William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp

The Right Honourable The Earl Beauchamp KG, KCMG, CB, KStJ, PC
Beauchamp c. 1900
First Commissioner of Works
In office 3 November 1910 – 6 August 1914
Monarch	George V
Prime Minister	H. H. Asquith
Preceded by	Lewis Vernon Harcourt
Succeeded by	The Lord Emmott
Lord President of the Council
In office 16 June 1910 – 3 November 1910
Monarch	George V
Prime Minister	H. H. Asquith
Preceded by	The Viscount Wolverhampton
Succeeded by	The Viscount Morley of Blackburn
In office 5 August 1914 – 25 May 1915
Monarch	George V
Prime Minister	H. H. Asquith
Preceded by	The Viscount Morley of Blackburn
Succeeded by	The Marquess of Crewe
Lord Steward of the Household
In office 31 July 1907 – 16 June 1910
Monarchs	Edward VII George V
Prime Minister	Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman H. H. Asquith
Preceded by	The Earl of Liverpool
Succeeded by	The Earl of Chesterfield
Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms
In office 18 December 1905 – 31 July 1907
Monarch	Edward VII
Prime Minister	Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman
Preceded by	The Lord Belper
Succeeded by	The Lord Denman
20th Governor of New South Wales
In office 18 May 1899 – 30 April 1901
Monarchs	Queen Victoria Edward VII
Preceded by	The Viscount Hampden
Succeeded by	Harry Rawson
Personal details
Born	(1872-02-20)20 February 1872
Died	14 November 1938(1938-11-14) (aged 66) New York City, New York, U.S.
Nationality	British
Political party	Liberal
Spouse	Lady Lettice Grosvenor (1876–1936)
Children	William Lygon, 8th Earl Beauchamp Hon. Hugh Patrick Lygon Lady Lettice Lygon Lady Sibell Lygon Lady Mary Lygon Lady Dorothy Lygon Hon. Richard Edward Lygon
Parents	Frederick Lygon, 6th Earl Beauchamp (father) Lady Mary Stanhope (mother)
Alma mater	Christ Church, Oxford

William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp, KG, KCMG, CB, KStJ, PC (20 February 1872 – 14 November 1938), styled Viscount Elmley until 1891, was a British Liberal politician. He was Governor of New South Wales between 1899 and 1901, a member of the Liberal administrations of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman and H. H. Asquith between 1905 and 1915, and leader of the Liberal Party in the House of Lords between 1924 and 1931. When political enemies threatened to make his homosexuality public, he resigned from office to go into exile. Lord Beauchamp is believed by some to be the model for the character Lord Marchmain in Evelyn Waugh's novel Brideshead Revisited, though the character Marchmain is a Roman Catholic convert, which Beauchamp never was.