Christopher Tennant, 2nd Baron Glenconner

The Right Honourable
The Lord Glenconner
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
In office
21 November 1920 – 4 October 1983
Preceded byThe 1st Baron Glenconner
Succeeded byThe 3rd Baron Glenconner
Personal details
Born
Christopher Grey Tennant

(1899-06-14)14 June 1899
Warminster, Wiltshire, England
Died4 October 1983(1983-10-04) (aged 84)
Corfu, Greece
Spouse(s)
Pamela Paget
​
​
(m. 1925; div. 1935)​

Elizabeth Powell
​
(m. 1935)​
Parent(s)Edward Tennant, 1st Baron Glenconner
Pamela Wyndham

Christopher Grey Tennant, 2nd Baron Glenconner (14 June 1899 – 4 October 1983), of The Glen, Scottish Borders,[1][2] was a British peer, businessman and Royal Navy officer.

He was the second son of Edward Tennant, 1st Baron Glenconner, a Liberal politician and businessman, and Pamela Wyndham, a daughter of Hon. Percy Wyndham and one of The Wyndham Sisters who later remarried the 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon.[2][3] He was educated at Eton, after which in 1912 he was commissioned as a sub-lieutenant in the Royal Navy.[4] He served on HMS Lord Nelson, HMS Castor, and HMS Royal Oak during World War I.

Upon his father's death in 1920, and as a result of the premature death of his elder brother in World War I, he succeeded as Baron Glenconner and Baronet Tennant, of The Glen and St Rollox.[4]

Like his grandfather, Sir Charles Tennant, Glenconner was a well-known patron of the arts. Aside from being chairman of various family related businesses, such as C. Tennant, Sons & Company, he served as chairman of Northern Assurance Co. Ltd. and was a director of Hambros Bank.[5]

During World War II, Glenconner was head of SOE, Cairo.[4]

Glenconner was married twice. Firstly, in 1925, to Pamela Winifred Paget (1903–1989), daughter of Sir Richard Paget, 2nd Baronet; secondly, in 1935, to Elizabeth Powell, daughter of Lt.-Col. Evelyn Powell.[6] In total he had five children.[6] He was the father of Colin Tennant, 3rd Baron Glenconner (1926–2010), who was noted for having owned and developed the Caribbean island Mustique.[7] From his second marriage, he was the father of the novelist Hon. Emma Tennant (1937–2017).

  1. ^ Tennant, E. W. D. (1937). One Hundred and Forty Years of the Tennant Companies, 1797-1937. Tennant. p. 33.
  2. ^ a b Fox-Davies, A. C. (1910). Armorial Families: A Directory of Gentlemen of Coat-armour. T.C. & E.C. Jack. pp. 1579–1580.
  3. ^ Debrett's Peerage and Titles of Courtesy. Dean & Son. 1933. pp. 433–444.
  4. ^ a b c "Baron Glenconner", Special Forces Roll Of Honour, 2012.
  5. ^ "Tennant, Christopher Grey, 2nd baron Glenconner". National Gallery of Art.
  6. ^ a b Mosley, Charles (ed.). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage (repr. 2003). 107th ed.. p. 1570.
  7. ^ Barker, Dennis (2010). "Lord Glenconner obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-07-30.