George William Coventry, 11th Earl of Coventry (25 January 1934 – 14 June 2002) was a British

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 ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

of the Conservative Party.

Life and career

Coventry was the fourth child and only son of George Coventry, 10th Earl of Coventry and Nesta Donne Philips. He inherited the title

Earl of Coventry Earl of Coventry is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of England. The first creation for the Villiers family was created in 1623 and took its name from the city of Coventry. It became extinct in 1687. A decade later, the second ...

at the age of six, when his father was killed in action during the Battle of Wytschaete on 27 May 1940. He attended

Ludgrove School Ludgrove School is an English independent school, independent boys' Preparatory school (UK), preparatory boarding school. Ludgrove was founded in 1892 at Ludgrove Hall in Middlesex by the Old Etonian sportsman Arthur Dunn. Dunn had been employed ...

in Berkshire,

Stowe School The Stowe School is a public school (English private boarding school) for pupils aged 13–18 in the countryside of Stowe, England. It was opened on 11 May, 1923 at Stowe House, a Grade I Heritage Estate belonging to the British Crown. ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

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 attended The Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst and was commissioned into the Grenedier Guards in 1954. On 21 March 1956 he took his seat in the House of Lords. He worked as

stock broker A stockbroker is an individual or company that buys and sells stocks and other investments for a financial market participant in return for a commission, markup, or fee. In most countries they are regulated as a broker or broker-dealer and m ...

, fashion designer, merchant and director of an oil company. He supported

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Following his defeat to Ton ...

, after joining the Conservative Party in the 1990s. He lost his seat 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 ...

by the

House of Lords Act 1999 The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given royal assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords ...

and did not compete for one of the remaining seats.''House of Lords Act: Hereditary Peers Elections''
Website ''Election Demon'', downloaded on 27 February 2014

Family

Coventry was married four times: * He married Marie Medhart on 22 March 1955, the daughter of William Medhart. The couple divorced in 1963. * He married Ann Cripps on 5 December 1969 and divorced in 1975. * He married Valerie Ann Birch on 29 November 1980 and divorced in 1988. * Finally, he married Rachel Wynne Mason on 4 July 1992. He died in June 2002 at the age of 68 years. The title was inherited by his 89-year-old cousin Francis Coventry, 12th Earl of Coventry (1912–2004), because his son of the first marriage Edward Coventry, Viscount Deerhurst had previously died in 1997.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coventry, George, 11. Earl of Coventry 1934 births 2002 deaths People educated at Eton College Earls of Coventry 20th-century English nobility People educated at Stowe School

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

Military personnel from London 20th-century British Army personnel Grenadier Guards officers Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst