June 2021
    4. ↑ Google Groups — Peerage News
    5. 1 2 3 4 Susan Morris, Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage 2019 (2020), p. 3,290
    6. ↑ Annabelle Spranklen, The Marquess of Worcester ties the knot with fiancée Lucy Yorke-Long in small ceremony at Badminton House: Love is in the heir, Tatler, 2 September 2020
    7. ↑ Duke of Beaufort marries Georgia Powell dated Tuesday, 1 May 2018 at Peerage News online, accessed 5 August 2018


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