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Charles Gordon-Lennox, 11th Duke of Richmond

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Charles March" redirects here. For the FTC chair, see Charles H. March.

His Grace
The Duke of Richmond
CBE DL
The Duke in 2011
Born
Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox

(1955-01-08) 8 January 1955 (age 69)
Title11th Duke of Richmond
11th Duke of Lennox
11th Duke of Aubigny
6th Duke of Gordon etc
Spouses
Sally Clayton
​
​
(m. 1976; div. 1989)​
Hon. Janet Elizabeth Astor
​
​
(m. 1991)​
Children5
Parents
CBE insignia

Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox, 11th Duke of Richmond, 11th Duke of Lennox, 11th Duke of Aubigny, 6th Duke of Gordon, CBE, DL (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.[1][2] He is the founder of the Goodwood Festival of Speed 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 of Motoring Writers and the 500 Owners Club.

Photography

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Having a passion for film and photography since the age of 10, Lord Settrington left Eton College at the first possible opportunity and at 17 worked for the film director Stanley Kubrick on the film Barry Lyndon.[2][1]

Goodwood

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Main article: Goodwood House
Goodwood House in October 2011

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 when the latter turns forty.[2]

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.[3] Both events have since become recognised[4] as some of the most unusual, exciting and creative events in the world.[5]

The Goodwood Estate covers 12,000 acres to the north of Chichester. The Goodwood Estate Company is a diverse portfolio of businesses which includes: Goodwood Racecourse, a 4,000-acre organic farm, two eighteen-hole golf courses, 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.[6]

A Deputy Lieutenant (DL) for West Sussex since 2006, Richmond was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2024 New Year Honours for services to heritage, sport and charity.[7]

Marriages and children

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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. 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), heir apparent 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).[8]

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.[9]

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March's name appears in the video game Gran Turismo 6, when he sends players an invitation related to the Goodwood Festival of Speed.[10]

Titles and styles

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  • 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 The Duke of Richmond, Lennox and Gordon

Arms

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Coat of arms of Charles Gordon-Lennox, 11th Duke of Richmond
Coronet
That of a British Duke
Crest
1st, a Bull's Head erased Sable horned Or; 2nd, on a Chapeau Gules turned up Ermine a Lion statant guardant Or crowned with a Ducal Coronet Gules and gorged with a Collar compony of four pieces Argent charged with eight Roses Gules and the Last; 3rd, out of a Ducal Coronet a Stag's Head affrontée Proper attired with ten Tynes Or
Escutcheon
Quarterly: 1st and 4th grand quarters, the Royal Arms of Charles II (viz. quarterly: 1st and 4th, France and England quarterly; 2nd, Scotland; 3rd, Ireland); the whole within a Bordure compony Argent charged with Roses Gules barbed and seeded Proper and the Last; overall an Inescutcheon Gules charged with three Buckles Or (Aubigny); 2nd grand quarter, Argent a Saltire engrailed Gules between four Roses of the Second barbed and seeded Proper (Lennox); 3rd grand quarter, quarterly, 1st, Azure three Boars' Heads couped Or (Gordon); 2nd, Or three Lions' Heads erased Gules (Badenoch); 3rd, Or three Crescents within a Double Tressure flory counter-flory Gules (Seton); 4th, Azure three Cinquefoils Argent (Fraser)
Supporters
Dexter: a Unicorn Argent armed, crined and unguled Or; Sinister: an Antelope Argent, also armed, crined and unguled Or, each Supporter gorged with a Collar compony as the Crest
Motto
Over the 1st Crest, Avant Darnlie; over the 2nd Crest, En La Rose Je Fleuris; and over the 3rd Crest, Bydand
Orders
The Circlet of the Order of the British Empire

References

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  1. ^ a b "Richmond, 11th Duke of, (Charles Henry Gordon Lennox) (born 8 Jan. 1955)". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u26582. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  2. ^ a b c O'Grady, Sean (30 July 2009). "Earl of March: A glorious example of the landed classes". The Independent.
  3. ^ "Alain Elkann Interviews Lord March about the Goodwood sporting Estate, including the Goodwood Revival, Glorious Goodwood and Festival of Speed". alainelkanninterviews.com. 14 June 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  4. ^ www.autocar.co.uk
  5. ^ www.wtf1.com
  6. ^ www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com
  7. ^ "No. 64269". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2023. p. N11.
  8. ^ www.burkespeerage.com
  9. ^ "Goodwood House raid: Ring Charles II gave to mistress among heirlooms stolen in £700k stately home break-in". The Daily Telegraph. 15 January 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  10. ^ Gran Turismo 6 Archived 27 August 2015 at the Wayback Machine, gran-turismo.com. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
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Peerage of England
Preceded by Duke of Richmond
4th creation
2017–present 		Incumbent
Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by Duke of Lennox
2nd creation
2017–present 		Incumbent
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Duke of Gordon
2nd creation
2017–present 		Incumbent
French nobility
Preceded by Duke of Aubigny
2017–present 		Incumbent
Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom
Preceded by Gentlemen
The Duke of Richmond 		Succeeded by


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