Nicholas Ashley-Cooper, 12th Earl of Shaftesbury

The Earl and Countess of Shaftesbury, after their marriage in 2010

Nicholas Ashley-Cooper was born on 3 June 1979, in London, the younger son of Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 10th Earl of Shaftesbury (1938–2004), and his second wife Christina Eva Montan (born c. 1940), the daughter of Nils Montan, a former Swedish Ambassador to Germany. He had an elder brother, Anthony Nils Christian Ashley-Cooper (1977–2005), who in 2004 became 11th Earl of Shaftesbury, and also an elder half-brother and half-sister from Lady Shaftesbury's first marriage.[1]

He was educated at Eton College, however, he quit Eton at the age of 16 because he claimed he "hated the ethos and routines". Ashley-Cooper went on to dabble in a number of start-up companies, none of which were successful and then emigrated to New York where he was a part time DJ and musician in bars and clubs around Manhattan.[1]

17th-century Riding House

St Giles House

Lough Neagh

Wimborne St Giles in East Dorset is the home base and centre of business of the Ashley-Cooper family.[7] Built in 1651, the family seat of St Giles House had fallen into disrepair as it had been unoccupied for approximately 60 years. In 2001, St Giles House was recorded on the Register of Buildings at Risk, as a Grade I listed building, indicating neglect and decay. Buildings recorded on the Grade I list include those of "exceptional interest, sometimes considered to be internationally important".[8]

Discussions regarding future use of St Giles House and the estate have been resumed following inheritance by the 12th Earl of Shaftesbury.[9] Work on the house began in 2011 and since then the restoration has won national awards including the 2014 Georgian Group Awards for the Restoration of a Georgian Country House, the 2015 Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Award for Building Conservation, the 2015 Historic Houses Association/Sotheby's Restoration Award, and the Historic England Angel Award, Best Rescue of a Historic Building or Site.[10] During the Second World War, the house was requisitioned and used as a school for girls evacuated from London, Miss Faunce's Parents' National Union School. At that time, the family took up residence at the dower house, known as Mainsail Haul.[11]

Lord Shaftesbury is also the owner of the bed and soil of Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland, the largest lake in the British Isles. The lough supplies 40% of the region's drinking water and is also used as a sewage outfall. Discussions over the future management of the Lough have been ongoing with the Northern Ireland Assembly.[12] In October 2023, Lord Shaftesbury stated in an interview with the BBC that while he was open to selling Lough Neagh to the Northern Irish public, he would not give it away for free. He stated in the interview that "the sale is one that's borne out of an understanding that my ownership has always been very divisive and quite political and I always get blamed for things that are completely outside of my control. I feel it's often used as an excuse for political inaction and I always want to do the right thing by the people living here and what's in the best interest of the lough."[13]

In 2010, Lord Shaftesbury married Dinah Streifeneder, a veterinary surgeon from Munich, in Dorset.[14][10] The couple have three children. Their son, Anthony Francis Wolfgang Ashley-Cooper, Lord Ashley was born on 24 January 2011. A daughter, Lady Viva Constance Lillemor Ashley-Cooper, was born in 2012, and another daughter, Lady Zara Emily Tove Ashley-Cooper, in 2014.[6]

Shaftesbury is an ambassador for the spinal cord injuries charity Wings for Life, which he began supporting following his own spinal injury. He has competed in several marathons and ultramarathons to benefit charitable organisations.[15][16][17][18]

In 2019, he was commissioned to the honorary position of Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Dorset.[19]

• https://shaftesburyestates.com/
• Interview following the Atacama Desert Race