Nicholas Edmund Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 12th Earl of Shaftesbury, DL (born 3 June 1979), also known as Nick Ashley-Cooper or Nick Shaftesbury, is an

English peer The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. From that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were closed to new creations, and new peers were created in a single Peerag ...

and landowner. He succeeded his brother as

Earl of Shaftesbury Earl of Shaftesbury is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1672 for Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Baron Ashley, a prominent politician in the Cabal then dominating the policies of King Charles II. He had already succeeded his fa ...

in 2005. He also holds the subsidiary titles Baron Ashley and Baron Cooper.

Early life and education

Nicholas Ashley-Cooper was born on 3 June 1979, in London, the younger son of

Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 10th Earl of Shaftesbury Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 10th Earl of Shaftesbury Baronet, Bt (22 May 1938 – 5 November 2004), styled Lord Ashley between 1947 and 1961, and Earl of Shaftesbury from 1961 until his death, was a British peerage, British peer from Wimborne St Gile ...

(1938–2004), and his second wife Christina Eva Montan (born c. 1940), the daughter of Nils Montan, a former Swedish ambassador to Germany. He had an elder brother, Anthony Nils Christian Ashley-Cooper (1977–2005), who in 2004 became 11th Earl of Shaftesbury, and also an elder half-brother and half-sister from Lady Shaftesbury's first marriage. He was educated at

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 ...

, however, he quit Eton at the age of 16 because it was claimed he "hated the ethos and routines". Afterwards he then emigrated to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

where he was a DJ and musician in bars and clubs around

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

Father's murder and brother's death

His father,

, was murdered in November 2004 by his third wife, Jamila M'Barek and her brother Mohammad. Six months later, on 15 May 2005,

Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 11th Earl of Shaftesbury Anthony Nils Christian Ashley-Cooper, 11th Earl of Shaftesbury (24 June 1977 – 15 May 2005) was the elder son of Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 10th Earl of Shaftesbury by his second marriage to the Swedish-born Christina Eva Montan. He became the 11 ...

died of a heart attack in Manhattan, New York, while visiting his younger brother, and Nick Ashley-Cooper then unexpectedly succeeded him in the earldom. He relocated to his family home from New York City and accepted the title of Earl. Back in Britain, Ashley-Cooper then attended the

London Business School London Business School (LBS) is a business school and a constituent college of the federal University of London. LBS was founded in 1964 and awards post-graduate degrees (Master's degree, Master's degrees in management and finance, Master of B ...

before going onto work in private business.

Shaftesbury Estates

Wimborne St Giles in

East Dorset East Dorset was a local government district in Dorset, England. Its council met in Wimborne Minster between 2016 and 2019. The district (as Wimborne) was formed on 1 April 1974 by merging Wimborne Minster Urban District with Wimborne an ...

is the home base and centre of business of the Ashley-Cooper family.Mosley, Charles editor. ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage,'' 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage enealogical BooksLtd, 2003), volume 3, page 3576. Built in 1651, the family seat of St Giles House had fallen into disrepair as it had been unoccupied for approximately 60 years. In 2001, St Giles House was recorded on the Register of Buildings at Risk, as a Grade I listed building, indicating neglect and decay. Buildings recorded on the Grade I list include those of "exceptional interest, sometimes considered to be internationally important". Discussions regarding future use of St Giles House and the estate have been resumed following inheritance by the 12th Earl of Shaftesbury. Work on the house began in 2011 and since then the restoration has won national awards including the 2014 Georgian Group Awards for the Restoration of a Georgian Country House, the 2015

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is a global professional body for those working in the Built Environment, Construction, Land, Property and Real Estate. The RICS was founded in London in 1868. It works at a cross-governmental ...

(RICS) Award for Building Conservation, the 2015

Historic Houses Association Historic Houses (formerly, and still for legal purposes, known as the Historic Houses Association or HHA) is a not-for-profit organisation that represents well over a thousand independently owned historic English country house, country houses, ...

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

Restoration Award, and the Historic England Angel Award, Best Rescue of a Historic Building or Site. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, part of St Giles House was used as a hospital, and in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the house was requisitioned and used as a school for girls evacuated from London, Miss Faunce's Parents' National Union School, with the 9th Earl then moving to an apartment within the house. In 1954, the burden of running the house became too great and the family took up residence at the

dower house A dower house is usually a moderately large house available for use by the widow of the previous owner of an English, Scottish, Welsh or Irish estate (house), estate. The widow, often known as the "dowager", usually moves into the dower house fr ...

, known as Mainsail Haul.

Lough Neagh

Lord Shaftesbury also inherited the ownership of the bed and soil of

Lough Neagh Lough Neagh ( ; ) is a freshwater lake in Northern Ireland and is the largest lake on the island of Ireland and in the British Isles. It has a surface area of and is about long and wide. According to Northern Ireland Water, it supplies 4 ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, the largest lake in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

or the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The

lough ''Loch'' ( ) is a word meaning "lake" or " sea inlet" in Scottish and Irish Gaelic, subsequently borrowed into English. In Irish contexts, it often appears in the anglicized form "lough". A small loch is sometimes called a lochan. Lochs whic ...

supplies 40% of the region's

drinking water Drinking water or potable water is water that is safe for ingestion, either when drunk directly in liquid form or consumed indirectly through food preparation. It is often (but not always) supplied through taps, in which case it is also calle ...

and is also used as a

sewage Sewage (or domestic sewage, domestic wastewater, municipal wastewater) is a type of wastewater that is produced by a community of people. It is typically transported through a sewerage, sewer system. Sewage consists of wastewater discharged fro ...

outfall. Discussions over the future management of the Lough have been ongoing with the

Northern Ireland Assembly The Northern Ireland Assembly (; ), often referred to by the metonym ''Stormont'', is the devolved unicameral legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliam ...

. In October 2023, after negative publicity stemming from a report revealing that Lough Neagh had experienced its worst-ever levels of harmful bacteria amid a long-term infestation of toxic algae, Lord Shaftesbury stated in an interview with

BBC Northern Ireland BBC Northern Ireland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Northern Ireland. It is widely available across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. BBC Northern Ireland is one of the four BB ...

that while he was open to selling Lough Neagh to the

, he would "not give it away for free." He stated in the interview that "the sale is one that's borne out of an understanding that my ownership has always been very divisive and quite political and I always get blamed for things that are completely outside of my control. I feel it's often used as an excuse for political inaction and I always want to do the right thing by the people living here and what's in the best interest of the lough."

Personal life

In 2010, Lord Shaftesbury married Dinah Esther Streifeneder, a veterinary surgeon from

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, in

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

. Dinah is the daughter of Friedrich Georg "Fritz" Streifeneder, an orthopedic surgeon, and Renata, née Leander, a physiotherapist. The couple have three children. Their son, Anthony Francis Wolfgang Ashley-Cooper, Lord Ashley, born on 24 January 2011, is his father's

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 ...

and the only person in the line of succession to the earldom. A daughter, Lady Viva Constance Lillemor Ashley-Cooper, was born in 2012, and another daughter, Lady Zara Emily Tove Ashley-Cooper, in 2014. Shaftesbury has taken on philanthropic work, including the role of Chairman of the Talbot Village Trust. He was also an ambassador for the spinal cord injuries charity Wings for Life, which he began supporting following his own spinal injury. He has competed in several marathons and ultramarathons to benefit charitable organisations. In 2019, he was commissioned to the honorary position of

Deputy Lord Lieutenant Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...

of Dorset.

References

External links

* https://shaftesburyestates.com/
Interview following the Atacama Desert Race
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaftesbury, Nicholas Ashley-Cooper, 12th Earl Of 1979 births Living people Nobility from London English people of Swedish descent English people of French descent People educated at Eton College Alumni of the University of Manchester Alumni of London Business School 12 British male long-distance runners Deputy lieutenants of Dorset English DJs 21st-century British farmers Younger sons of earls English male long-distance runners British ultramarathon runners