Nicholas Trench, 9th Earl of Clancarty

Lord Clancarty was born in Uxbridge on 1 May 1952, the only son of the Hon. Power Edward Ford Le Poer Trench, second son of William Trench, 5th Earl of Clancarty, from his second marriage. He was educated at Westminster School. He also studied at Ashford Grammar School, Plymouth Polytechnic (now University of Plymouth), the University of Colorado in Denver and the University of Sheffield.

In 1995 Clancarty succeeded to the earldom and other titles on the death of his childless uncle, Brinsley Trench, 8th Earl of Clancarty. He took his seat in the House of Lords at this time as Viscount Clancarty, a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, because titles in the Peerage of Ireland did not entitle their holders to sit even before the House of Lords Act 1999 removed the majority of hereditary peers.

Under the terms of that Act, Clancarty lost his automatic right to a seat. He was unsuccessful in the election by the Crossbench hereditary peers of 28 of their number to continue to sit after the Act came into force, finishing 37th in a field of 79 candidates.^[2]

He was an unsuccessful candidate in four by-elections caused by the deaths of sitting hereditary peers, being runner-up on two occasions.^[3] In 2010 he returned to the House after winning the by-election to replace the 4th Viscount Colville of Culross.^[4]

Besides being a British and an Irish peer, he also belongs to the Dutch nobility as Marquess of Heusden.^[5] Other than King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, who is also Marquis of Veere and Flushing, Lord Clancarty holds the only extant Dutch marquessate.

Clancarty is a self-employed artist, freelance writer, and translator.^[6]

Lord Clancarty is married to the journalist Victoria Lambert. They have one daughter:

• Lady Rowena Elizabeth Joy Le Poer Trench (born 2005)

There is no heir to the earldom or to any of the other titles.