View source for Michael Taylour, 6th Marquess of Headfort

{{Short description|Irish peer, aircraft salesman, and politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{EngvarB|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = The Marquess of Headfort
|honorific-prefix = [[The Most Honourable]]
|death_date = 21 October 2005
|death_place = [[Manila]], Philippines
|birth_date = 20 January 1932
|birth_place = 
|spouse = Elizabeth Nall-Cain (1958–1968)<br>Virginia Nable (1972–2005)
|children = 3
|parents = The 5th Marquess of Headfort <br> Elise Florense Tucker
|office = [[Lord Temporal]]
|termstart = 1960
|termend = 1999
}}

'''Thomas Geoffrey Charles Michael Taylour, 6th Marquess of Headfort''' (20 January 1932 – 21 October 2005), styled '''Earl of Bective''' until 1960, was an Irish [[Peerage|peer]], aircraft salesman, and politician.

== Biography ==
Thomas Geoffrey Charles Michael Taylour, known to family and friends simply as Michael, was born on 20 January 1932 to [[Terence Taylour, 5th Marquess of Headfort|Terence Geoffrey Thomas Taylour, 5th Marquess of Headfort]] and Elise Florense Tucker.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title = The Marquis of Headfort|url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1504953/The-Marquis-of-Headfort.html|website = The Daily Telegraph| date=8 December 2005 |access-date = 9 February 2016}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title = – Person Page 6301|url = http://www.thepeerage.com/p6301.htm#i63010|website = thepeerage.com|access-date = 9 February 2016}}</ref>

He was educated at [[Stowe School]] in [[Stowe, Buckinghamshire|Stowe]], [[Buckinghamshire]], England, before attending [[Christ's College, Cambridge]]. While there, he was a member of the university air squadron.<ref name=":0" /> It was during this time, also, that he had his first brush with the law, being fined for £2 for driving in [[Acton, London|Acton]] with his arm around a girl.<ref name=":0" /> In 1955 he received his Bachelor of Arts, and four years later a Master of Arts.<ref name=":1" /> He received a certificate of proficiency in rural estate management from Christ's College. He also received his qualification as a commercial pilot.<ref name=":0" />

In 1953, he began his career working as a director at Bective Electrical Co., before working as a sales manager and chief pilot at Lancashire Aircraft Co. in 1959.{{cn|date=September 2019}}

In 1958, he married [[The Honourable|The Hon.]] Elizabeth Angela Veronica Rose Nall-Cain, a [[Godparent|goddaughter]] of [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother]]{{cn|date=September 2019}} and the sole daughter of [[Ronald Nall-Cain, 2nd Baron Brocket|the 2nd Baron Brocket]] at [[St James's, Spanish Place|St James's Church, Spanish Place]].<ref name=":0" /> Two years later, the couple travelled to Africa, selling aircraft.<ref name=":0" /> With her he had three children:<ref>{{Cite web|title = – Person Page 8114|url = http://www.thepeerage.com/p8114.htm|website = thepeerage.com|access-date = 9 February 2016}}</ref>
* [[Thomas Taylour, 7th Marquess of Headfort|Thomas Michael Ronald Christopher Taylour, 7th Marquess of Headfort]] (b. 10 February 1959)
* Lady Rosanagh Elizabeth Angela Mary Taylour (b. 20 January 1961)
* Lady Olivia Sheelin Davina Anne Taylour (b. 4 October 1963)
Following his father's sudden death in [[Monte Carlo]]{{cn|date=September 2019}} in October 1960, he acceded to become the [[Marquess of Headfort]] on 24 October.<ref name=":1" /> His maiden speech as a member of the [[House of Lords]] discussed air safety, and he quickly became interested in politics, particularly [[Politics of Ireland|Irish politics]]. He ran for the [[Seanad Éireann]], the Irish Senate, in 1973 with only the nomination the [[Irish Georgian Society]] in 1973, but lost with only a few votes.<ref name=":0" />

By 1968, his marriage with Elizabeth Nall-Cain was collapsing, and the ensuing divorce proceedings in 1969 in the [[Isle of Man]]<ref name=":1" /> led the legal disputes with her and other family members, causing significant financial hardship. He was forced to sell [[Headfort House]], the historic seat of the [[Marquess of Headfort]], for £1&nbsp;million, to B.J. Kruger, a Canadian multimillionaire.<ref name=":0" /> His departure was the cause of much mourning by estate workers, as he was well liked.<ref name=":0" /> By now, all that remained of his inheritance were 16 acres of [[bog]] in County Cavan.<ref name=":0" />

For some time afterward, he lived in Hong Kong, where he was an honorary [[Inspector]] of Police.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title = Lord Headfort|url = http://www.delahyde.com/lubang/pagesl/Lord_Headfort.html|website = delahyde.com|access-date = 9 February 2016|first = David de la|last = Hyde}}</ref> He later moved to the Philippines, the home of his second wife, Virginia Nable, a friend of [[Imelda Marcos]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" /> The two married in 1972. Settling in a [[bungalow]] complex called Kenlis House on [[Lubang Island]], he was active in the coast guard and donated a public library to the local municipality.<ref name=":3" /> He also maintained a residence in Manila.<ref name=":1" />

In 1987, he gave his final speech in the House of Lords. The speech was a tribute to the accomplishments of [[Alcoholics Anonymous]].<ref name=":0" />

On 21 October 2005, he died at the age of 73.<ref name=":0" /> His funeral took place in [[Manila]], Philippines.{{cn|date=September 2019}}

== Mental health ==
The Marquis of Headfort suffered from [[bipolar disorder]] that occasionally necessitated hospitalisation.<ref name=":0" /> This was related to a period of alcoholism.

As a result, to these conditions, police intervention was required on at least one occasion in 1965, when, at the age of 33, he was escorted by the police to St Lawrence's Hospital, [[Bodmin]], after hiring a waiter to row him out in a boat to an uninhabited island in the [[Isles of Scilly]], and during the trip, asked him to kill Prime Minister [[Harold Wilson]].<ref name=":0" /> This episode received national attention and was widely recorded, despite Headfort's later denial of the incident.<ref name=":0" />

In another, unrelated, incident, neighbours reported how he had fired three blanks into the ceiling of a local [[pub]] during a party.<ref name=":0" />

== Memberships ==
* [[Land Agents' Society]]
* [[Irish Auctioneers and Valuers Institute Council]]
* [[Royal Agricultural Society of England]]
* [[Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors]]

== Arms ==
{{Infobox COA wide
|image = Taylour-Quin arms (Headfort).svg|image size = |notes = |year_adopted = |coronet = [[Coronet]] of a Marquess|escutcheon = Quarterly: 1st & 4th, Ermine, on a Chief Gules, a Fleur-de-lis between two Boar’s Heads couped and erect Or (Taylour); 2nd, Vert, a Pegasus courant, wings endorsed Ermine, a Chief Or, a Crescent for difference (Quin); 3rd, Argent, two Bendlets Gules, on a Chief Azure, a Lion passant Argent.|crest = A naked arm embowed couped at the shoulder holding an Arrow proper.|supporters = Dexter: A Lion guardant Or, collared and chained Argent; Sinister: A Leopard guardant proper, collared and chained Argent.|compartment = |motto = '''CONSEQUITOR QUODCUNQUE PETIT''' ''(He obtains whatever he seeks)''|orders = |other_elements = |banner = |badge = |symbolism = |previous_versions = |title = Arms of the Marquess of Headfort}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-reg|ie}}
{{s-bef | before=[[Terence Taylour, 5th Marquess of Headfort|Terence Taylour]]}}
{{s-ttl | title=[[Marquess of Headfort]] | years=1960–2005}}
{{s-aft | after=[[Christopher Taylour, 7th Marquess of Headfort|Christopher Taylour]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Headfort, Thomas Taylour, 6th Marquess of}}
[[Category:1932 births]]
[[Category:2005 deaths]]
[[Category:Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:People educated at Stowe School]]
[[Category:Marquesses of Headfort]]
[[Category:Commercial aviators]]
[[Category:Taylour family|Michael]]
[[Category:Hereditary peers removed under the House of Lords Act 1999|Headfort]]