Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 10th Earl of Shaftesbury (22 May 1938 – 5 November 2004), styled Lord Ashley between 1947 and 1961, and Earl of Shaftesbury from 1961 until his death, was a British peer from Wimborne St Giles, Dorset, England. He was the son of Major Lord Ashley and Françoise Soulier.Mosley, Charles editor (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes, Wilmington, Delaware: Burke's Peerage [Genealogical Books] Ltd), volume 3, page 3576.
Lord Shaftesbury was the grandson of the 9th Earl of Shaftesbury. Shaftesbury's father was the heir apparent to the earldom and its subsidiary titles, but he predeceased his father, the 9th Earl. His death made his son next in the line of succession. When his grandfather died in 1961, Tony became the 10th Earl of Shaftesbury, Baron Ashley of Wimborne St Giles and Baron Cooper of Pawlett.
The 10th Earl of Shaftesbury was a wealthy landowner of over in East Dorset, and received honours and awards for his philanthropic and conservationist work, which included planting over a million trees in South West England. He served as president of the Shaftesbury Society, pursuing the same goals of his second great grandfather, the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, who had founded the organisation as Ragged Schools in 1840. He also served as the vice president of Sir David Attenborough's British Butterfly Conservation Society.
In November 2004, the 10th Earl of Shaftesbury went missing while in France, prompting an international police investigation. His remains were found at the bottom of a remote ravine in the foothills of the French Alps five months after his death. Investigations revealed that he was murdered by his brother-in-law during an argument regarding a divorce from his wife, Jamila M'Barek, both of whom were convicted of his murder.
Education and early years Anthony Ashley-Cooper was born on 22 May 1938 in London, England. He was named after his father, as was tradition for firstborn sons in the Ashley-Cooper family. His father, Major Anthony Ashley-Cooper, Lord Ashley, was the firstborn son of the 9th Earl of Shaftesbury. Notable among his ancestors were the 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, a leader of the Whig party in Parliament, and the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, a 19th-century evangelical social reformer, who was honoured with the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain in London's Piccadilly Circus.
Ashley-Cooper's mother was the French-born Françoise Soulier, daughter of Georges Soulier of Caudebec-en-Caux, France. Major Lord Ashley and Françoise remained married until his death in 1947. Anthony's younger sister was Lady Frances Mary Elizabeth Ashley-Cooper (born 9 April 1940).
Ashley-Cooper was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford. As a child, his primary pursuits outside of getting an education included mountain climbing and skiing. He also expressed a love of music, which continued into adulthood with his service as chairman of the London Philharmonic Orchestra from 1966 to 1980. On 8 March 1947, his father died unexpectedly of heart disease and Ashley-Cooper became heir to the titles held by his grandfather and acquired the courtesy title of Lord Ashley.
Lord Ashley's mother decided to move back to her native France with the children. In August 1947, she remarried and settled in Paris. The children spent the next few years shuttling across the English Channel to their boarding schools, Eton for Lord Ashley and Heathfield School in Ascot for his sister, Frances. Holidays were alternately spent in France or with their grandparents at the Manor House in Wimborne St Giles. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Royal Armoured Corps, where he did his national service, on 29 June 1957. On 29 October 1958, he was placed in the emergency reserve of the 10th Royal Hussars. Lord Ashley was 22 years old when he succeeded his grandfather.
The 9th Earl of Shaftesbury, prior to his death, invested and arranged financial matters so that his heirs would avoid death duties. When his grandfather died, the newly titled 10th Earl of Shaftesbury came into a vast fortune of the Shaftesbury estates and other properties, including the family's 17th-century home and large estate in Dorset, as well as residences in Hove, London, Versailles and the French Riviera. Shaftesbury also inherited a collection of art, antiques, and other valuables worth over £3m. By the 1990s, the wealth of the family estate remained well worth millions.
St Giles House
The Shaftesbury estate in East Dorset is the home base and centre of business of the Ashley-Coopers. In addition to St Giles House, the family owns a large estate, including over , along with property, land, and loughs, that establishes them as one of the wealthiest families in the United Kingdom.
The Ashleys and Ashley-Coopers have made Wimborne St Giles their home since the 15th century. The small village of Wimborne St Giles rests within the family estate itself. The Ashley family arrived in Dorset, originally from Wiltshire, where they had owned the manor of Ashley since the 11th century. The first ancestor to reside in Wimborne St Giles was Robert Ashley (born c. 1415), fifth great grandfather of Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury.Timbs, John; and Alexander Gunn. Abbeys, Castles and Ancient Halls of England and Wales – Their Legendary Lore and Popular History, Read Books, 2006, pp. 444–446. Burke, John. A genealogical and heraldic History of the extinct and dormant Baronetcies of England, Ireland and Scotland: By John and John Bern. Burke, John Russ Smith, p 18, 1844.
Built in 1651, the family seat of St Giles House was unoccupied for many years following the death of the 9th Earl of Shaftesbury, and fell into disrepair apart from one wing used as the estate office. In 2001 it was recorded on the Register of Buildings at Risk, as a Grade I listed building, indicating neglect and decay. Buildings recorded on the Grade I list include those of "exceptional interest, sometimes considered to be internationally important". Following extensive repairs, in 2012 the house was reoccupied by the 12th Earl of Shaftesbury and his family.
Conservation and philanthropy
Lord Shaftesbury received honours and awards for his conservationist work. He planted more than a million trees on his estate at Wimborne St Giles, Dorset. In 1992, he was the joint winner of the Royal Forestry Society's National Duke of Cornwall Award for Forestry and Conservation, presented by Charles, Prince of Wales. He also served as president of the Hawk and Owl Trust and as vice president of Sir David Attenborough's British Butterfly Conservation Society. According to Philip Rymer, manager of the Shaftesbury Estates, the 10th Earl of Shaftesbury had also put quite a bit of energy into trying to save an endangered species of bat.
Shaftesbury served as president of the Shaftesbury Society, which the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury had founded as Ragged Schools in 1840. The charity provides free education, as well as food, clothing, lodging and other home missionary services for those too poor to pay. In 2007, the Shaftesbury Society was merged with John Groom's Crippleage, reorganising under the new name of Livability.
Shaftesbury owned Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland, which is the source of 40 per cent of Northern Ireland's drinking water. He continued to allow water to be extracted from the lough at no charge.
House of Lords speech Although a member of the House of Lords, until the passage of the House of Lords Act in 1999, the 10th Earl of Shaftesbury rarely attended. His maiden speech was made on 10 November 1999, the day before the act was passed and came into force. At this time, Shaftesbury made an eight-minute presentation in a debate regarding arts and sport, a portion of which is presented below.
The Earl of Clancarty rose to ask Her Majesty's Government how they believe the arts and sport relate to the issue of "social exclusion".
7 p.m. The Earl of Shaftesbury
My Lords, I apologise to noble Lords for this dramatic last-minute but not opportunistic maiden speech. Although I inherited my title 30 years ago and have attended spasmodically, particularly during the early 1970s when we rigorously debated the Industrial Relations Bill and the European Community Bill of Accession, both in Committee and on Report until extremely late at night, my heart has not entirely been in the thrust and cut of politics, unlike my more distinguished ancestors.
In fact, building a society the Shaftesbury way is not a matter of imprisoning a presumed evil spirit of mankind. It is a matter of beauty and truth. Both Goethe and Voltaire were influenced by the 3rd Lord Shaftesbury. The former particularly reminded us that we must cultivate our garden. We all know about large prize-winning marrows, but are not succulent baby courgettes more perfect? Small is beautiful too...
One of the best sermons I have ever been privileged to hear was by the late Bishop of Winchester. Social exclusion? He said virtually that if one sheep from a flock of 100 goes missing, the good shepherd worries frantically about that single sheep until it is safely found. There are too many sheep, men, women and children, being marginalised. John the Baptist had the answer: why do we not? I remain concerned in these turbulent times, but thank you for your patience. It has been my privilege to be able to speak in your Lordships' House.
Marriages and children Shaftesbury was married three times. He expressed his attraction to foreign women. At Eton, he wrote an article for the college magazine in which he described English debutantes as "round-shouldered, unsophisticated garglers of pink champagne". His three marriages and scattered relationships with foreign women throughout his life reflected his earlier opinions of English women.
Bianca Maria de Paolis Shaftesbury met his Italian-born first wife, Bianca de Paolis, during a skiing holiday. They married in July 1966. Bianca Maria de Paolis (born c. 1926), was the daughter of Gino de Paolis, a Roman banker. She had previously been married to the American film producer, Jack Le Vien. Shaftesbury and de Paolis were declared husband and wife at the Westminster Register Office in front of a few friends, with none of his family in attendance. They divorced 10 years later, on grounds of his adultery with an unnamed woman. The couple had no children.
The former Countess of Shaftesbury, who used the name Contessa Bianca Shaftesbury, released her memoirs in 2008, entitled, A Life on Fire. She died on 16 March 2013, in Rome, Italy. The funeral was held on 18 March 2013 at the church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli in Piazza del Popolo.Il Corriere della sera, 17 March 2013La Repubblica, 17 March 2013
Christina Eva Montan In December 1976, Shaftesbury married the Swedish-born Christina Eva (born c. 1940). Styled The Countess of Shaftesbury after their marriage, she was the daughter of Nils , the former Swedish Ambassador to Germany. Lady Shaftesbury was also a divorcée with a son and daughter from her first marriage, the half-siblings of the 11th and 12th Earls of Shaftesbury. Frederic Casella is a television producer and director in Britain, while his sister Cecilia is an attorney living in New York City. Shaftesbury and his second wife had two sons:
Anthony Nils Christian Ashley-Cooper, 11th Earl of Shaftesbury (24 June 1977 – 15 May 2005), first-born son of the 10th Earl of Shaftesbury and his wife. He died of a heart attack in Manhattan, New York, while visiting his younger brother Nicholas and older half-siblings Frederic and Cecilia.