Earl of Yarmouth, 31, who was disinherited by his dad and mom over his selection of spouse, 39, and refusal to get a correct job faces £1.3m authorized invoice after dropping bid for £85m property

The Earl of Yarmouth is facing a £1.3million legal bill after losing a bitter court fight against his aristocratic family over the running of their £85million ancestral estate.

Despite claiming he was ‘open to reconciliation’ with his parents after hauling them to court, William Seymour, 31, must now pay their legal fees after he sued over control over the family’s 6,000 acre Ragley estate in Warwickshire and lost the case.

Lord Yarmouth had been involved in a spat with his parents, the Marquess and Marchioness of Hertford, since 2018, when they objected to his wedding to former Goldman Sachs banker Kelsey Wells – now known as Lady Yarmouth.

The High Court heard he had paid ‘little interest’ to the running of the estate until 2017 but after getting together with Miss Wells had ‘began to assert himself.’

Lord Yarmouth had been told he would inherit the estate, including the 110-room Palladian stately mansion his parents call home, when he turned 30.

By the age of just 21 he had already received more than £4.2million in land and property.

However his father, Lord Hertford, 66, decided to disinherit his son when they catastrophically fell out around the time of his marriage.

He said the decision ‘coincided with his marriage, but Kelsey is not the main reason.’

In a witness statement to the court, Lord Hertford said: ‘William asked me to confirm that I would hand over Ragley Hall to him on turning 30. 

‘It was like he had promised Kelsey that they would be moving into Ragley Hall, he was persistent.

Lord and Lady Yarmouth on their wedding day in 2018 with his parents, the Marquess and Marchioness of Hertford 

Lord and Lady Yarmouth attending a High Court hearing over the running of the ancestral Ragley Hall estate

‘I am disappointed at William’s lack of achievement. I am proud of the fact that he went to college but made a mistake at university and didn’t graduate.

‘William has not followed a profession or obtained qualifications or experience to take over the running of Ragley Hall.’

In his statement to the court, Lord Yarmouth claimed his family displayed such ‘deep antagonism’ towards Lady Yarmouth, 39, that on their wedding day Lord Hertford told his son that “you can still call it off and we’ll send everyone home, just say no”.’ 

Lord Yarmouth then launched legal action in an attempt to remove the trustees in charge of the running of the estate – including a cousin of his father and a long-standing family friend – who he felt were on the side of his parents and had ‘closed ranks’ against him.

But earlier this year High Court Judge Master James Brightwell dismissed his claim saying the trustees had done nothing wrong.

This week, the family returned to court, with lawyers for Lord Yarmouth arguing that he shouldn’t have to pay the seven-figure legal costs of the fight despite losing the case, and they should be covered by the family trust.

But Master Brightwell rejected his case, leaving him facing a bill of around £1.3m, consisting of £717,000 claimed by the trustees, £330,000 by his family, plus his own lawyers’ costs of over £300,000.

Paul Burton, for Lord Yarmouth, this week said his client shouldn’t have to pay the entirety of the costs, arguing: ‘It shouldn’t be as simple as “you lost, you pay the costs”.

He told the court Lord Yarmouth felt he was compelled to sue.

The inheritance of Ragley Hall in Warwickshire was at the centre of the bitter court dispute

‘This was a case about relationships. It was a case of a breakdown of trust and confidence,’ he said.

However Master Brightwell dismissed his claim, adding: ‘It is no doubt a matter of pain for all those involved that the family background became a matter of public discussion.

‘On a question of principle, both the family defendants and the trustee defendants reasonably incurred a set of costs.’

The judge ordered Lord Yarmouth to make a £500,000 up-front payment.

The exact total he will have to pay will now be assessed by a specialist costs judge unless the warring sides can come to an agreement beforehand.

After Master Brightwell dismissed his claim to remove the trustees from the estate, Lord Yarmouth, who with his wife runs craft elderflower liquor distillery St Maur from part of the estate, said he was willing to mend ties with his parents.

‘My purpose has been to seek to ensure the protection of my family’s interests in the trusts, and in particular the welfare of my children as beneficiaries,’ he said.

‘I came to the court with the sincere hope of finding a fair and lasting resolution to a fraught situation.

‘As much as it is painful for both sides, my wife Kelsey and I remain open to reconciliation with my parents. Privately we have made this clear to Lord and Lady Hertford.’

The family can trace its roots back to Henry VIII’s third wife, Jane Seymour.

Ragley Hall, in Alcester, was built in the 1680s and sits within 450 acres of landscaped gardens, 4,500 acres of farmland and 1,000 acres of woodland.

It has been occupied permanently by the Marquess and Marchioness of Hertford since the 1960s when Lord Hertford’s father made it his main residence.