Sir William Ralph Worsley, 6th Baronet (born 12 September 1956), is a British forester, farmer and businessman. He is the Chair of the

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also respons ...

and is Chairman of the National Forest Company. He was the Government's National Tree Champion.

Early life and education

Worsley was born in

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, the eldest son of

Sir Marcus Worsley, 5th Baronet Sir (William) Marcus John Worsley, 5th Baronet (6 April 1925 – 18 December 2012), was a British Conservative Party politician. He served as a Member of Parliament in four parliaments between 1959 and 1974, and served as High Sheriff and Lor ...

, and

the Hon. ''The Honourable'' (Commonwealth English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of cert ...

Bridget Assheton, daughter of

Ralph Assheton, 1st Baron Clitheroe Ralph Assheton, 1st Baron Clitheroe (24 February 1901 – 18 September 1984), was an English aristocrat and politician. Biography Assheton was born on 24 February 1901. His father was Sir Ralph Assheton, 1st Baronet (1860–1955), and his moth ...

. His paternal aunt is

Katharine, Duchess of Kent Katharine, Duchess of Kent (born Katharine Lucy Mary Worsley; 22 February 1933) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, a grandson of King George V. The Duchess of Kent converted to Catholicism i ...

. He was educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

and the

Royal Agricultural College The Royal Agricultural University (RAU), formerly the Royal Agricultural College, is a public university in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, England. Established in 1845, it was the first agricultural college in the English-speaking world. ...

, following which he qualified as a

Chartered Surveyor Chartered Surveyor is the description (protected by law in many countries) of Professional ''Members'' and ''Fellows'' of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) entitled to use the designation (and a number of variations such as " Char ...

Career

He served as a Lieutenant in the

Queen's Own Yeomanry The Queen's Own Yeomanry (QOY) is a reserve light cavalry reconnaissance regiment of the British Army. The regiment is part of the 19th Brigade, which was reactivated in 2022. The regimental headquarters is at Fenham Barracks, Newcastle, with sq ...

from 1975 to 1980 and subsequently became Honorary Colonel of the Yorkshire Squadron of the Queen's Own Yeomanry from 2008 to 2015. He is Chairman of the

Howardian Hills The Howardian Hills are a range of hills in England located between the Yorkshire Wolds, the North York Moors, and the Vale of York. They are named after the Howard family, who still own land locally, and have been designated a National Land ...

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...

Joint Advisory Committee and served as a Secretary of State-appointed member on the

North York Moors The North York Moors is an upland area in north-eastern Yorkshire, England. It contains one of the largest expanses of Calluna, heather moorland in the United Kingdom. The area was designated as a national parks of England and Wales, National P ...

National Park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

Authority from 1994 to 1998. He was a member of the Independent Panel on Forestry between 2011 and 2012, and a member of the

's Advisory panel from 1999 to 2006. He was a member of the North Yorkshire Rural Commission from 2019 to 2021. He was a Director of the Scarborough Building Society from 1996 to 2009 and was chairman from 2002 to 2009. He was a Director of the

Skipton Building Society The Skipton Building Society is a building society established in 1853 in Skipton, North Yorkshire, where it remains headquartered. It is the UK's 4th largest building society and has over 1 million members and 100 branches. At December 2022, ...

from 2009 to 2011 and

The Brunner Investment Trust ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The' ...

from 2000 to 2014. He was President of the

Country Land and Business Association The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) is a membership organisation representing landowners, property owners and businesses owners in England and Wales. Until 2000, the organisation was known as the Country Landowners Association. The ...

(CLA) from 2009 to 2011. Deputy President and Chairman of the CLA Board from 2007 to 2009 and Vice-President and Chairman of Policy Committee from 2005 to 2007. He was Chair of the National Forest Company responsible for the

National Forest National Forest may refer to: * National forest or state forest, a forest administered or protected by a sovereign state ** National forest (Brazil) ** National forest (France) ** National forest (United States) ** State Forests (Poland) ** The N ...

, the largest environmentally led regeneration project in England, covering 200 square miles of the midlands, from 2016 to 2020. In 2018, following the launch of the Governments 25-year Natural Environment plan, he was made the Governments Tree Champion, leading an initiative to co-ordinate forestry and woodlands in England, including planting 11 million trees plus a further one million in the towns and cities. He held this role till early 2020. At the beginning of 2020 he was appointed as Chair of the

. In 2018 he was appointed a

Lay Canon Canon () is a Christian title usually used to refer to a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, in one of the houses within the precinct of ...

York Minster York Minster, formally the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The minster is the seat of the archbishop of York, the second-highest of ...

and a member of Chapter and the Cathedral Council. He is a member of the Court of the Merchant Taylors' Company and was Mayor of the Company of the Merchants of the Staple of England from 2014 to 2015. He was President of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society from 2020 to 2021. He was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of North Yorkshire in 2007. He was made a Fellow of the

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is a global professional body for those working in the Built Environment, Construction, Land, Property and Real Estate. The RICS was founded in London in 1868. It works at a cross-governmental ...

in 1992 and a Fellow of the Royal Agricultural Societies in 2018.

Marriage and children

In 1987, Worsley married Marie-Noëlle Dreesmann, daughter of Bernard Dreesmann. They have three children:Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003 * Isabella Claire Worsley (born 24 October 1988) * Francesca Sylvia Worsley (born 5 March 1992) * Marcus William Bernard Worsley (born 2 November 1995),

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

to the baronetcy.

References

External links

Hovingham Hall website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Worsley, William People from Hovingham 1956 births Living people British foresters British surveyors 21st-century British farmers 21st-century British businesspeople People educated at Harrow School Alumni of the Royal Agricultural University Deputy lieutenants of North Yorkshire Worsley family William Ralph Worsley Queen's Own Yeomanry officers