Edward John Sidney Christian Welbore Ellis Agar, 5th Earl of Normanton (29 March 1910 – 28 January 1967) was a British and Irish peer, soldier, and landowner, a member of the House of Lords from 1933 until his death.

From birth until 1933 he was known by the courtesy title of Viscount Somerton.

Early life

The only son of Sidney James Agar, 4th Earl of Normanton, and his wife Lady Amy Frederica Alice Byng, he was educated at West Downs School, Eton, and Trinity College, Cambridge, graduating BA.[1]

Career

Somerley House

As Viscount Somerton, Normanton was commissioned into the Royal Horse Guards. On 25 November 1933, he succeeded his father as Earl of Normanton, Viscount Somerton, and Baron Somerton, all in the peerage of Ireland, and as Baron Somerton of Somerley in the peerage of the United Kingdom. The last of these gave him a seat in the House of Lords.[1] From his father, he also inherited Somerley House in Hampshire and an estate of some 7,000 acres, and an art collection which included the Somerley Venus and Adonis by Titian.[2]

On 13 November 1935, Normanton resigned his commission and transferred as a lieutenant from the active list to the Regular Army Reserve of Officers.[3] During the Second World War, he returned to the army and rose to the rank of Captain.[1]

He died in 1967 aged only 56, without having planned for the inheritance tax on his estate, and as a result, his son owed 88 per cent of the value of the property for that.[4]

Private life

On 5 July 1937, Normanton married firstly Barbara Mary Prior-Palmer, a daughter of Sir Frederick William Francis George Frankland, 10th Baronet, and Mary Cecil Curzon, 17th Baroness Zouche.[1] She was previously married to Otho Prior-Palmer, who in 1936 had successfully sued her for divorce on the grounds of her adultery with Normanton.[5] They were divorced in 1943. On 30 October 1944, Normanton married secondly Lady Fiona Pratt, a daughter of John Pratt, 4th Marquess Camden, and Lady Joan Marion Nevill. She had previously been married to Sir John Gerard Henry Fleetwood Fuller, 2nd Baronet[1] and had two young sons, John Fuller (1936–1998) and Anthony Fuller (born 1940).

With his second wife, Normanton had two sons:[1]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f Burke's Peerage, volume 2 (2003), p. 2923
  2. ^ "History of this artwork", in "Venus and Adonis about 1555–1560 / Titian (Tiziano Vecellio) (Italian, about 1487-1576)", getty.edu, J. Paul Getty Museum, accessed 23 July 2022
  3. ^ The London Gazette, Issue 34219, 12 November 1935, p. 7166
  4. ^ "The Earl of Normanton: speed-loving, powerboat-racing aristocrat who made light of his playboy image" (obituary) in The Sunday Times (London), 3 April 2019 (subscription required)
  5. ^ "Probate, Divorce, and Admiralty Division", The Times, 22 December 1936
Peerage of Ireland Preceded bySidney James Agar Earl of Normanton 1933–1967 Succeeded byShaun James Christian Welbore Ellis Agar Peerage of the United Kingdom Preceded bySidney James Agar Baron Somerton 1933–1967 Succeeded byShaun James Christian Welbore Ellis Agar
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