... was the son of Thomas, Viscount Anson, and his first wife Anne Bowes–Lyon. His maternal grandfather was The Hon. John Herbert Bowes–Lyon – the brother of the Queen Mother. His mother was a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, which made him a first cousin once removed.
The earldom of Lichfield was created (for the third time) in the accession honours of King William IV, for Thomas Anson, previously known as Viscount Anson. He was a Whig politician who served as Master of the Buckhounds (a minor post in the royal household, which was abolished in 1901) and as Postmaster General. His gambling and lavish entertaining got him heavily into debt and he was forced to sell off the entire contents of his Shugborough Hall estate.
Patrick Anson succeeded his grandfather as the 5th Earl of Lichfield in 1960, his father having died two years previously. On his death in 2005 he was succeeded by his only son, Thomas Anson, who thus became the 6th Earl of Lichfield.
The 5th Lord Lichfield donated Shugborough to the National Trust in 1960, in lieu of death duties on the death his grandfather. He continued to live there in an apartment. The estate was leased to Staffordshire County Council, but returned to the National Trust in 2016. The hall, museum, kitchen garden and a model farm are open to the public.
© Haydn Thompson 2024