William Stonor, 8th Baron Camoys
The Lord Camoys | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Member of the House of Lords | |
| Elected Hereditary Peer 22 November 2023 | |
| By-election | 22 November 2023 |
| Preceded by | The 5th Baron Brougham and Vaux |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ralph William Robert Stonor 10 September 1974 |
| Party | Conservative |
| Spouse | Ailsa Fiona Mackay |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent(s) | Thomas Stonor, 7th Baron Camoys Elisabeth Mary Hyde Parker |
Ralph William Robert Stonor, 8th Baron Camoys (born 10 September 1974), is a British hereditary peer and a Conservative member of the House of Lords.
Lord Camoys became a member of the House in November 2023, after winning a hereditary peers' by-election to replace Lord Brougham and Vaux.[1] He was the last person to be elected as a Hereditary Peer prior to the suspension of hereditary peers by-elections on 25 July 2024.[2][3]
The first creation of Baron Camoys was in 1313 when Ralph de Camoys was summoned to Parliament by writ.[4]
Early life and education
Lord Camoys was born 10 September 1974 to Thomas Stonor, 7th Baron Camoys and Elisabeth Hyde Parker, daughter of Sir William Stephen Hyde-Parker, 11th Baronet. He was educated at Eton College and the University of Manchester, graduating with a BA degree in History.[5]
He is a direct descendant of Thomas de Camoys, 1st Baron Camoys (second creation), who commanded the left wing of the English army at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. He is a direct descendant of British Prime Minister Robert Peel whose daughter Eliza married The Hon. Francis Stonor.[6] He is a descendant of Nicholas Brown, after whom Brown University in Rhode Island in the United States was named.
Through his mother he is a descendant of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker, who broke the defences of North River in New York in 1776 as captain of HMS Phoenix and later commanded the Battle of Copenhagen with Vice-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson as his second-in-command.
Career
After graduation, Lord Camoys worked in London and Bristol for private equity firm 3i plc before joining the Foreign Office as a diplomat, where he worked on Afghanistan and Iran in the Middle East Department, in New Delhi and in London as leader of a counter-terrorism team. In 2009, he founded Ilex Partners International Limited, a mergers and acquisitions company focused on Asian markets, with Lord Rothschild.[7] He lived in China from 2010 to 2016.
In 2021, Lord Camoys co-founded Marlow Studios, a new $1bn 1.5m sq.ft technology, media and creative campus located in Marlow, South Buckinghamshire.[8]
He is a Trustee and Director of the Wormsley Estate, the Getty family private residence in South Buckinghamshire.[9]
He is a Member of the Livery of The Fishmongers Company.[10]
He is the UK Chairman of Nepal Nature Trust, a UK charity supporting nature conservation in Nepal, and a Member of the Governing Board of Trustees of Nepal’s National Trust for Nature Conservation.[11][12]
He is a member of the Thames and Chilterns Regional Committee of Historic Houses.
Lord Camoys was elected a Steward of Henley Royal Regatta in 2024.[13][14]
Marriage and family life
Stonor married Lady Ailsa Fiona Mackay, daughter of Peter Mackay, 4th Earl of Inchcape in 2004. They have three children.
Lord Camoys' ancestral home is Stonor Park, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.
References
- ^ "Hereditary peers' by-election, November 2023: result" (PDF). House of Lords. 23 November 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
- ^ "Business of the House - Hansard - UK Parliament". hansard.parliament.uk. 22 September 2025. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
- ^ Falkner, Sophia (9 July 2025). "Good Lords: the House is losing some of the best". The Spectator. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
- ^ Richardson, Douglas (2011). Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, ed. Kimball G. Everingham. Vol. I (2nd ed.). Salt Lake City. ISBN 1449966373.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "I enjoy sharing this historic house with visitors, says new custodian of Stonor Park". www.henleystandard.co.uk. 7 November 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
- ^ "Eliza Stonor (née Peel) - National Portrait Gallery". www.npg.org.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
- ^ "I enjoy sharing this historic house with visitors, says new custodian of Stonor Park". www.henleystandard.co.uk. 7 November 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
- ^ "ABOUT US". www.marlow.film. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
- ^ "Register of Interests for Lord Camoys - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament". members.parliament.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
- ^ "Livery - The Fishmongers' Company". Retrieved 22 September 2025.
- ^ Studio, Designers' Friend Web Development. "Our Patron HRH The Duke of Gloucester KG GCVO and the Board of Trustees". Nepal Nature Trust. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
- ^ "Governing Board of Trustees | The National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC)". www.ntnc.org.np. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
- ^ "Meet the New HRR Stewards". Henley Royal Regatta. 11 December 2024. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
- ^ "Organisation". Henley Royal Regatta. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
Sorted by granting monarch | ||
| King Henry III |  | |
| King Edward I | ||
| King Edward II | ||
| King Edward III | ||
| King Richard II | ||
| King Henry V | ||
| King Henry VI | ||
| King Edward IV | ||
| King Henry VII | ||
| King Henry VIII | ||
| Queen Elizabeth I | ||
| King James I | ||
| King Charles I | ||
| King Charles II | ||
| King William III | ||
Italics in entries mean the titleholder also holds a previously listed barony of greater precedence ^* Also a Lord of Parliament in the Peerage of Scotland | ||
