Richard Henry Piers Butler, 17th Viscount Mountgarret (8 November 1936 – 7 February 2004) was a British soldier.

Early life

Butler was born at

Knaresborough Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, England, on the River Nidd. It is east of Harrogate. History Knaresborough is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Chenares ...

, the son of

Piers Butler, 16th Viscount Mountgarret Viscount Mountgarret is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. The title was created in 1550 for the Hon. Richard Butler, younger son of Piers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormond. Butler had largely rebuilt the tower house at Mountgarret in County Wexfor ...

and Eglantine Christie. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and the

Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town of ...

before joining the

Irish Guards The Irish Guards (IG), is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and is part of the Guards Division. Together with the Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infantry regiments in the British Army. The regiment has parti ...

Career

He was commissioned into the

in 1957, retiring in the

rank Rank is the relative position, value, worth, complexity, power, importance, authority, level, etc. of a person or object within a ranking, such as: Level or position in a hierarchical organization * Academic rank * Diplomatic rank * Hierarchy * H ...

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 1964. Two years later he succeeded his father in the viscountcy, which had been created in 1550. After retiring from the Irish Guards, he was president of

Yorkshire Cricket Club Yorkshire County Cricket Club is one of 18 first-class cricket, first-class county cricket, county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the Historic counties of England, historic county of Yorkshire. ...

between 1984 and 1989. He moved to the estate in

South Stainley South Stainley is a small village in the Harrogate District, in the county of North Yorkshire, England. Nearby settlements include the city of Ripon, the town of Harrogate and the village of Markington. South Stainley is on the A61 road. Sout ...

, near

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the city ...

, after selling his family home,

Nidd Hall Nidd Hall was a 19th-century country house, now a hotel, in the village of Nidd, North Yorkshire, England. It is a Grade II listed building. It is constructed of coursed squared gritstone and ashlar with grey slate roofs. It is built in 3 storeys ...

, in the mid-1960s. In 1997, on the death of

Charles Butler, 7th Marquess of Ormonde James Hubert Theobald Charles Butler, 7th Marquess of Ormonde, MBE (19 April 1899 – 25 October 1997) was the son of Reverend Lord Theobald Butler and Lady Annabella Brydon Gordon. He was the 7th and last holder of the title ''Marquess of Or ...

, Mountgarret became the most likely heir to the Earldom of Ormond (created in 1328), and also to the 16th-century Earldom of Ossory, thus making him Chief Butler and Chief of the Butlers of Ireland, but as he submitted no claim to these Irish peerages they became dormant.

Marriages and children

Lord Mountgarret married three times. His first wife was Gillian Margaret Buckley, daughter of Cyril Francis Stewart Buckley and Audrey Burmester, on 20 May 1960 but divorced in 1970. The couple had two sons and a daughter: * Piers James Richard Butler, 18th Viscount Mountgarret (15 April 1961) *# Married, Laura Brown Gary Williams (daughter of Albert Dickins Williams Jr, of Lake Forest, Ill.,

U.S.A. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

), in 1995 and divorced in 2000. *::* Hon Alexa Sterling Hadley Butler (b. 16 February 1997) *::* Hon Morgan Dickins Somerset Butler (b. 14 May 1999) *# Then married Fenella M Fawcus, daughter of Mr and Mrs David Fawcus, on 30 December 2006. *::* Hon Venetia Ellice Cara Butler (b. 25 September 2013) *::* Hon. Theo Oliver Stafford Butler (b. 11 October 2015), the heir apparent. * Hon. Edmund Henry Richard Butler (1 September 1962), married Adella I Lloyd, daughter of M. Lloyd, of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, in 1988 and was divorced in 1989. ** Hon. Tara Sequoia Butler (b. 2 June 1997) * Hon Henrietta Elizabeth Alexandra Butler (1964), married Robert Cluer, son of Henry Cluer, in 1991. Mountgarret later married Jennifer Susan Wills, a member of the

Wills tobacco W.D. & H.O. Wills was a British tobacco manufacturing company formed in Bristol, England. It was the first British company to mass-produce cigarettes, and one of the founding companies of Imperial Tobacco along with John Player & Sons. The com ...

family, daughter of Capt. DM Wills, on 29 April 1970, but divorced in 1983. He finally married Angela Ruth Porter, eldest daughter of

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Thomas Porter, on 25 May 1983.

References

ThePeerage.com

Obituary The Times

External links

* 1936 births 2004 deaths Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland People educated at Eton College Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Irish Guards officers People from Knaresborough Presidents of Yorkshire County Cricket Club

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...

{{Ireland-viscount-stub Mountgarret

Early life

Career

Marriages and children

See also

References

External links