Thomas Patrick John Anson, 5th Earl of Lichfield (25 April 1939 – 11 November 2005) was an English photographer. He inherited the Earldom of Lichfield in 1960 from his paternal grandfather. In his professional practice he was known as Patrick Lichfield.
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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 official pictures of her Golden Jubilee in 2002. He resided at the former family seat at Shugborough Hall, near Cannock Chase in Staffordshire although in 1960 he had given the estate to the National Trust in lieu of death duties arising on his grandfather's death. Nearby is Milford Hall, the estate of the Levett-Haszard family, who are related to the Ansons and who sit on the board of Shugborough.
Thomas Patrick John Anson was born 25 April 1939. He was the only son of Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas William Arnold Anson, Viscount Anson (1913–1958), the eldest son and heir apparent of Thomas Edward Anson, 4th Earl of Lichfield (1883–1960). His mother was Princess Anne of Denmark (1917–1980), a niece of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. He had one sister, Elizabeth Georgiana (born 1941), who married Sir Geoffrey Adam Shakerley, 6th Baronet.
In 1958, his father died, so when his grandfather died in 1960, he succeeded as 5th Earl of Lichfield. In 1975 he married Lady Leonora Grosvenor, elder daughter of the 5th Duke of Westminster, but they divorced in 1986. After divorcing, the Countess of Lichfield retained her title and has not remarried. 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,[1] daughter of Julian Asquith, 2nd Earl of Oxford and 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, where he was also buried. [1]
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Thomas Anson |
Earl of Lichfield 1960–2005 |
Succeeded by Thomas Anson |