Geoffrey Waldegrave, 12th Earl Waldegrave

Geoffrey Noel Waldegrave, 12th Earl Waldegrave, KG, GCVO, TD (21 November 1905 – 23 May 1995), known as Viscount Chewton from 1933 to 1936, was a British peer and agriculturist.

Coat of Arms of Geoffrey Waldegrave, 12th Earl Waldegrave: Per pale argent and gules.

Background and education

Waldegrave was the only son of the Rev. Henry Waldegrave, 11th Earl Waldegrave and was educated at Winchester and graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge in 1928.

Political career

In 1936, he succeeded to his father's titles and became a member of Somerset County Council in 1937. During World War II, he served with the Royal Artillery (Territorial Army) and was afterwards awarded the Legion of Merit and the Territorial Decoration.

Lord Waldegrave's career thereafter was as: chairman of the Agricultural Executive Council 1948–51; a member of the Prince's Council of the Duchy of Cornwall 1951–58; and 1965–76; a Liaison Officer of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to Somerset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire 1952–57; a Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food 1958–62; chairman of the Forestry Commission 1963–65; a member of the BBC General Advisory Council 1963–66; a director of Lloyds Bank 1964–76; Lord Warden of the Stannaries 1965–76; chairman of the Advisory Committee on Meat Research 1969–73 and President of Somerset Trust Nature Conservation 1964–80.

In 1976, he was made an Honorary Doctor of Laws by the University of Bristol and was awarded the Garter and the GCVO in 1971 and 1976, respectively.

Family

On 22 October 1930, he married Mary Hermione Grenfell (a great-niece of Francis Grenfell, 1st Baron Grenfell); the couple had seven children:

• Lady Sarah Waldegrave (born 23 October 1931) she married Ernest Wright (d. 2012) on 19 February 1955. They have two sons:
  • Thomas Geoffrey Wright (15 January 1956)
  • David Wright (22 July 1957)
• Lady Jane Waldegrave (b. 25 January 1934) she married Euan Howard, 4th Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal on 20 February 1954 and they were divorced in June 1977. They have six children and fifteen grandchildren. She remarried Duncan McIntosh on 22 September 1977.
  • The Honorable Jane Elizabeth Stirling Howard (23 January 1955) she married Nigel Morris-Jones in 1987. They have four children:
    • Sophia Venetia Morris-Jones (1989)
    • Lydia Iona Morris-Jones (1991)
    • Kiloran Imogen Morris-Jones (1993)
    • Eloïse Georgia Morris-Jones (1993)
  • The Honorable Katharine Mary Howard (11 September 1956) she married Gavin Strachan on 16 August 1975 and they were divorced in 1982. She remarried William Joll on 30 March 1982. They have three children:
    • Harry Augustus Joll (1983)
    • Flora Katharine Kiloran Joll (1985)
    • Hannah Olympia Joll (1988)
  • The Honorable Caroline Anne Howard (30 March 1959) she married Eugenio Lo Sardo in 1991. They have two sons:
    • Ruggiero Lo Sardo (1989)
    • Ottavia Lo Sardo (1992)
  • Donald Alexander Euan Howard, 5th Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal (24 June 1961) he married Jane Gibb on 9 June 1992. They have two children:
    • Donald Angus Ruaridh Howard (29 September 1994)
    • Amelia Alexandra Howard (4 May 1996)
  • Honorable Andrew Barnaby Howard (17 August 1963) he married Katharine E. Oldfield in 1994. They have one son:
    • Keir Hamish Shackleton Howard (2000)
  • The Honorable Emma Laura Louise Howard (17 August 1963) she married David Zuill on 18 May 1996. They divorced on the 20 November 2018. They have three children:
    • Joshua Zuill (1997)
    • William Zuill (1999)
    • Kiloran Zuill (2001)
• Lady Elizabeth Waldegrave (4 April 1936 – 19 February 2003) she married John James Evelyn Dewar, 4th Baron Forteviot on 17 October 1963. They have four children and six grandchildren:
  • The Honorable Mary Emma Jeronima Dewar (1 June 1965) she married Adam Humphrey Drummond, 17th Baron Strange in 1988. They have two children:
    • The Honorable Sophia Frances Drummond (19 March 1991)
    • The Honorable John Adam Humphrey Drummond (3 November 1992)
  • The Honorable Miranda Phoebe Dewar (1 March 1968) she married Philippe el Khazen on 15 February 2003. They have one daughter:
    • Zelfa Elisabeth el Khazen (16 December 2003)
  • The Honorable Henrietta Cynthia Dewar (27 January 1970) she married Justin Wateridge on 21 July 2001. They have two children:
    • Anna Laura Wateridge (25 August 2005)
    • Benedict James Alan Wateridge (24 July 2008)
  • The Honorable Alexander John Edward Dewar (4 March 1971) he married Donryn Clement on 5 April 1997. They have one son:
    • James Alexander Thomas Dewar (5 July 2000)
• Lady Anne Waldegrave (b. 24 December 1937) she married Sir Jack Boles (25 June 1925 – 1 July 2013) in 1971.
• Lady Susan Waldegrave (b. 1 May 1939) she married Marmaduke, Lord Hussey of North Bradley (29 August 1923 – 27 December 2006) on 25 April 1959. They have two children and six children:
  • The Honourable James Arthur Hussey (15 August 1961) he married Jacqueline Baker in 1988 and they were divorced in 1993. He remarried Emma Shelley in 1993. They have three children:
    • Rose Rachel Hussey (29 August 1994)
    • Arthur Eric Hussey (13 November 1995)
    • Helena Susan Hussey (3 February 1998)
  • The Honorable Katharine Elizabeth Hussey (1 February 1964) she married Sir Francis Brooke, 4th Bt. on 8 April 1989. They have three children:
    • George Francis Geoffrey Brooke (10 September 1991)
    • Olivia Nancy Brooke (12 January 1994)
    • Sarah Mary Brooke (20 March 1996)
• James Waldegrave, 13th Earl Waldegrave (b. 8 December 1940) he married Mary Furness in 1986, and they were divorced in 1996. They have two sons:
  • Edward Robert Waldegrave, Viscount Chewton (b. 10 October 1986)
  • Hon. Robert Arthur Riversdale Waldegrave (b. 1989)
• William Waldegrave, Baron Waldegrave of North Hill (b. 25 August 1946) he married Caroline Linda Margaret Burrows in 1977. They have four children:
  • The Honorable Katherine Waldegrave (1980)
  • The Honorable James Waldegrave (1984)
  • The Honorable Elizabeth Waldegrave
  • The Honorable Harriet Waldegrave

Lord Waldegrave died in 1995, aged 89 and was succeeded by his eldest son.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Earl Waldegrave

Political offices
Preceded by The Earl St Aldwyn and Joseph Godber	Joint Parliamentary Secretary to MAFF with Joseph Godber 1957–60, William Fletcher-Vane 1960–62 1958–62	Succeeded by The Lord St Oswald and James Scott-Hopkins
Court offices
Preceded by The Earl of Radnor	Lord Warden of the Stannaries 1965–76	Succeeded by The Marquess of Lothian
Peerage of Great Britain
Preceded by Henry Waldegrave	Earl Waldegrave 1936–1995	Succeeded by James Waldegrave