Alexander George Thynn, 7th Marquess of Bath (6 May 1932 – 4 April 2020),
styled Viscount Weymouth between 1946 and 1992, was an
English peer and landowner, owner of the
Longleat
Longleat is a stately home about west of Warminster in Wiltshire, England. A leading and early example of the Elizabethan prodigy house, it is a Grade I listed building and the seat of the Marquesses of Bath.
Longleat is set in of parkl ...
estate, who sat in the House of Lords from 1992 until 1999, and an artist and author.
Lord Bath was in the media spotlight for his
hippy
A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to different countries around the w ...
fashion-sense and his many "wifelets", the latter of which earned him the nickname "the loins of Longleat" in reference to his prodigious sexual appetites and the name of his estate, which includes a safari park that prominently markets its lions. The ''
Sunday Times Rich List 2009'' gave him an estimated wealth of £157 million.
Early life and education
Thynn was born in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, the son of
Henry Thynne, 6th Marquess of Bath and
Daphne Fielding, and grew up at his
family seat
A family seat, sometimes just called seat, is the principal residence of the landed gentry and aristocracy. The residence usually denotes the social, economic, political, or historic connection of the family within a given area. Some families t ...
,
Longleat
Longleat is a stately home about west of Warminster in Wiltshire, England. A leading and early example of the Elizabethan prodigy house, it is a Grade I listed building and the seat of the Marquesses of Bath.
Longleat is set in of parkl ...
, a grand
Elizabethan
The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...
set in
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...
parkland landscaped in the 18th century by
Capability Brown
Lancelot "Capability" Brown (born c. 1715–16, baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783) was an English gardener and landscape architect, a notable figure in the history of the English landscape garden style.
Unlike other architects ...
. After attending
Ludgrove School and
Eton College
Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...
, he joined the
Life Guards for National Service, being commissioned as a
Lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
in 1951. He then went up to
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...
, where he was President of the
Bullingdon Club, before embarking upon a modern-day
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
an
Grand Tour. During the 1950s, he studied art in Paris.
[
]
Political career
As Viscount Weymouth, he stood in the February 1974 General Election as a Wessex regionalist, believing that Wessex
The Kingdom of the West Saxons, also known as the Kingdom of Wessex, was an Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy, kingdom in the south of Great Britain, from around 519 until Alfred the Great declared himself as King of the Anglo-Saxons in 886.
The Anglo-Sa ...
would be better off as a devolved region of the UK. Shortly after that General Election, he became one of the founders of the Wessex Regionalist Party. He stood for the party in the first ever elections to the European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
in 1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
.
After succeeding to his father's marquessate and other titles
A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...
in 1992, Lord Bath sat in the House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
as a Liberal Democrat, until he lost his right to sit in the Upper House following New Labour
New Labour is the political philosophy that dominated the history of the British Labour Party from the mid-late 1990s to 2010 under the leadership of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. The term originated in a conference slogan first used by the ...
's House of Lords reform
The reform of the House of Lords, the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, has been a topic of discussion in UK politics for more than a century. Multiple governments have attempted reform, beginning with the introduction of the ...
s which ousted all but 92 of the hereditary peer
The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of April 2025, there are 800 hereditary peers: 30 dukes (including six royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 189 earls, 108 viscounts, and 439 barons (not counting subsidiary ...
s. Among other issues, he spoke in favour of devolution
Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territori ...
for the region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
s of England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
.
Personal life
In 1969, Thynn married Hungarian-born Anna Gyarmathy, also known as Anna Gaël,[ Gyles Brandreth,]
"Loveless lord of Longleat"
''The Daily Telegraph'', 20 November 2002. by whom he had two children, Lady Lenka Abigail Thynn and Ceawlin, 8th Marquess of Bath, both of whom were educated at comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is restricted on the basis ...
.[Cooke, Rachel (10 March 2002)]
"The loins of Longleat"
''The Observer''. Retrieved 5 April 2020. Lord Bath also acknowledged an illegitimate daughter born . He had open sexual relations with over seventy women during his marriage, many of whom lived in " grace and favour" in estate cottages. Lord Bath referred to his mistress
Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to:
Romance and relationships
* Mistress (lover), a female lover of a married man
** Royal mistress
* Maîtresse-en-titre, official mistress of a ...
es as ''wifelets''. According to ''The Times'' (2015): "The wifelets have included former Bond girl
A Bond girl is a character who is a love interest, female companion or (occasionally) an adversary of James Bond in a novel, film, or video game. Bond girls occasionally have names that are double entendres or sexual puns, such as Plenty O' ...
s and Sri Lankan teenagers, as well as housewives and, according to some, prostitutes."
Born with the family name Thynne, he dropped the "e" in 1976, as he wanted to emphasise its correct pronunciation to rhyme with "pin" and not "pine". He was known for his colourful style of dress, which he acquired while he was an art student in Paris,[Savill, Richard (12 March 2010)]
"Alexander Thynn, 7th Marquess of Bath: profile"
''The Daily Telegraph''. Retrieved 5 April 2020. and was a prolific amateur painter who decorated rooms of his home with erotic scenes from the ''Kama Sutra
The ''Kama Sutra'' (; , , ; ) is an ancient Indian Hindu Sanskrit text on sexuality, eroticism and emotional fulfillment. Attributed to Vātsyāyana, the ''Kamasutra'' is neither exclusively nor predominantly a sex manual on sex positions ...
''.
After his father's death in 1992, he dismissed his younger brother Lord Christopher Thynne as estate comptroller, evicting him from his home on the Longleat estate. In early 2010, he passed the management of the business to his son, then Viscount Weymouth. By one account, the Viscount intended to evict the mistresses from their estate cottages. Some of his father's murals were removed, which caused a rift and led to a boycott by the Marquess of his son's marriage to Emma McQuiston.
Death
Lord Bath was admitted to the Royal United Hospital, Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
, on 28 March 2020 and while in hospital tested positive for COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
during the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. He died of pneumonia whilst infected by the virus on 4 April 2020 at the age of 87.
Appearances and media
In 1999, Thynn appeared in series 6, episode 4 of ''Time Team
''Time Team'' is a British television programme that originally aired on Channel 4, Channel 4 from 16 January 1994 to 7 September 2014. It returned in 2022 on online platforms YouTube and Patreon. Created by television produce ...
'', which dealt with the excavation of a cave in the Cheddar Gorge, an area of land owned by him. From 2000 to 2009, '' Animal Park'', a television documentary about the life of keepers and animals at Longleat Safari Park, Wiltshire, England, aired over nine series on the BBC. It also covered the daily life of workers in Longleat House, the estate and the gardens and regularly featured items about Lord Bath himself.
In March 2009, he appeared in episode 4 of '' Heston's Feasts''. ''The Marquess of Bath'', a book by Nesta Wyn Ellis, initially written with Bath's co-operation, was published in the autumn of 2010. Lord Bath's autobiography, collectively called ''Strictly Private to Public Exposure'', was first published as a series by Artnik Books, and since 2002 has been republished by Top Spot Publishing. His other screen credits include an episode of '' Globe Trekker''. He played an aristocrat in the music video for the Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and were listed as the most successful duo in UK music h ...
song ''Rent''.
Artist and potter Grayson Perry
Sir Grayson Perry (born 24 March 1960) is an English artist. He is known for his ceramic vases, tapestries, and cross-dressing, as well as his observations of the contemporary arts scene, and for dissecting British "prejudices, fashions and foib ...
interviewed the marquess in the third of his three-part 2012 documentary series ''All in the Best Possible Taste with Grayson Perry'' which focused on Britain's upper class. In 2014, Thynn appeared in ''All Change at Longleat'', a three-part documentary of some of the issues as he passed the running of the house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...
to his son.
See also
*'' Burke's Peerage & Baronetage''
Bibliography
*
*
*
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bath, Alexander Thynn, 7th Marquess of
1932 births
2020 deaths
20th-century English painters
21st-century English painters
People educated at Ludgrove School
People educated at Eton College
Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford
British Life Guards officers
English male painters
English writers
Liberal Democrats (UK) hereditary peers
7
Alexander
Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here ar ...
Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in England
Bullingdon Club members
20th-century English male artists
21st-century English male artists
Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
Wessex Regionalists parliamentary candidates