LONELY HEIR

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 275, 15 July 1932, Page 6

LONELY HEIR

TRAGIC FAMILY EARL OF EGMONT'S SON MOURNS DEATH OF " FATHER. CASTLE GATES LOCKED. LONDON, June 1. The loneliest boy in England to-day is the 18-year-old Viscount Perceval who becomes Earl. of Egmont on the death of his father, the Rancher Earl, Since they came to live at Avon Castle, Ringwood, their ancestral home, in 1929, the late peer and his son have been inseparable companions in a life of solitude, and the young earl is inconfsolable at the loss of his father. Gates Locked. As soon as he heard the news of his father's death from injuries received in a motor accident, he motored to Southampton. On his return a few hours later he gave instructions that the gates of the mile-long drive to the castle should be locked, and no strangers admitted. He spent some time discussing his affairs with Mr. Hicks, his agent, and the family solicitor, Mr. Hicks told a Daily Mail representative that the new earl has not decided on his future plans. , The Rancher Earl and his son led an alomst hermit-like life at the castle. They had few visitors, the great iron : gates at the entrance to the drive were seldom open, and they used only two or three of the 49 rooms in the castle. 1 They coolced their own meals, ate i them in the kitchen, washed up after- | wards, and made their own beds, no ■ servants being kept in the house. Seven Gardeners Retained. The only servants they retained were seven gardeners, and the gardens and grounds were always kept in per- '■ f ect order. "I do not lilce being waited on and pandered to as though I were made of china," the late Earl once said to one of his gardeners. He remained a backwoodsman to the end. He made himself responsible for the education of his son, who is proi bably the only peer able to break in a ' horse or throw and brand a steer. The earl had become a familiar figure to the villagers of Ringwood, and was fond of chatting with them, ; particularly about horses and racing. ; He talked to one of them about his 33 I tickets in the 'Irish sweepstake on th'3 ! Derby, and discussed what he would ! do if he drew a horse. i His son, the new earl, was rarely |seen in Ringwood. His first interest : seems to be motor-cycles, and he j spends hours riding a racing model I along the castle drive and the rough ! roads cut through the pine woods on . the estate. 1 He was ambitious to ride in motorcycle races, and had his machine specially tuned by a leading dirt-track rider. j Tragic Family. ; The late earl, who succeeded, on the i death of his cousin, the 9th earl, in January, 1929, was born in 1873-. I " He left his birthplace, Acocks ! Green, Birmingham, as a young man, j married in Montreal in 1911, and was j ranching in Alberta when he was 1 called to England to become a peer. | His wife died in 1916, two years j after the birth of his son. His death is in line with the tragic ; history of the Percevals. It would I not be easy to mention another peerj age with so many tragic episodes in | its family history. i In 1677, Robert Perceval, an heir was murdered, and his blood-stained duelling sword was found beside him. Spencer Perceval, Prime Minister of England, was murdered in 1812 in the lobby of the House of Commons. Another Perceval who would have been ! Earl of Egmont was" murdered in I America in the 'eighties. The late earl would have stayed in Alberta had he not thought that the | Perceval estates, variously reckoned i to be worth £400,000 or £500,000, t would assist his son to a better posi- ; tion. ! The picture of ancestors painted by ; Reynolds, Hoppner, and other fam- | ous artists, which used to hang in the » hall of the castle, were sold to pay death duties a few months after the Rancher Earl established himself at Avon Castle. ; The right of the title was contested i in June, 1929, the claimants being the , late Earl, of Priddis, Albera, Canada, and James W. Perceval, a 66-year-old ; Hornsey N., baker. Later another | claimant appeared. It was not until July, 1930, that the i litigation was concluded, and the late 'sarl's right was definitely established. [ ■