Mark Harold Leonard Lyttelton, 11th Viscount Cobham, born March 6, 1968, is a British nobleman and peer from the Lyttelton family. He was known as the "Quango King" as his wife was titled the "Quango Queen" for their participation in business and charity organisations.
Early Life
He was educated at Eton, where his father had been before him, and at Christ's College, Christchurch while his father was Governor-General of New Zealand. He later attended the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester.
He married Anne Penelope Cooper, and inherited the family's titles and 200-year-old Worcestershire mansion, Hagley Hall, on his father's death in 1977. Facing steep death duties and high maintenance costs as well as the unstable state of finances left by his predecessors, he auctioned his family's 700-year archive for £164,000, and sold Necker Island to Richard Branson for $180,000. The hall was converted into a conference venue, although it also remained the family home.
He was a member of the Conservative Party, but shyness prevented him from taking the seat in the House of Lords that his hereditary peerage entitled him to. He left the Conservatives in 1992, in protest at Michael Heseltine's announcement that many coal mines would be closed. His first wife was a special adviser to David Mellor when Mellor was Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport in 1992. After so, he had children with his wife, Anne Cooper-Lyttelton, Penelope "Penny" Lyttelton, Henry Mark Lyttelton and Ella Marie Lyttelton.
Children
He has one remaining child presently left, Henry Lyttelton, the heir to inherit the Viscountcy. However, his two daughters; Penny and Ella (Alias Erika) passed away in an accident whilst skiing at the Alps in France. Their funeral was on the 21st Feb 2019.
Politics
Mark Lyttelton is the current Green Party Leader and has a coalition with the Liberal Democrats. His wife, Anne, supports him every step of the way.
Additional Information
He was caught having a shit in the Duke of Somerset's kitchen. Mark said "I was having trouble yo-yoing it".
| Peerage of Great Britain | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by
Marie Lyttelton |
Viscountess Coham(Current Dowager Viscountess) | To be succeeded by
Henry Mark Lyttelton |
Titles and Awards
- Order of the British Empire -- Awarded by HM Queen Elizabeth II.
- 11th Viscount Cobham
- 11th Baronet Cobham
- 11th Baronet Lyttelton
- 8th Lord Lyttelton
- 8th Baronet Westcote of Ballymore