Francis Grosvenor, 8th Earl of Wilton

The Right Honourable
The Earl of Wilton
The Right Honourable The Earl of Wilton
Earl of Wilton
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 1999
Preceded by	Seymour Egerton
Baron Ebury
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 5 May 1957
Preceded by	Robert Grosvenor
Personal details
Born	Francis Egerton Grosvenor; 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	Robert, 5th Baron Ebury; Anne Acland-Troyte;
Alma mater	Melbourne University

Francis Egerton Grosvenor, 8th Earl of Wilton (born 8 February 1934), also known as Lord Francis Ebury,^[1] is an Anglo-Australian aristocrat, and academic.

Early life

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

As the great-great-great-grandson of Robert Grosvenor, 1st Marquess of Westminster, Lord Wilton is also heir presumptive to the title Marquess of Westminster currently held by Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster, Lord Wilton's fourth cousin-once-removed. Lord Wilton's stepfather from 1941-1947 was Henry Peregrine Hoare (1901-1981), son of Lady Geraldine Mariana Hoare (née Hervey, 1869-1955) and great great-uncle of Olivia Grosvenor, Duchess of Westminster.^[2]^[3]

Career

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.^[4]

Lord Wilton served on the Board of Directors of Victorian Opera (Melbourne) 2012–17.^[5]

Marriages and children

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

Julian Francis Martin Grosvenor, Viscount Grey de Wilton (born 8 June 1959), heir apparent to the earldom and subsidiary titles, married in 1987 to Danielle Rossi (divorced 1989).

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

Thirdly, he married Suzanne Jean Suckling 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.^[6]

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

The Honourable Francis Grosvenor (1934–1957)
The Right Honourable the Lord Ebury (1957–1999)
The Right Honourable the Earl of Wilton (1999–present)

References

^ "Our Patrons". Melbourne Recital Centre. Retrieved 15 May 2023. Our Patrons : Dr Victor Wayne & Dr Karen Wayne OAM. $1,000+ ... Lord Francis Ebury & the late Lady Suzanne Ebury
^ Ward, Victoria (7 June 2024). "Duke of Westminster's Marquess title safe thanks to bride's distant relative". UK Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 6 June 2024. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
^ Morris, Susan (2020). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage. Debrett's. p. 4797. ISBN 978-1-9997670-5-1. Retrieved 19 May 2022. Wilton, Earl of - ([current earl is] Francis Edgerton Grosvenor) ...born 1934...8th Earl of Wilton in 1999...h[heir] p[presumptive] to the Marquessate of Westminster...[Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster is a fourth cousin of Francis Grosvenor, 8th Earl of Wilton]...
^ University of Melbourne: Publications (Dr Francis Ebury)
^ www.victorianopera.com.au
^ www.endeavor.bg

External links

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 Seymour Egerton	Earl of Wilton 1999–present	Incumbent Heir apparent: Julian Grosvenor, Viscount Grey de Wilton
Preceded by Robert Egerton Grosvenor	Baron Ebury 1957–present