Julian Asquith, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Asquith

Julian Edward George Asquith, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Asquith KCMG (born 22 April 1916) is the grandson of Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, British Prime Minister from 1908 until 1916. He was the only son of Raymond Asquith, a brilliant barrister, by his wife the former Katherine Horner. Lord Asquith's two older sisters have both predeceased him; the younger of these was Lady Perdita Rose Mary Asquith, later Lady Hylton (1910-1996), [ [http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/person.asp?LinkID=mp72775 Lady Perdita Asquith] maternal grandmother of actress Anna Chancellor.] , who was married to William Jolliffe, 4th Baron Hylton.

Asquith inherited the Earldom on the death of his grandfather, as his father (the eldest son) had died during the First World War. He was raised Roman Catholic (his mother, the former Katharine Horner, had converted to Roman Catholicism in 1923) and was educated at the premier Roman Catholic school in Great Britain, the Benedictine Abbey at Ampleforth. He then became a scholar at Balliol College, Oxford, where he received an M.A. In 1941 Asquith served as a Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers and Assistant DC Palestine (1942-48).

He was Deputy Chairman Secretary of the British Administration Tripolitania from 1949 to 1950, Director of Interior Tripolitania in 1951 and Advisor to the Prime Minister of Libya in 1952. In 1955 he was Administrative Secretary of Zanzibar and from 1958-62 was the Administrator of Saint Lucia. He became a Companion of Order of St. Michael and St. George in 1961. Oxford was the Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Seychelles from 1962 to 1967 and the Commander of the British Indian Ocean Territory from 1965 to 1967. In 1964 he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George. He also held the posts of Constitutional Commander of the Cayman Islands in 1971, and Turks and Caicos Islands from 1973-74.

Family

He married Anne Mary Celestine Palairet (14 November 1916 Paris - 19 August 1998 [ [http://www.thepeerage.com/p1149.htm#i11483 The Peerage: Anne Mary Celestine Palairet] ] at Frome, Somerset), daughter of [http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/portrait.asp?LinkID=mp56290&rNo=0&role=sit Sir (Charles) Michael Palairet] KCMG (1882-1956) [His parents were Charles Harvey Palairet and Emily Henry, not Nora Hamilton Martin as listed by Paul Theroff. Nora Hamilton Martin married Palairet only in 1888. See [http://www.angelfire.com/realm/gotha/Part_h2.htm Descendants of King Henry VII of England: Part Two] for details.] by his wife Mary de Vere Studd, [Lady Palairet (1895-1977) was a remarkable beauty painted by Augustus John. See [http://www.thepeerage.com/p1748.htm The Peerage: Mary de Vere Studd] for her dates.] on 28 August 1947 at the Brompton Oratory. Anne Oxford was also a Roman Catholic via her parents' conversions. The Countess of Oxford and Asquith died in 1998, leaving five children: two sons, both diplomats, and three daughters (the middle married to another diplomat). Lord Oxford's Heir Apparent is his elder son, Raymond Asquith, Viscount Asquith (b. 1952), a former British diplomat. His younger son the Honourable Dominic Asquith is British Ambassador to Egypt as of 2007, and a former British Ambassador to Iraq.

Lord Asquith inherited the Mells estate from his mother Katherine Asquith, younger daughter of Sir John Horner of Mells and his wife [http://www.oxforddnb.com/index/101049524/ Frances Graham] . He now reportedly lives at the Manor House, Mells. [ [http://www.andrewcusack.com/blog/2006/02/a_journey_to_me.php A Journey to Mells] ] He was recorded as alive in the 2008 edition of "Debrett's Peerage"; in May 2008, aged 92, he attended the Somerset wedding of his grandson Hon. Mark Asquith. [Richard Kay. "Busman's holiday" in column [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1020611/Richard-Kay-New-signing-Romans-art-empire.html "New signing for Roman's art empire"] "Daily Mail", 20 May 2008. Retrieved 25 May 2008]

References

Sources

* "Who's Who" 2007 "Oxford and Asquith, The Earl of" and "Asquith, Dominic"
* "Obituary: The Countess of Oxford and Asquith", "Daily Telegraph", 1998.
* John Joliffe. "Obituary: The Countess of Oxford and Asquith" "The Independent", 7 September 1998, available [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19980907/ai_n14166169 online] .
* [http://blgweb.thomastechsolutions.com/sites/Contents/book/UK/FHP/Peerage/fhp-OXFORDANDASQUITH.asp Burke's Peerage & Landed Gentry: Oxford and Asquith] , full article only by subscription.