Lord Bath of Longleat dies from coronavirus aged 87
5 April 2020, 12:39
Alexander George Thynn, the 7th Marquess of Bath, has died from coronavirus, it was announced today.
Longleat Safari Park, which he ran up until 2010 as part of his family seat of Longleat, announced his death in a statement posted online.
It read: “It is with the deepest sadness we have to announce Lord Bath has died at the age of 87.
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“Alexander Thynn, 7th Marquess of Bath, passed away on Saturday 4th April.
“He was admitted to the Royal United Hospital in Bath on 28 March where it was confirmed he had the coronavirus.
“The family would like to express their great appreciation for the dedicated team of nurses, doctors and other staff who cared so professionally and compassionately for Alexander in these extremely difficult times for everyone.”
The flamboyant aristocrat was known for his colourful dress sense and was a regular feature of the Animal Park television show about his estate.
Kate Humble presented the show, which ran from 2000-09, and said she was "very sad" to hear of his death.
She tweeted: "Everyone will describe him as eccentric - and he was, gloriously so - but he was also kind & fun - and we all need a bit of kindness & fun in our lives."
Lord Bath - then Viscount Weymouth - was educated at Eton and Oxford, where he was president of the famous Bullingdon Club.
He married Emma Gael in 1969 and had two children, but in a 2010 Guardian interview he also acknowledged that he had "an eight-year-old but I don't see enough of her".
According to several reports, he had decorated walls in his house with erotic murals.
Lord Bath was involved in politics, and stood in the very first European parliamentary elections in 1979, representing the Wessex Regionalist Party which he helped to found.
After inheriting the Marquess seat in 1992, he then sat as a Liberal Democrat in the House of Lords but lost his seat when Labour reforms excluded most hereditary peers.
