Charles Henry Gordon Lennox, 11th Duke of Richmond, 11th Duke of Lennox, 11th Duke of Aubigny, 6th Duke of Gordon, (born 8 January 1955), styled Lord Settrington until 1989 and then Earl of March and Kinrara until 2017, is a British aristocrat and owner of Goodwood Estate in

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

. He is the founder of the

Goodwood Festival of Speed The Goodwood Festival of Speed is an annual motorsports festival featuring modern and historic motor racing vehicles taking part in a hillclimbing, hillclimb and other events, held in Goodwood House, West Sussex, in late June or early July. Th ...

and the Goodwood Revival. The Duke of Richmond serves as President of the British Automobile Racing Club, Patron of the TT Riders Association, and is an honorary member of the British Racing Drivers Club, the

Guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...

of Motoring

Writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

s and the 500 Owners Club.

Photography

Having a passion for film and photography since the age of 10, Lord Settrington left

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 ...

at the first possible opportunity and at 17 worked for the film director

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American filmmaker and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick filmography, his films were nearly all adaptations of novels or sho ...

on the film ''

Barry Lyndon ''Barry Lyndon'' is a 1975 epic historical drama film written, directed, and produced by Stanley Kubrick, based on the 1844 novel '' The Luck of Barry Lyndon'' by William Makepeace Thackeray. Narrated by Michael Hordern, and starring Ryan O'N ...

''.

Goodwood

In 1995, the Earl of March, as he was then styled, moved from London to the family seat Goodwood to take over management of the estate, following family tradition of the estate management devolving upon the

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

when the latter turns forty. Motorsport at Goodwood was started by his grandfather, Freddie March, who opened the Goodwood Motor Circuit in 1948. March established the Festival of Speed at Goodwood House in 1993. He then brought motor racing back to the circuit, which had closed in 1966, with the creation of the Goodwood Revival in 1998. The Goodwood Estate covers 12,000 acres to the north of

Chichester Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...

. The Goodwood Estate Company is a diverse portfolio of businesses which includes:

Goodwood Racecourse Goodwood Racecourse is a horse-racing track five miles north of Chichester, West Sussex, in England controlled by the family of the Duke of Richmond, whose seat is nearby Goodwood House. It hosts the annual Glorious Goodwood meeting in l ...

, a 4,000-acre organic farm, two eighteen-hole

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...

s, Goodwood Aerodrome and Flying School, and a 91-bedroom hotel. The Group employs over 550 people and attracts 800,000 visitors to the estate each year. Also on the estate are Goodwood Cricket Club and the headquarters of

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited is a British luxury automobile maker that has operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of BMW, BMW AG since 2003 – as the exclusive manufacturer of ''Rolls-Royce''-branded motor cars. The company's administra ...

. A Deputy Lieutenant (DL) for

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

since 2006, Richmond was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the

2024 New Year Honours The 2024 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Hono ...

for services to heritage, sport and charity.

Engagements

In September 2023, the Duke attended the Ambassadors Theatre Group’s annual summer party held in the Sunken Gardens of

Kensington Palace Kensington Palace is a royal residence situated within Kensington Gardens in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It has served as a residence for the British royal family since the 17th century and is currently the ...

. The event brought together figures from the arts, media, and public life, including

Lord Snowdon Antony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon (7 March 1930 – 13 January 2017) was a British photographer. He is best known internationally for his portraits of world notables, many of them published in ''Vogue (magazine), Vogu ...

Sarah Jessica Parker Sarah Jessica Parker (born March 25, 1965) is an American actress and television producer. In a career spanning over five decades, she has performed across several productions of both Sarah Jessica Parker filmography, screen and stage. List o ...

, and

Matthew Broderick Matthew Broderick (born March 21, 1962) is an American actor. He starred in ''WarGames'' (1983) as a teen government hacker, and ''Ladyhawke (film), Ladyhawke'' (1985), a medieval fantasy alongside Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pfeiffer. He play ...

. Hosted by ATG President Mark Cornell, the gathering celebrated the British theatre industry. In September 2024, Charles hosted the 26th annual Goodwood Revival at the Goodwood Estate in

. The event featured historic

motor racing An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gene ...

and period-themed activities, and is known for its focus on mid-20th-century automotive heritage and fashion. A reception was held at the Old Control Tower to mark the start of the event. Guests included Dita Von Teese and Virginia Bates. In February 2025, the

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

took part in the Purdey Awards for Game and Conservation, held at Audley House in

Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...

. Celebrating its 25th anniversary, the event recognised conservation and sustainability efforts within the UK’s gamekeeping and shooting community. The

Duke of Richmond Duke of Richmond is a title in the Peerage of England that has been created four times in British history. It has been held by members of the royal Tudor and Stuart families. The current dukedom of Richmond was created in 1675 for Charles ...

presented the awards, while Charles Wellesley, 9th Duke of Wellington, served as chair of the judging panel.

Marriages and children

The duke has been married twice and has three sons and two daughters. Marrying firstly in 1976 to Sally Clayton, daughter of Maurice Clayton, he and Lady Settrington had one daughter: * Lady Alexandra Gordon Lennox (born 1985), married 2013 Sean Thomas Brennan (''div''). Divorced from his first wife in 1989, on 30 November 1991 Lord March married secondly

the Hon. ''The Honourable'' (Commonwealth English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of cert ...

Janet Elizabeth Astor (born 1 December 1961), daughter of William, 3rd Viscount Astor, by whom he has one daughter and three sons: * Charles Henry Gordon Lennox, Earl of March and Kinrara (born 20 December 1994),

to the family titles * Lord William Rupert Charles Gordon Lennox (born 29 November 1996) * Lady Eloise Cordelia Gordon Lennox (born 10 March 2000) * Lord Frederick Lysander Gordon Lennox (born 10 March 2000). In January 2016, he and the Duchess (then Earl and Countess of March) were attacked and tied up in a major jewel robbery at Goodwood House.

In popular culture

March's name appears in the video game ''

Gran Turismo 6 ''Gran Turismo 6'' is a 2013 sim racing video game developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. It is the sixth main installment and the eleventh overall in the ''Gran Turismo (series), Gran ...

'', when he sends players an invitation related to the

.''Gran Turismo 6''
, gran-turismo.com. Retrieved 25 March 2016.

Titles and styles

* 8 January 1955 – 2 November 1989: Lord Settrington * 2 November 1989 – 1 September 2017: Earl of March and Kinrara * 1 September 2017 – present:

His Grace His Grace and Her Grace are English Style (manner of address), styles of address used with high-ranking personages, and was the style for English monarchs until Henry VIII (r. 1509–1547), and for Scottish monarchs until the Act of Union (1707), ...

The ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

Duke of Richmond, Lennox and Gordon

Arms

References

External links

Information about his association with Goodwood
*
2012 Goodwood Revival Picture Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richmond, Charles Gordon Lennox, 11th Duke of 1955 births Living people

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

British people of French descent English people of Scottish descent

211 Year 211 ( CCXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, in the Roman Empire it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Terentius and Bassus (or, less frequently, year 964 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomin ...

311 Dukes of Aubigny

206 Year 206 ( CCVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Umbrius and Gavius (or, less frequently, year 959 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 206 for this y ...

People educated at Eton College English Anglicans Photographers from London 20th-century British farmers 20th-century English landowners 20th-century British businesspeople 21st-century British businesspeople 21st-century British landowners Deputy lieutenants of West Sussex Church Estates Commissioners Commanders of the Order of the British Empire