Patrick Anson, 5th Earl of Lichfield
Thomas Patrick John Anson, 5th Earl of Lichfield (
25 April 1939 –
11 November 2005) was a
British photographer and a first cousin once removed of
Queen Elizabeth II, his mother
Anne Bowes-Lyon (
1917–
1980) having been a niece of the late
Queen Mother. He inherited the
Earldom of Lichfield from his paternal grandfather. In his professional practice he was known as
Patrick Lichfield.
Lord Lichfield was educated at
Harrow and
Sandhurst, and joined the
Grenadier Guards in
1959. On leaving the Army in
1962, he began to work as a photographer's assistant, and built up his own reputation, partly as a result of having access to the Royal Family. He was selected to take the official photographs of the wedding of the
Prince and
Princess of Wales in
1981, and subsequently became one of the
UK's best-known photographers. From 1999 onwards he was a pioneer of digital photography at a professional standard. He was chosen by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh to take the official pictures of her Golden Jubilee in 2002. His estate was
Shugborough Hall, near
Cannock Chase in
Staffordshire.
In
1975 he married
Lady Leonora Grosvenor, elder daughter of the
5th Duke of Westminster, but they divorced in
1986. They had one son,
Thomas, now 6th Earl of Lichfield, and two daughters,
Rose and
Eloise.
His most recent partner was the biographer, Lady Annunziata Asquith.
On
10 November,
2005, Lichfield suffered a major stroke, and died the following day (
Remembrance Day) at the John Radcliffe Hospital in
Oxford, aged 66.
Lichfield's funeral was held on
21 November at St. Michael and All Angels Church,
Colwich,
Staffordshire (see
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4450762.stm).
*
Lichfield: The Early Years 1962–1982 exhibition at the
National Portrait Gallery, 2003
*
BBC News article on his death*
The life of Lord Patrick Litchfield*
BBC News Obituary*
The Royal Family Genealogy - Full details of the royal families of Europe
