File 008 - Lord Beauchamp

William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp, was born on February 20, 1872, in London, England.

He was a British Liberal politician. He was educated at Eton College and Christ Church, University of Oxford. He succeeded his father in the earldom in 1891 and served as mayor of Worcester between 1895 and 1896. He also served as the 20th Governor of New South Wales, Australia, from 1899 to 1901. In 1902, Beauchamp joined the Liberal Party and was appointed Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms in 1906. In 1907, he became Lord Steward of the Household and, in 1910, the First Commissioner of Works, a position he held until 1914. He was also the leader of the Liberal Party in the House of Lords between 1924 and 1931. While his homosexuality was widely known, it was finally exposed in 1931 by his brother-in-law, the Duke of Westminster. Beauchamp was made an offer to separate from his wife Lettice without a formal divorce and then leave the country. He refused, and, shortly afterwards, Countess Beauchamp obtained a divorce. Beauchamp resigned all his offices except that of Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports and went into exile on the Continent to avoid imprisonment. He received the honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) from the University of Glasgow in 1901.

In 1902, he married Lady Lettice Mary Elizabeth Grosvenor (1876–1936) and divorced in 1931. He died on November 15, 1938, at the Waldorf Astoria hotel, New York City, New York.