Samuel Vestey, 3rd Baron Vestey
Samuel Vestey, 3rd Baron Vestey | |
|---|---|
| Born | Samuel George Armstrong Vestey 19 March 1941 |
| Died | 4 February 2021 (aged 79) |
| Occupation(s) | Hereditary nobleman, landowner, entrepreneur |
| Known for | Master of the Horse to Queen Elizabeth II (1999–2018) |
Samuel George Armstrong Vestey, 3rd Baron Vestey (19 March 1941 – 4 February 2021) was a British hereditary nobleman, landowner, and entrepreneur. He held the position of Master of the Horse to Queen Elizabeth II between 1999 and 2018. Vestey belonged to the family that founded Vestey Holdings, a global business enterprise.
Early life and education
Born on 19 March 1941, Vestey was the son of Captain The Hon. William Howarth Vestey, a Scots Guards officer who died in combat during World War II in 1944, and Pamela Vestey (née Armstrong). On his mother's side, he was a great-grandchild of the renowned opera singer Dame Nellie Melba. His education included Eton College followed by training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, after which he served as a Lieutenant in the Scots Guards.
Business career
From 1991 to 1995, Vestey led the Meat Training Council as chairman before assuming leadership of the Vestey Group (presently known as Vestey Holdings) in 1995. He was also a liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Butchers. In 1980, an investigation by the Sunday Times disclosed that he and his cousin Edmund paid only £10 in taxes on £2.3 million profits generated by their family’s Dewhurst business.
Wave Hill walk-off
During the Gurindji strike (also called the Wave Hill walk-off), which began in 1966 and lasted nine years, 200 Aboriginal Australian workers protested against inadequate wages, poor working conditions, and land dispossession at Wave Hill Station, owned by Vestey’s family company.
Vestey’s involvement in this dispute is mentioned in Ted Egan’s 1969 song "Gurindji Blues," co-written with Lingiari, and later brought to wider attention through Paul Kelly and Kev Carmody’s 1991 track "From Little Things Big Things Grow." Irish folk artist Damien Dempsey also references Vestey in his 2016 song "Wave Hill Walk Off" from the album No Force on Earth.
Public service
At just thirteen years old in 1954, Vestey inherited his baronial title following his grandfather’s passing. The family estate is located at Stowell Park Estate in Gloucestershire.
He held the role of Chancellor from 1988 to 1991 and subsequently served as Lord Prior from 1991 until 2002 within the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem. He was named Bailiff Grand Cross (GCStJ) in 1987. Additionally, he acted as a Deputy Lieutenant for Gloucestershire beginning in 1982.
Appointed Master of the Horse to Queen Elizabeth II from 1999 through to 2018, Vestey was honoured with the title Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) in 2009. Upon stepping down, he received promotion to Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) in December 2018 and was appointed a permanent Lord-in-waiting to The Queen in August 2019.
Personal life
Vestey's first marriage was to Kathryn Eccles in 1970; they divorced in 1981 and had two daughters:
- The Honourable Saffron Alexandra Vestey (born 1971), who has been married twice and has two children.
- The Honourable Flora Grace Vestey (born 1978), also married twice.
In 1981, he wed Celia Elizabeth Knight, godmother to the Duke of Sussex. They have three children:
- William Vestey, 4th Baron Vestey (born 1983), married with two children.
- The Honourable Arthur George Vestey (born 1985), married with three children.
- The Honourable Mary Henrietta Vestey (born 1992), married in 2019.
His eldest son William served as a Page of Honour to Queen Elizabeth II from 1995 until 1998. According to the Sunday Times Rich List of 2013, the combined fortune of the Vestey family, including cousin Edmund Hoyle Vestey, was valued at around £1.2 billion.
Honours
- Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
- 3rd Baronet Vestey of Bessémer House
- Grand Bailiff of the Order of St John
- Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal
- Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal
- Service Medal of the Order of St John
Further reading
External links
- 1941 births
- 2021 deaths
- People from Cotswold District
- British people of Australian descent
- Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
- Deputy lieutenants of Gloucestershire
- People educated at Eton College
- Bailiffs Grand Cross of the Order of St John
- Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
- Scots Guards officers
- 21st-century British landowners
- 21st-century British farmers
- British billionaires
- British philanthropists
- Vestey family
- Hereditary peers removed under the House of Lords Act 1999