Earl of Yarmouth, 31, loses court fight which pitted him against his own family over £85million estate
By GLEN KEOGH
The Earl of Yarmouth has lost a bitter court fight which pitted him against his aristocratic family over the running of their £85million estate.
William Seymour, 31, has been involved in a messy spat with his parents, the Marquess and Marchioness of Hertford, since 2018, when they objected to his wedding to Kelsey Wells – now Lady Yarmouth – a former director at Goldman Sachs.
The family displayed such ‘deep antagonism’ towards Lady Yarmouth, 39, that on their wedding day Lord Hertford told his son that ‘you can still call it off and we’ll send everyone home, just say no,’ Lord Yarmouth claimed in evidence to the High Court
The court heard that Lord Yarmouth expected to inherit the family’s Ragley estate in Warwickshire, including the 110-room Palladian stately mansion his parents call home, when he turned 30.
By the age of just 21 he had already received more than £4.2million in land and property.
However Lord Hertford, 66, decided to disinherit his son as their animosity deepened, saying this decision ‘coincided with his marriage, but Kelsey is not the main reason.’
‘William's behaviour started to change before his marriage,’ he said in a witness statement.
‘William asked me to confirm that I would hand over Ragley Hall to him on turning 30. It was like he had promised Kelsey that they would be moving into Ragley Hall, he was persistent.
‘I am disappointed at William's lack of achievement. I am proud of the fact that he went to college but made a mistake at university and didn't graduate. William has not followed a profession or obtained qualifications or experience to take over the running of Ragley Hall.’
The Earl of Yarmouth with his wife Kelsey, now Lady Yarmouth, on their wedding day in 2018
Ragley Hall in Warwickshire is one of the prized assets at the centre of the dispute
Lord Hertford has fallen out with his son and disinherited him from the family estate
He added: ‘The tipping point in my deliberations of passing the running of Ragley Hall to William at age 30 was a letter received from him to my wife, Lady Hertford dated 25 July 2018 questioning my mental ability to continue running Ragley Hall.
‘I do not consider William to be an appropriate person to take over the running of Ragley Hall. He has not done anything to make me change my mind.'
Lord Yarmouth then launched legal action in an attempt to remove the trustees in charge of the running of the estate – including a cousin of his father and a long-standing family friend – who he felt were on the side of his parents and had ‘closed ranks’ against him.
To assist his case, he even surreptitiously recorded meetings with his father, trustees and other relatives and claimed he was planning a ‘hostile takeover.’
But in a judgement handed down today, Master James Brightwell dismissed his claim, ruling that the trustees had ‘acted professionally throughout and are capable of continuing to do so.’
Master Brightwell added that, in recording meetings, Lord Yarmouth was ‘looking for ammunition for a dispute’ and questioning his father’s mental ability was a ‘casus belli’ – an act or situation provoking or justifying war.
Despite losing the court case and having his family woes aired in public, in a statement released following the court’s verdict today, Lord Yarmouth said he was ‘disappointed’ but also ‘open to reconciliation’ with his parents.
‘My purpose has been to seek to ensure the protection of my family’s interests in the trusts, and in particular the welfare of my children as beneficiaries,’ he said.
‘I came to the court with the sincere hope of finding a fair and lasting resolution to a fraught situation.
‘As much as it is painful for both sides, my wife Kelsey and I remain open to reconciliation with my parents. Privately we have made this clear to Lord and Lady Hertford.’
The Earl and Countess of Yarmouth say they now hope to reconcile with Lord and Lady Hertford despite years of feuding
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He had previously told the court how the family feud had left him needing 'professional help and counselling to deal with trauma as a consequence'.
The family can trace its roots back to Henry VIII’s third wife, Jane Seymour. Ragley Hall, in Alcester, was built in the 1680s and sits within 450 acres of landscaped gardens, 4,500 acres of farmland and 1,000 acres of woodland.
It has been occupied permanently by the Marquess and Marchioness of Hertford since the 1960s when Lord Hertford’s father made it his main residence.
The court heard it was previously the intention of Lord Hertford to allow Lord Yarmouth, his eldest son, to inherit the estate when he turned 30. However, from the time of his marriage to Lady Yarmouth, relations deteriorated to the extent that Lord Yarmouth is also now estranged from his three siblings, who also opposed his court battle to remove the trustees.
Lord and Lady Hertford have also never met their young grandsons, Clement, five, and three-year-old Jocelyn.
As part of his claim, Lord Yarmouth claimed that when he sought a more central role to the running of the estate in 2018, one employee suggested that he should start by ‘cleaning the lavatories.’
The court heard that Earl Yarmouth had also fallen out with his younger brother, Lord Edward Seymour.
Edward said: ‘Our relationship started to go downhill however when William went to Cirencester Royal Agricultural University as William met some individuals who brought out the worst in him – William became pompous and showed signs of entitlement. Flaws that have been further exacerbated since his marriage to Kelsey.’
The family feud goes further. After being invited to Lord Yarmouth’s wedding, his aunt, Lady Carolyn, the Marquess' sister, replied calling him: 'Little Lord Fauntleroy'.
The letter was signed off: 'You pompous a**/t**/p***k – take your pick… Your ever-so loving aunt'.
Lord Yarmouth now runs a business selling an award-winning elderflower liqueur called St Maur.
Responding to claims that he was an entitled ‘toff’ in an interview with The Telegraph in March, Lord Yarmouth said: ‘If I am such a useless grifter then how have we made what is considered to be the world’s best floral liqueur?’
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