William Herbert "Harry" Smith, 4th Viscount Hambleden (2 April 1930 – 2 August 2012) was a British peer and descendant of the founders of the stationery group W H Smith.
Life and family[edit]
Smith was the son of William Smith, 3rd Viscount Hambleden, and Patricia née Herbert, a descendant of the Earls of Pembroke and the Vorontsov family.[1] He was educated at Eton College. He succeeded the title of 4th Viscount Hambleden after the death of his father in 1948.[2]
Smith married Countess Maria Carmela Attolico di Adelfia in 1955. The couple had five sons:
- William Henry (born 1955)
- Bernardo James (born 1957)
- Alexander David (born 1959)
- Nicolas Robin Bartolomeo (born 1960)
- Lorenzo Patrick Harold (born 1962)
After the couple's divorce in 1988, Smith married Lesley Watson and lived in America,[3] while his first wife continued to live in the Manor House in Hambleden, Buckinghamshire, England.[4] He sold off most of the family estate in 2007.[5]
Smith died of cancer on 2 August 2012 at his home in Reno, Nevada, at the age of 82. His funeral was held on 31 August 2012 at St. Mary the Virgin, Hambleden. Upon his death, his eldest son succeeded his title.[3][6]
References[edit]
- ^ Woronzow, HumphrysFamilyTree, accessed 4 April 2012. Catherine Vorontsov's father, Count Semyon Vorontsov, the Russian ambassador to Britain, brought the family to London in 1785.
- ^ Lundy, Darryl. "William Herbert Smith, 4th Viscount Hambleden", The Peerage, p. 2113, accessed 10 October 2012
- ^ a b Viscount Hambleden dies of cancer Archived 2016-02-03 at the Wayback Machine, Henley Standard, 8 August 2012
- ^ "Viscount Hambleden dies in US, aged 82" Archived 2014-08-21 at the Wayback Machine, Henley Standard, 13 August 2012
- ^ Eden, Richard. "Abba singer’s lover becomes a viscount". The Telegraph, 12 August 2012
- ^ Hambleden death announcement, The Telegraph, 8 August 2012
Further reading[edit]
- Wilson, Charles. First With the News: The History of W. H. Smith 1792-1972, London: Jonathan Cape, 1985. ISBN 978-0-224-02156-2
