Sir Benjamin Slade, 7th Baronet
Sir Benjamin Slade, 7th Baronet | |
|---|---|
| Born | Julian Slade 22 May 1946 Nether Stowey, Somerset, England |
| Other names | Sir Ben Slade |
| Education | Millfield |
| Occupation | Aristocrat • businessman • self-publicist |
| Years active | 1962–present |
| Spouse |
Pauline Myburgh
(m. 1977; div. 1991) |
| Partners |
|
| Children | 1 |
| Father | Sir Michael Nial Slade, 6th Baronet |
| Relatives |
|
| Family | Slade baronets |
Sir Benjamin Julian Alfred Slade, 7th Baronet (né Julian Slade; born 22 May 1946) is a British aristocrat, businessman and self-publicist, who is a member of the Slade baronets. He lives at Maunsel House in Somerset, England.
Slade is the current holder of the Slade baronets, created in 1831 for his great-great-great-grandfather General Sir John Slade, 1st Baronet.[1]
Early life and family
[edit]Julian Slade was born into an aristocratic family in Nether Stowey, Somerset, England on 22 May 1946. His birth was registered in Bridgwater.[2] His father, Sir Michael Nial Slade, 6th Baronet, was a British Army officer.[3] His mother, Angela Clare Rosalind (née Chichester), was a housewife. His parents married at St Peter's Church, Shirwell on 7 May 1928, exactly 18 years and 15 days prior to his birth.[4] He had two elder siblings. His sister, Sarah Jane (née Slade), was a socialite, who married aristocrat Herbert Cayzer, 2nd Baron Rotherwick, from the Cayzer baronets, in 1952, and became known as The Right Honourable Baroness Sarah Jane Rotherwick; Lady Rotherwick died on 2 August 1978, aged 47.[5][6] His nephews are Robin Cayzer, 3rd Baron Rotherwick, a landowner and estate manager, and former peer, and Charles Cayzer, a billionaire businessman.[7]
Slade was educated at Millfield, a public school, in Street, Somerset.[8]
Slade inherited his baronetcy on the death of his father, on 15 April 1962, aged 61, from a heart attack. He was 15 years old at the time of his succession.[9] He is commonly referred to as Sir Ben Slade.[10] He lives at Maunsel House[11] in the North Petherton town in Somerset, England.[12][13] His brother, Robert Orlando Michael Cuthbert Slade, died in an accident on 15 March 1958, aged 21, predeceasing their father. His mother died from cirrhosis of the liver due to chronic alcoholism on 4 September 1959, aged 50.[14] He said that he was "orphaned at 15" and was raised by his aunt, Lady Freda Mary Slade (née Meates), a socialite, who was the wife of his paternal uncle, Sir Alfred Fothringham Slade, 5th Baronet.[15]
Coat of arms
[edit]
Public image
[edit]Slade appeared in the Sky Atlantic programme The Guest Wing, about owners of country houses. The episode aired in April 2012.[16][17]
Slade appeared on the ITV daytime magazine programme This Morning in April 2017, where he was interviewed by Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford. During the episode, he launched a public mission to find his second wife.[18] In January 2018, he made a second appearance on the programme, where he was interviewed by Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby.[19]
Slade appeared on the ITV breakfast television programme Good Morning Britain in September 2018, where he was interviewed by Charlotte Hawkins, Ben Shephard and Kate Garraway.[20]
Controversy
[edit]Slade was found in 2017 by an employment tribunal to have unfairly dismissed and egregiously discriminated against two women who worked for him and who became pregnant within a few weeks of each other. They were awarded compensation for unfair dismissal, lost earnings and discrimination, totalling £179,500.[21][22]
Personal life
[edit]Slade married socialite Pauline Carol Myburgh—younger child of cricketer and British Army officer Major Claude Myburgh and his second wife, Diana—at St James's Church, Piccadilly on 26 May 1977.[23] The couple separated in 1989, after 12 years of marriage. The Slade's divorce was finalised in the London Divorce Court in 1991, after 14 years of marriage. He claimed that Myburgh's 17 cats were an impediment to their marriage. His ex-wife has never remarried, this keeping her title, and is known as Lady Pauline Carol Slade.[24][25]
Slade was in a relationship with socialite Fiona Aitken, wife of George Herbert, 8th Earl of Carnarvon, for a few years during the 1990s. From 1995 to 2011, his partner was actress Kirsten Hughes,[26] until, in his words, she "run off with the handyman". In 2017, he split from his partner domestic worker Bridget Convey, because, at the age of 50, she had become too old to supply him with an heir. In the same year, he advertised for a wife, citing that she should have a shotgun licence, a driving license, a coat of arms, and be young enough to have sons. He rejects candidates from countries beginning with an 'I' or with green in the flag (with the exception of Italian and northern Indian women), Scots, lesbians, and communists.[27]
Slade met American poet Sahara Sunday Spain in 2020, through a co-parenting agency. Their only child, a daughter, Violet Sunday Spain, was born via in vitro fertilisation in 2021. The couple separated shortly before their daughter's birth, due to his disappointment upon discovering his child's gender. He has never met his daughter, however, he has acknowledged her existence. He is still looking for a male heir with similar genetics to one of his further paternal ancestors, who will take an interest in running the estate and to whom he will leave it in trust.[28][29]
Slade is a user of the online dating app Tinder.[30]
References
[edit]- ^ Foster, Joseph (1883). The Peerage Baronetage and Knightage of the British Empire : for 1882. Harold B. Lee Library (3rd ed.). London, England: Westminster : Nichols and Sons. p. 351.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link) - ^ Mosley, Charles (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage (107th ed.). London, England: Burke's Peerage. ISBN 978-0-9711966-2-9.
- ^ "Slade, Sir Michael Nial". Who's Who. 1 December 2007. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
- ^ "page 13 - The Daily Telegraph". Newspapers.com. 7 May 1928. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
- ^ "page 4 - The Daily Telegraph". Newspapers.com. 5 April 1952. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
- ^ "page 12 - The Daily Telegraph". Newspapers.com. 4 August 1978. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
- ^ Butt, Riazat (22 December 2005). "Aristocrat seeks heir to inherit money pit mansion". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
- ^ Mockridge, Harry (24 November 2025). "Somerset millionaire lists his needs for a potential bride". Somerset County Gazette. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
- ^ Bannerman, Lucy (28 August 2018). "Party aristocrat shoots mouth off in his search for a breeding bride". The Times. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
- ^ "Slade, Sir Benjamin Julian Alfred". Who's Who. 1 December 2007. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
- ^ "HOME". Maunsel House. 16 July 2022. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
- ^ Ross, Madeleine (21 August 2025). "Aristocrat's country estate with Chaucer link on the market for £3.5m". The Telegraph. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
- ^ Jureidini, Ben (29 August 2025). "Maunsel House, the family home of Sir Benjamin Slade, where King Alfred the Great and Chaucer once stayed, hits the market". TATLER. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
- ^ Whitworth, Damian (6 October 2020). "Fancy sharing Sir Benjamin Slade's stately pile?". The Times. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
- ^ "'My ancestors were frisky - swarms of Slades are everywhere'". The Guardian. 19 February 2006. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
- ^ Hollingshead, Iain (13 April 2002). "The Guest Wing, Sky Atlantic, review". The Telegraph. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
- ^ McSmith, Andy (27 February 2008). "Aristocrat resorts to television to find an heir for his estate". The Independent. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
- ^ "This Baronet wants a wife - do you qualify?". ITVX. 21 April 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
- ^ "Sir Benjamin: 'I still haven't found the perfect castle-trained wife!'". ITVX. 24 January 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
- ^ Starkey, Adam (7 September 2018). "Millionaire aristocrat aged 72 is looking for a wife to 'knock out a couple of heirs'". Metro. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
- ^ "EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNALS" (PDF). gov.uk. 24 May 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
- ^ "1) Sir Benjamin Slade Baronet 2) Andrew Hamilton v 1) Melissa Biggs 2) Roxanne Stewart 3) Aethelbert Ltd: EA-2019-000687-VP (Previously UKEAT/0296/19/VP)". gov.uk. 1 December 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
- ^ "page 16 - The Daily Telegraph". Newspapers.com. 1 June 1977. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
- ^ Goldhill, Olivia (12 November 2014). "Profile: Baronet Sir Benjamin Slade". The Telegraph. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
- ^ Chalmers, Robert (26 April 2008). "Sir Benjamin Slade: 'I am going to be a mega, mega-star'". The Independent. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
- ^ "Kirsten HUGHES". Chard and Ilminster News. 8 June 2022. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
- ^ "'Aristocrat seeks bride' and 'police kidney gift'". BBC News. 29 November 2025. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
- ^ Harker, Joe (24 November 2025). "Strict rules aristocrat, 79, has for wife as he launches new appeal for woman '20 years younger'". LADbible. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
- ^ Leask, David (25 November 2025). "Baronet seeks a wife — Scots need not apply". The Times. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
- ^ Radcliffe, Oliver (6 September 2025). "Somerset millionaire had baby girl via Tinder match - but won't meet her". SomersetLive. Retrieved 10 December 2025.