Charles Gordon-Lennox, 11th Duke of Richmond

Last updated

His Grace
The Duke of Richmond
CBE DL
Lord March.JPG
The Duke, then styled Lord March, in 2011
Born
Charles Henry Gordon Lennox

(1955-01-08) 8 January 1955 (age 70)
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

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 the Goodwood Estate in Sussex. [1] [2] He is the founder of the Goodwood Festival of Speed and the Goodwood Revival.

Contents

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. He was awarded an honorary Fellowship by the University of Chichester in 2009. [3]

Early life

Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox was born on 8 January 1955 to Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox and Susan Monica Grenville-Grey, then the Earl and Countess of March and Kinrara. From birth, he was styled Lord Settington, as the grandson of the then Duke of Richmond, via the senior male line. Settrington was educated at Eton College which he left at the earliest possible opportunity to pursue a career in film and photography – an interest he had enjoyed from an early age – subsequently working for the film director Stanley Kubrick on the film Barry Lyndon , aged 17. [2] [1]

Goodwood

Goodwood House in October 2011 Goodwood House, West Sussex, England-2Oct2011.jpg
Goodwood House in October 2011

In 1995, the Earl of March, as he was then styled, moved from London to his family seat, Goodwood House, to take over management of the estate, following family tradition of the estate management devolving upon the heir apparent when he 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. [4] The Duke's name appears in the video game Gran Turismo 6 , when he sends players an invitation related to the Goodwood Festival of Speed. [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]

In 2006, the Duke was became Deputy Lieutenant (DL) for West Sussex, and 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] [8]

In 2025 Richmond launched the Goodwood Art Foundation. [9]

Engagements

In September 2023, the Duke attended the Ambassadors Theatre Group’s annual summer party held in the Sunken Gardens of Kensington Palace. The event brought together figures from the arts, media, and public life, including Lord Snowdon, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Matthew Broderick. Hosted by ATG President Mark Cornell, the gathering celebrated the British theatre industry. [10]

In September 2024, the Duke hosted the 26th annual Goodwood Revival at the Goodwood Estate in West Sussex. The event featured historic motor racing and period-themed activities, and is known for its focus on mid-20th-century automotive heritage and fashion. A reception was held at the Old Control Tower to mark the start of the event. Guests included Dita Von Teese. [11]

In February 2025, the Duke took part in the Purdey Awards for Game and Conservation, held at Audley House in Mayfair. Celebrating its 25th anniversary, the event recognised conservation and sustainability efforts within the UK’s gamekeeping and shooting community. The Duke presented the awards, while the Duke of Wellington chaired the judging panel. [12]

Marriages and children

The Duke has been married twice and has three sons and two daughters. [13] Marrying firstly in 1976 to Sally Clayton by whom he had one daughter:

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 Astor, 3rd Viscount Astor, by whom he has one daughter and three sons:

In January 2016, the Duke and Duchess (then Earl and Countess of March) were attacked and tied up in a major jewel robbery at Goodwood House. [14]

Titles and styles

Arms

Coat of arms of Charles Gordon-Lennox, 11th Duke of Richmond
11th Duke of Richmond with Circlet.png
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

  1. 1 2 "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. 1 2 3 O'Grady, Sean (30 July 2009). "Earl of March: A glorious example of the landed classes". The Independent .
  3. ↑ "Graduation". University of Chichester. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  4. ↑ "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.
  5. ↑ Gran Turismo 6 Archived 27 August 2015 at the Wayback Machine , gran-turismo.com. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  6. ↑ www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com
  7. ↑ "No. 64269". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2023. p. N11.
  8. ↑ Murray Scullion (30 December 2023). "Dennis, Horner and Duke of Richmond named in honours list". Autocar. Retrieved 29 May 2025.
  9. ↑ Woodcock, Victoria (20 May 2025). "Goodwood's new draw? Contemporary art". Financial Times .
  10. ↑ Chelsea, Davina (14 September 2023). "Tatler's Social Editor gives an insider look into one of the theatre world's most exclusive events". Tatler. Retrieved 29 May 2025.
  11. ↑ Tregaskes, Chandler (9 September 2024). "Retro engines and vintage elegance: Tatler's style editor steps back in time at Goodwood Revival, the Duke of Richmond's full-throttle-fabulous racing event". Tatler. Retrieved 29 May 2025.
  12. ↑ Jureidini, Ben (7 February 2025). "Double Duke duty! The Duke of Richmond and the Duke of Wellington rule the roost at the Purdey Awards for Game and Conservation – but which of Britain's best shoots came out on top?". Tatler. Retrieved 29 May 2025.
  13. ↑ www.burkespeerage.com
  14. ↑ "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.
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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