Francis Grosvenor, 8th Earl of Wilton

Summary

Francis Egerton Grosvenor, 8th Earl of Wilton (born 8 February 1934), is an Anglo-Australian aristocrat, and academic.

The Earl of Wilton
Earl of Wilton
Assumed office
1999
Preceded bySeymour Egerton
Baron Ebury
Assumed office
5 May 1957
Preceded byRobert Grosvenor
Personal details
Born
Francis Egerton Grosvenor

(1934-02-08) 8 February 1934 (age 90)
Spouses
Gilian Soames
(m. 1957; div. 1962)
Kyra Aslin
(m. 1963; div. 1973)
Suzanne Suckling
(m. 1974; died 2018)
Children
  • Julian, Viscount Grey de Wilton
  • Lady Georgina Mitev
Parents
Alma materMelbourne University

Early life edit

Lord Wilton is the eldest son of Robert Egerton Grosvenor, 5th Baron Ebury, DSO, and his first wife, Anne Acland-Troyte. He succeeded his father as 6th Baron Ebury in 1957 and his fourth cousin, Seymour Egerton, as 8th Earl of Wilton in 1999.[1]

Lord Wilton is also heir presumptive to the title Marquess of Westminster currently held by his distant cousin Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster.

Career edit

Educated at Eton College, he pursued a career in the financial services industry in London, Melbourne and Hong Kong, before taking a doctorate in Philosophy-Arts at Melbourne University (2001), where he taught as Dr Francis Ebury.[2]

Lord Wilton served on the Board of Directors of Victorian Opera (Melbourne) 2012–17.[3]

Marriages and children edit

Lord Wilton has married three times.[4] He was married firstly on 10 December 1957 to Gillian Elfrida Astley Soames (marriage dissolved 1962). They had one son:

Secondly, he married Kyra Aslin on 8 March 1963 (marriage dissolved 1973) without issue.

Thirdly, he married Suzanne Jean Suckling (4 August 1943 – 12 April 2018) in 1974. They remained married until her death 44 years later and had one daughter:

  • Lady Georgina Lucy Grosvenor (29 March 1973 – 16 August 2003), a noted violist, married in 2000 to Dr Peter Mitev.[5]

His third wife was a biographer who wrote under the name "Sue Ebury": The Many Lives of Kenneth Myer; Weary the Life of Sir Edward Dunlop, Weary: King Of The River. An editor and publisher, Lady Wilton was also a member of the Development Council of the National Library of Australia and patron of the Australian Garden History Society.

Styles edit

References edit

  1. ^ Cracroft's Peerage
  2. ^ University of Melbourne: Publications (Dr Francis Ebury)
  3. ^ www.victorianopera.com.au
  4. ^ The Peerage
  5. ^ www.endeavor.bg

External links edit

  • The Genealogy of the Existing British Peerage: With Sketches of the Family Histories of the Nobility Saunders and Otley, 1838
  • www.burkespeerage.com
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Earl of Wilton
1999–present
Incumbent
Heir apparent:
Julian Grosvenor,
Viscount Grey de Wilton
Preceded by Baron Ebury
1957–present