Henry John FitzRoy Somerset, 12th Duke of Beaufort (born 22 May 1952), styled Marquess of Worcester between 1984 and 2017, also known as Harry Beaufort or Bunter Beaufort, is an English peer and landowner with estates in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

and

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 ...

. He is based at

Badminton House Badminton House is a large country house and Grade I Listed Building in Badminton, Gloucestershire, England, which has been the principal seat of the Dukes of Beaufort since the late 17th century. The house, which has given its name to the spor ...

Biography

Beaufort is the son of the 11th Duke of Beaufort and his wife, Lady Caroline Jane Thynne (1928–1995), a daughter of the 6th Marquess of Bath of

Longleat House 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 parklan ...

. He and his family are descended in the male line from the

House of Plantagenet The House of Plantagenet (Help:IPA/English, /plænˈtædʒənət/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''plan-TAJ-ə-nət'') was a royal house which originated from the Medieval France, French county of Anjou. The name Plantagenet is used by mo ...

, through an illegitimate line, although this descent has been questioned after the University of Leicester analysis of the Y chromosomal DNA of Richard III found most living male heirs of the 5th Duke of Beaufort carried a relatively common Y chromosome type different from the rare lineage found in Richard III's remains. Beaufort was educated at Hawtreys,

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 ...

, and the Royal Agricultural College. He is a singer and songwriter with the rock group The Listening Device. This was a support act at the Highclere Rocks concert in 2006, which also featured

Bryan Ferry Bryan Ferry (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. He became known as the frontman of the band Roxy Music and also launched a solo career. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established ...

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

, and

Roger Waters George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. In 1965, he co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd as the bassist. Following the departure of the group's main songwriter Syd Barrett in 1968, Waters became ...

. Since the death of his father, Beaufort is also master of the Duke of Beaufort's Hunt. His autobiography, ''The Unlikely Duke'', was published in 2023.

Personal life

His first wife was the environmentalist and former actress

Tracy Louise Ward Tracy Louise Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort (née Ward; born 22 December 1958) is a British duchess, environmental activist, and former actress. She is usually known as Tracy Worcester, the married Style (form of address), style that she often ...

(a sister of Rachel Ward and a granddaughter of William Ward, 3rd Earl of Dudley). They were married on 13 June 1987 at Cornwell, in Oxfordshire, but later separated, and were divorced in 2018. The marriage produced three children:Google Groups — Peerage News
/ref> * Henry Robert FitzRoy Somerset, Marquess of Worcester, formerly known as Earl of Glamorgan (b. 20 January 1989); Susan Morris, ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage 2019'' (2020), p. 3,290 married Lucy Eleanor Yorke-Long (b. 23 June 1986), in August 2020. They have two sons: Henry, Earl of Glamorgan (b. 28 May 2021) and Lord Jack (b. 24 October 2024) and one daughter: Lady Lara Charlotte (b. 4 July 2023). * Lady Isabella Elsa Somerset (b. 3 August 1992) * Lord Alexander Lorne Somerset (b. 19 November 1993) On 30 April 2018, Beaufort married secondly Georgia Powell (born 18 February 1969), a granddaughter of the novelist

Anthony Powell Anthony Dymoke Powell ( ; 21 December 1905 – 28 March 2000) was an English novelist best known for his 12-volume work '' A Dance to the Music of Time'', published between 1951 and 1975. It is on the list of longest novels in English. Powell ...

.Duke of Beaufort marries Georgia Powell
dated Tuesday, 1 May 2018 at ''Peerage News'' online, accessed 5 August 2018

Family tree

Arms

Notes

External links

The Listening Device Official Website
1952 births Living people Masters of foxhounds in England People educated at Eton College English socialites People educated at Hawtreys Henry John Fitzroy 111 {{England-duke-stub