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Colin Christopher Paget Tennant, 3rd Baron Glenconner (1 December 1926 – 27 August 2010), was a British peer, landowner and socialite. He was the son of
Christopher Tennant, 2nd Baron Glenconner Christopher Grey Tennant, 2nd Baron Glenconner (14 June 1899 – 4 October 1983), of The Glen, Scottish Borders, was a British peer, businessman and Royal Navy officer. He was the second son of Edward Tennant, 1st Baron Glenconner, a Liberal ...
, and Pamela Winifred Paget. He was also the nephew of Edward Tennant and Stephen Tennant, and the half-brother of the novelist
Emma Tennant Emma Christina Tennant FRSL (20 October 1937 – 21 January 2017) was an English novelist and editor of Scottish extraction, known for a post-modern approach to her fiction, often imbued with fantasy or magic. Several of her novels give a femi ...
. Before succeeding to the peerage in 1983, he had travelled widely, especially in India and the West Indies. He was an avid
socialite A socialite is a person, typically a woman from a wealthy or aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having ...
and a close friend of
Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. She was the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II. ...
, to whom his wife, the former Lady Anne Coke, was a
lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a Royal court, court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking nobility, noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was o ...
. In 1958, he purchased the island of
Mustique Mustique is a private island in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It is part of the Grenadines, a chain of islands in the West Indies. The island is located within Grenadines Parish, and the closest island is the uninhabited Petite Mustique, ...
in
The Grenadines The Grenadines () is a chain of small islands that lie on a line between the larger islands of Saint Vincent and Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. Nine are inhabited and open to the public (or ten, if the offshore island of Young Island is counted ...
for £45,000.


Early life

Colin Tennant was born at 76
Sloane Street Sloane Street is a major London street in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea which runs north to south, from Knightsbridge to Sloane Square, crossing Pont Street about halfway along. History Sloane Street takes its name from Sir Han ...
in
Chelsea, London Chelsea is an area in West London, England, due south-west of Kilometre zero#Great Britain, Charing Cross by approximately . It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the SW postcode area, south-western p ...
, on 1 December 1926, the son of the second Baron Glenconner. His mother, Pamela, was the daughter of Sir Richard Paget, 2nd Baronet. After his parents divorced in 1935, he was educated at Scaitcliffe and
Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...
, but for years, Tennant rarely saw his father. Holidays from Eton were spent with his maternal grandmother, Lady Muriel Paget, a formidable
grande dame Grande means "large" or "great" in many of the Romance languages. It may also refer to: Places *Grande, Germany, a municipality in Germany * Grande Communications, a telecommunications firm based in Texas * Grande-Rivière (disambiguation) *Arro ...
who had diverted a train from the
Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...
to
Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
in
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
to save the lives of 70 British nannies. After finishing his schooling at Eton, Tennant enlisted in the
Irish Guards The Irish Guards (IG) is one of the Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and is part of the Guards Division. Together with the Royal Irish Regiment (1992), Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infant ...
, serving during the tail end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and attaining the rank of lieutenant. After the war, he attended
New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...
. At Oxford, he gained a reputation for being "terribly kind to plain girls with nice manners and extremely waspish to pretty ones with nasty manners". After graduating, he worked for the family's merchanting business, C. Tennant, Sons & Co, and at the same time, began to attract the attention of the
gossip column A gossip columnist is someone who writes a gossip column in a newspaper or magazine, especially in a gossip magazine. Gossip columns are written in a light, informal style, and relate opinions about the personal lives or conduct of celebrities f ...
s as
Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. She was the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II. ...
's escort. During the early 1950s, he was often involved in
amateur dramatics Amateur theatre, also known as amateur dramatics, is theatre performed by amateur actors and singers. Amateur theatre groups may stage plays, revues, musicals, light opera, pantomime or variety shows, and do so for the social activity as well as f ...
; in 1953, he took part, with Princess Margaret, in a production for charity of an
Edgar Wallace Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1 April 1875 – 10 February 1932) was a British writer of crime and adventure fiction. Born into poverty as an illegitimate London child, Wallace left school at the age of 12. He joined the army at age 21 and was ...
play, '' The Frog''; Tennant played the title role (a serial killer), and the Princess was Assistant Stage Director. It was during this period that Tennant was spotted as a possible husband for Princess Margaret, who had been publicly hurt by the collapse of her hopes of marrying the divorced commoner
Group Captain Group captain (Gp Capt or G/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British influence. Group cap ...
Peter Townsend during 1953. The following year, he was forced to deny newspaper reports that he would shortly announce his engagement to the Princess. "I don't expect she would have had me," he said in later years. Princess Margaret met her future husband Tony Armstrong-Jones, who was hired to take wedding pictures at Tennant's 1956 wedding to Lady Anne Coke.


Mustique island

After purchasing the Caribbean island of
Mustique Mustique is a private island in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It is part of the Grenadines, a chain of islands in the West Indies. The island is located within Grenadines Parish, and the closest island is the uninhabited Petite Mustique, ...
in 1958, Tennant built a new village for its inhabitants, planted coconut palms, vegetables, and fruit, and developed the fisheries. In 1960, the British
royal yacht A royal yacht is a ship used by a monarch or a royal family. If the monarch is an emperor the proper term is imperial yacht. Most of them are financed by the government of the country of which the monarch is head. The royal yacht is most often c ...
''
Britannia The image of Britannia () is the national personification of United Kingdom, Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used by the Romans in classical antiquity, the Latin was the name variously appli ...
'' carried Princess Margaret and her husband, now
Lord Snowdon Antony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon (7 March 1930 – 13 January 2017) was a British photographer. He is best known internationally for his portraits of world notables, many of them published in ''Vogue (magazine), Vogu ...
, on a
honeymoon A honeymoon is a vacation taken by newlyweds after their wedding to celebrate their marriage. Today, honeymoons are often celebrated in destinations considered exotic or romantic. In a similar context, it may also refer to the phase in a couple ...
cruise around the
Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
. The royal couple visited Mustique to accept a wedding gift from Tennant, a plot of land on which the Princess was to build her holiday retreat, '' Les Jolies Eaux''. The cost of running Mustique depleted Glenconner's family fortune, and he was obliged to take on business partners. Eventually, he went into self-
exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...
on
St. Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...
, where assisted by Iranian investors, he built and for many years ran the "Bang Between the Pitons" restaurant. After about three years, the restaurant, constructed as "an almost exact copy of
Oliver Messel Oliver Hilary Sambourne Messel (13 January 1904 – 13 July 1978) was an English artist and one of the foremost stage designers of the 20th century. Early life Messel was born in London, the second son of Lieutenant-Colonel Leonard Messel a ...
's stage set for the 1950s
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...
'' House of Flowers''", went bankrupt. It was eventually resurrected by the Hilton chain of hotels as the Jalousie Bar, part of the Jalousie Resort. Glenconner and his involvement in Mustique has been the subject of multiple
documentaries A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". The American author and media analyst Bill ...
. In 1971, he was interviewed by
Alan Whicker Donald Alan Whicker (2 August 1921 – 12 July 2013) was a British journalist and television presenter and broadcaster. His career spanned almost 60 years, during which time he presented the documentary television programme '' Whick ...
for an episode of '' Whicker's World'' set on the island. In 2000, a documentary by Joseph Bullman, titled ''The Man Who Bought Mustique'', included Glenconner's first visit to Mustique since his exile. According to a reviewer, Tennant's "occasionally dictatorial manner" was "amply displayed" in the documentary. To describe Tennant, he wrote, "You had to imagine your most crotchety uncle on his worst day and magnify that tenfold."


Later life

In 1963, his father, the 2nd Baron Glenconner, sold the family business to
Consolidated Gold Fields Consolidated Gold Fields was a British gold-mining company. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index until it was acquired by Hanson in 1988. History Consolidated Gold Fields of South Africa was fo ...
, and Tennant suddenly inherited £1 million. At first, father and son were retained as chairman and deputy chairman, but after his father's retirement in 1967, Tennant failed to become chairman and resigned. The Tennants became significant landowners and industrialists over the years. Part of their land was in the
West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
, including a neglected 15,000 acres in
Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...
.


Family and inheritance

On 21 April 1956, Tennant married Lady Anne Veronica Coke. Lady Anne is the daughter of
Thomas Coke, 5th Earl of Leicester Major Thomas William Edward Coke, 5th Earl of Leicester (16 May 1908 – 3 September 1976), styled Viscount Coke from 1941 to 1949, was a British hereditary peer. cited in Early life Thomas William Edward Coke, 5th Earl of Leicester, was born ...
. Lady Anne had been one of
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
's
Maids of Honour A maid of honour is a junior attendant of a queen in royal households. The position was and is junior to the lady-in-waiting. The equivalent title and office has historically been used in most European royal courts. Tudors and Stuarts Traditi ...
at the 1953 coronation, and was also a close friend and
lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a Royal court, court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking nobility, noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was o ...
of the Queen's sister,
Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. She was the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II. ...
. Lord and Lady Glenconner had five children, three sons and twin daughters: * Hon. Charles Edward Pevensey Tennant (15 February 1957 – 19 October 1996; aged 39). He married Sheilagh Scott in 1993. He developed a heroin addiction and died of
Hepatitis C Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. During the initial infection period, people often have mild or no symptoms. Early symptoms can include ...
. His son Cody Charles Edward Tennant (born 2 February 1994) became the 4th baron. * Hon. Henry Lovell Tennant (21 February 1960 – 2 January 1990; aged 29). He died from
AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
. He married Tessa Cormack (1959–2018) in 1983; their son, Euan Lovell Tennant (born 1983), is the current
heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of a person with a better claim to the position in question. This is in contrast to an heir app ...
to the barony. Euan is married to Helen Tennant. They have 2 children together. * Hon. Christopher Cary Tennant (born 25 April 1968). He suffered severe brain damage in a motorcycle accident in 1987. He married Anastasia Papadakos in 1996. The couple later divorced. They have daughters Bella Tennant (b. 1997) and Demetra Tennant (b. 2000). Married secondly Johanna Lissack Hurn on 11 February 2011. * Hon. Flora May Pamela Tennant (born 8 November 1970), a god-daughter of Princess Margaret. She married 18 April 2005 Anton Ronald Noah Creasy. * Hon. Amy Jasmine Elizabeth Tennant (born 8 November 1970). No issue. Colin Tennant inherited the peerage title and the Tennant baronetcy, along with the family's Scottish estate of The Glen, in 1983, on his father's death. The couple came to divide their time between their house on
St. Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...
and their home in England. With his daughter May and her husband Anton, Glenconner began to develop the Beau Estate property between the Pitons. As his eldest son, the Hon. Charles Edward Pevensey Tennant (1957–1996), predeceased him, Glenconner was succeeded by his manservant, Kent Adonai, and not his grandson, Cody Charles Edward Tennant (born 2 February 1994). In December 2009, Tennant, then aged 83, learned he was also the father of London psychotherapist Joshua Bowler (born 1955). Bowler's mother, the artists' model and
bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a ...
Henrietta Moraes, had become pregnant following a weekend spent with Tennant after the New Year's Eve 1954
Chelsea Arts Club Chelsea Arts Club is a private members' club at 143 Old Church Street in Chelsea, London with a membership of over 4,000, including artists, sculptors, architects, writers, designers, actors, musicians, photographers, and filmmakers. The club wa ...
Ball. However, she never told Tennant about the pregnancy and married the actor Norman Bowler seven months later; the couple divorced two and a half years later. After Moraes died in 1999, Joshua Bowler decided to investigate his parentage and wrote to Tennant after a mutual friend recalled seeing the young Tennant and Moraes leave the 1954 ball together. A
paternity test DNA paternity testing uses DNA profiles to determine whether an individual is the biological parent of another individual. Paternity testing can be essential when the rights and duties of the father are in issue, and a child's paternity is in d ...
revealed that Tennant was indeed Bowler's father, news that Tennant looked upon as "quite magical." Tennant later announced his intention to recognise him in his will. When Lord Glenconner died in 2010, it was revealed that he had made a new will shortly before his death, leaving all his assets to an employee, Kent Adonai. The family contested this will, and after several years of legal battles, the estate was divided between Cody Charles Edward Tennant and Adonai, with the case ruling in Adonai's favour, but awarding Tennant the title of the fourth Lord Glenconner.


In popular culture

Colin Tennant is portrayed by
Pip Carter Pip Carter is an English actor. Career He attended Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School in Rochester, Kent. Before starting his professional career, Carter trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) where he appeared in produc ...
and Richard Teverson in the
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
television series ''
The Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...
''. Anne is played by Grace Stone and
Nancy Carroll Nancy Carroll (born Ann Veronica Lahiff; November 19, 1903 – August 6, 1965) was an American actress. She started her career in Broadway musicals and then became an actress in sound films and was in many films from 1927 to 1938. She was t ...
. Colin is portrayed by Jonathan Hansler in the television film '' The Queen's Sister'' (2005). In 2019, Lady Glenconner's memoir ''Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown,'' was published by
Hodder & Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.H ...
. "I married all of my husband", she writes. "Colin could be charming, angry, endearing, hilariously funny, manipulative, vulnerable, intelligent, spoilt, insightful and fun."


Arms


Notes


References


External links

*
Cotton House Hotel on MustiqueBeau Estate''The Man Who Bought Mustique''The Mustique CompanyFirefly Hotel on MustiqueSt. Lucia Calling
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glenconner, Colin Tennant, 3rd Baron 2010 deaths 1926 births People educated at Eton College People educated at Scaitcliffe School Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom British socialites
Colin Colin may refer to: * Colin (given name) * Colin (surname) * ''Colin'' (film), a 2008 Cannes film festival zombie movie * Colin (horse) (1905–1932), Thoroughbred racehorse * Colin (humpback whale), a humpback whale calf abandoned north of Sydney, ...
Glenconner