He commanded his regiment in the Second World War with the rank of lieutenant-colonel and was wounded in the leg by a shell splinter on 18 July 1944, suffering from attacks of septicaemia for the remainder of his life. In 1947 he was invalided out of the Army, but in 1950 was commissioned as a lieutenant in the WiltshireArmy Cadet Force.
On 11 April 1945, when he was third in line of succession to his eventual titles, he was married to Sally Perry, who was one of three extramarital daughters of Muriel Perry by Roger Ackerley. They were childless.
He is also known to have ordered the demolition of Alfred Waterhouse's Eaton Hall in 1963, at a time when Victorian architecture was unappreciated. It was replaced by a far smaller, modern house. At the time of the demolition, he was Britain's wealthiest peer.[citation needed]