Ceawlin Henry Laszlo Thynn, 8th Marquess of Bath (/ˈsuːəlɪn/; SOO-ə-lin;[1] born 6 June 1974), styled Viscount Weymouth between 1992 and 2020, is a British peer, landowner, and businessman, active in companies in the leisure, tourism, real estate, and financial services sectors.[2]
The Marquess of Bath | |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | Ceawlin Henry Laszlo Thynn 6 June 1974 Hammersmith, London, England |
| Spouse | |
| Children |
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| Parents | |
| Alma mater | University College London |
| Occupation | Businessman |
Early life
editBorn in Hammersmith,[3] the first son and second child of Alexander Thynn, 7th Marquess of Bath, and his wife Anna Gyarmathy,[4] Ceawlin Thynn was educated at Horningsham Primary School, a village school near the family estate of Longleat, in Wiltshire, then at Kingdown School in Warminster and Bedales School in Hampshire; he finally read economics and philosophy at University College London.[5]
He is named after Ceawlin of Wessex, having been born shortly after his father had stood as the Wessex Regionalists' parliamentary candidate in Westbury at the February 1974 United Kingdom general election.[6]
In 1996, Thynn was injured in a building collapse in New Delhi, India, initially thought to be caused by a terrorist bomb, which killed his girlfriend, Jane Kirby, and his business partner, Crinan Wilde.[7][8]
Business career
editThynn began his business career as an emerging markets specialist at the London investment bank Caspian Securities, before becoming a partner in Sabre Projects, a real estate development firm.[4] At Sabre he put together a project with Group Menatep, the holding company of Russia's then-largest oil company, Yukos, to develop a mid-market hotel in every major city in Russia.[9][10]
In 2008, Thynn formed the Lion Trust, a private equity vehicle of which he is the principal.[11] The Lion Trust invests in a range of mature and emerging markets.[2][12]
Since June 2010, Thynn has been a director at Finmetron AB, a Swedish listed firm offering factoring services in Russia.[2][13][14]
From 2010 until 2013, Thynn was executive chairman of Wombat's Holdings GmbH – a chain of hostels in Germany and Austria – having acquired a majority stake in the company.[15][2][16] In 2013, the company was bought back by its former owners.[17]
Longleat
editIn January 2009, Thynn became chairman of Longleat Enterprises, a limited company that manages business interests at Longleat House and Safari Park on the family estate of Longleat, Wiltshire, as well as the commercial activities at Cheddar Gorge, in the Mendip Hills in Somerset.[2][18][19] In early 2010, Thynn's father passed the management of the family business over to him.[20] Following this retirement, Thynn hired a new estate chief executive, David Bradley, formerly of Legoland.[21][22] Together, they worked with designers from Hollywood to make improvements to the house and park; additions to the park included "Jungle Kingdom", "Monkey Temple", and "Hunters of the Sky".[21][2] In September 2013, Bradley resigned,[23] and in February 2014 the American Bob Montgomery was hired for the same role.[24]
In April 2020, Thynn's father died, and he succeeded him as Marquess of Bath.[25]
Thynn is a trustee of the Longleat Charitable Trust,[26] a charity established in 1996 that focuses on relieving poverty around the Longleat estate and Cheddar Gorge.
Politics
editThynn made donations of £30,000 and £15,000 to the Liberal Democrats during the 2019 general election.[27][28]
Personal life
editIn November 2012, aged 38, Thynn announced his engagement to Emma McQuiston, the daughter of Suzanna McQuiston and Nigerian oil billionaire Oladipo Jadesimi, a founder and the executive chairman of Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics.[29][30] She is a younger half-sister of Iain McQuiston, the husband of Thynn's half-aunt, Lady Silvy Cerne Thynne, a daughter of his paternal grandfather, the 6th Marquess of Bath, by his second wife.[1] Thynn’s mother was reported as strongly disapproving of her son's planned marriage, due to her prospective daughter-in-law's African ancestry, and she was not invited to the wedding.[31]
It was reported that Thynn intended to evict his father's 'wifelets' from their estate cottages,[32] and some murals painted by his father were removed from Longleat. A rift between them developed.[33]
Thynn and McQuiston were married at Longleat on 8 June 2013,[34] with Lord Bath boycotting the event.[33] Despite the absence of both his parents, the marriage was attended by Thynn’s sister.[35]
On 26 October 2014, Lady Weymouth gave birth to the couple’s first child, John Alexander Ladi Thynn.[36] On 30 December 2016, their second child, Henry Richard Isaac Thynn, was born by surrogacy at a private clinic in West Hollywood, United States.[37][38]
References
edit- ^ a b Kamp, David (25 April 2018). "Meet the Viscountess Transforming the Idea of British Aristocracy". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f "Ceawlin Thynn". linkedIn. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ^ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
- ^ a b London Evening Standard Archived 6 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "The viscount who cleaned the loos". thisislondon.co.uk. 16 June 2004. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ^ Fort, Linda (2 April 2015). "Wessex Regionalists want "devo-opt" for Berkshire and points west".
- ^ "Terrorists kill two Britons in hotel bombing". The Independent. 21 April 1996. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
- ^ "Police baffled as Delhi search reveals no trace of bomb". independent.co.uk. 22 April 1996. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ^ "Moscow Times". moscowtimes.ru. Archived from the original on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ^ Resource, Hotel News. "Group MENATEP Launches Hotel Program in Russia with Sabre Projects, Marriott". hotelnewsresource.com. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ^ "Heir gets lions, the gorge, but not the wardrobe". thisissomerset.co.uk. 11 March 2010. Archived from the original on 26 October 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ^ "Home – Eredene Capital PLC". eredene.com. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ^ "Finmetron website". finmetron.com. Archived from the original on 19 June 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ^ "Storytel AB (publ), STORY B:AKT summary – FT.com". ft.com. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ^ Goodman, Matthew (17 July 2011). "Longleat heir moves into hostels – The Sunday Times". thesundaytimes.co.uk. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ^ "Wombats Hostels!". wombats-hostels.com. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ^ "Legal – Wombats Hostels!". wombats-hostels.com. Archived from the original on 2 October 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ^ "Login". The Times. Retrieved 26 September 2016.[dead link]
- ^ Cheddar Gorge
- ^ Simon de Bruxelles "Lord Bath announces retirement from Longleat safari park business"[dead link], The Times, 13 March 2010.
- ^ a b Gerard, Jasper (22 April 2011). "Ceawlin Thynn interview: It was a different normality, says the young lion of Longleat". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 26 April 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
- ^ "US". independent.co.uk. Retrieved 26 September 2016.[dead link]
- ^ "Longleat chief executive resigns". westerndailypress.co.uk. 15 October 2013. Archived from the original on 7 October 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ^ "Longleat lions welfare criticisms bring new chief executive to safari park". Archived from the original on 7 October 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
- ^ "The 7th Marquess of Bath, Britain's most flamboyant and eccentric aristocrat – obituary". The Sunday Telegraph. 5 April 2020.
- ^ "Longleat Charitable Trust, registered charity no. 1057715". Charity Commission for England and Wales.
- ^ "View donation". The Electoral Commission. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
- ^ "View donation". The Electoral Commission. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
- ^ Ladi Jadesimi[dead link], business profile
- ^ Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics Base: Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics Base Management, accessdate: 8 January 2017
- ^ Dangremond, Sam (8 September 2015). "British Noble Won't Speak to Her Son Because He Married Nigerian Woman". Town & Country. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
- ^ Wyn Ellis, p. 189
- ^ a b Carter, Claire (22 May 2014). "Viscountess puts wedding on display after father-in-law Lord Bath snubbed big day". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
- ^ Kamp, David (25 April 2018). "Meet the Viscountess Transforming the Idea of British Aristocracy". Vanity Fair. Condé Nast. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
- ^ Racism Toward First Black Marchioness Stirs Rift At Longleat, naij.com, accessdate: 8 January 2017
- ^ "Google Groups". google.com. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ^ "THYNN - Births Announcements - Telegraph Announcements". announcements.telegraph.co.uk.
- ^ Longleat heir has son born by surrogacy after medics warned pregnancy could kill Lady Weymouth, telegraph.co.uk, 7 January 2017