Henry Thynne, 6th Marquess of Bath

Henry Thynne, Marquess of Bath, with his wife Virginia and daughter Lady Silvia

Henry Frederick Thynne, 6th Marquess of Bath JP (26 January 1905 – 30 June 1992), styled Lord Henry Thynne until 1916 and Viscount Weymouth between 1916 and 1946, was a British politician, aristocrat and landowner.

Background and education

Lord Bath was second but eldest surviving the son of Thomas Thynne, 5th Marquess of Bath and Violet Mordaunt, and was educated at The New Beacon Preparatory School, Harrow and Christ Church, Oxford. In 1916 he became the heir to the family titles and estates, after his elder brother John was killed in action in the First World War. In the 1920s the tabloid press considered him one of the group it called the Bright Young People.

Political and military careers

As Viscount Weymouth, he was elected Conservative Member of Parliament for Frome between 1931 and 1935, and served as a member of the Council of the Duchy of Cornwall from 1933 to 1936 and Justice of the Peace for Wiltshire in 1938. He gained the rank of Major in the service of the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry, fought in the Second World War and was awarded the Bronze Star and the Silver Star for actions during that period..

Thynne succeeded his father as Marquess of Bath in 1946. He was noted for his forestry work on the ancestral estate of Longleat. It was he who developed the safari park and opened the house to the public in 1949.

Family

On 27 October 1927 Lord Weymouth married, firstly, Daphne Vivian, daughter of George Vivian, 4th Baron Vivian, and they were divorced in 1953. They had five children:

• Lady Caroline Jane Thynne (1928–1995), married David Somerset, 11th Duke of Beaufort and had issue.
• Thomas Timothy Thynne (1929–1930), died in infancy.
• Alexander George Thynn, 7th Marquess of Bath (b. 6 May 1932)
• Lord Christopher John Thynne (b. 9 April 1934), married Antonia Palmer, daughter of Sir Anthony Palmer, 4th Baronet and had issue.
• Lord Valentine Charles Thynne (1937–1979), married firstly, Veronica Jacks and had issue. He married secondly, Susanne Alder and married thirdly, Liese Dennis.

After becoming Lord Bath he married, secondly, Virginia Penelope Parsons, on 15 July 1953. They had one daughter:

• Lady Silvy Cerne Thynne (b. 22 December 1958), married Iain McQuiston and has issue.

Titles

• Lord Henry Thynne, 1905–1916
• Viscount Weymouth, 1916–1931
• Viscount Weymouth, MP, 1931–1935
• Viscount Weymouth, 1935–1946
• The Most Honourable The Marquess of Bath, 1946–1992

References

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs }

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• Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages }

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External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Henry Thynne, 6th Marquess of Bath