Henry Herbert, 6th Earl of Carnarvon

Henry George Alfred Marius Victor Francis Herbert, 6th Earl of Carnarvon (7 November 1898 – 22 September 1987) was a British peer. He was the son of George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon and Almina Wombwell, whose biological father may have been banker Alfred de Rothschild.[1]

The Right Honourable The Earl of Carnarvon
6th Earl of Carnarvon
Tenure	1923–1987
Born	7 November 1898 London, England
Died	22 September 1987 (aged 88)
Spouse(s)	Anne Catherine Tredick Wendell ​ ​ (m. 1922; div. 1936)​ Tilly Losch ​ ​ (m. 1939; div. 1947)​
Issue Henry Herbert, 7th Earl of Carnarvon Lady Penelope van der Woude
Parents	George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon Almina Wombwell
Military career
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1914–1945
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel
Unit	7th Queen's Own Hussars
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Bronze Star Medal

Life

Styled Lord Porchester from birth, he inherited the Earldom of Carnarvon on the death in 1923 of his father – who was famously funding archaeologist Howard Carter when he discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun. He was educated at Eton and then Rugby School The 6th Earl attributed the death of his father to the "Curse of Tutankhamun", claiming that the moment his father died on 5 April in Egypt, the family dog howled and died a sympathetic death at Highclere Castle, the family seat.[2] In his memoirs, he described an unloving upbringing by his parents. After his father died, he became responsible for the upkeep of Highclere Castle while his mother refused him an inheritance. She remarried only eight months after the death of her first husband.

He had a younger sister, Lady Evelyn Beauchamp.

Marriages and issue

Henry Herbert, 6th Earl of Carnarvon married Anne Catherine Tredick Wendell, of New York City, on 17 July 1922 and they divorced in 1936. They had two children:

• Henry George Reginald Molyneux Herbert, 7th Earl of Carnarvon (19 January 1924 – 11 September 2001). He married Jean Margaret Wallop, daughter of Hon. Oliver Malcolm Wallop and Jean Moore, on 7 January 1956. They have three children:
  • George Herbert, 8th Earl of Carnarvon (10 November 1956)
  • The Hon. Henry "Harry" Herbert (2 March 1959)
  • Lady Carolyn Herbert (27 January 1962).
• Lady Anne Penelope Marian Herbert (3 March 1925 - 1990). She married her second cousin Captain Reinier Gerrit Anton van der Woude, son of R.A.G van der Worse and his wife Mary Wendell, daughter of Harvard professor Barrett Wendell, on 21 April 1945. They had three children:
  • Michael Gerrit van der Woude (25 March 1946 - 14 January 2008)
  • David Anthony van der Woude (7 November 1947)
  • Penelope Catherine Mary van der Woude (19 August 1952 - 1978).

Following his divorce from Catherine, Lord Carnarvon married Austrian dancer Tilly Losch on 1 September 1939. They divorced in 1947.

His obituary by Hugh Massingberd famously described him as a "most uncompromisingly direct ladies' man".[3]

Publications

Late in life he published two books of memoirs:

• No Regrets: Memoirs of the Earl of Carnarvon (1976) Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
• Ermine Tales: More Memoirs of the Earl of Carnarvon (1980) Weidenfeld and Nicolson.

References

2. See Thomas Hoving, Tutankhamun: The Untold Story, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1980, p. 226.
3. "My Mentor: Andrew McKie On Hugh Massingberd Archived 8 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine", The Independent, 23 January 2006

Further reading

• Carnarvon, Fiona, Countess of (2013) Lady Catherine and the Real Downton Abbey. Lonson: Hodder & Stoughton ISBN 9781444762143
• Cross, William, Lordy! Tutankhamun's Patron As A Young Man , Book Midden Publishing, 2012 (ISBN 978-1-905914-05-0).
• Cross, William, The Life and Secrets of Almina Carnarvon : 5th Countess of Carnarvon of Tutankhamun Fame , 3rd ed. 2011 (ISBN 978-1-905914-08-1).
• Cross, William, Catherine and Tilly: Porchey Carnarvon's Two Duped Wives: The Tragic Tales of the Sixth Countesses of Carnarvon, Book Midden Publishing, 2013 ( ISBN 978-1905914-25-8).