Lord Montagu

As the youngest Member of Parliament and sole heir to his family's 7,000-acre English estate, Lord Edward Montagu's life was one of riches and privilege. However, in 1954, Edward Montagu, then aged twenty-five, became England's most infamous aristocrat when he was arrested for homosexual offences and became the focus of a landmark trial known as “The Montagu Case”. His guilty verdict sent shock waves through British society and became the catalyst to overturn a centuries old law. Edward’s once pristine reputation and career were all but ruined. After serving a year in prison, Montagu re-emerged into the spotlight when he boldly transformed his private estate and family home into a public tourist attraction in a bid to save it from financial ruin. Creating Britain's first motor museum, he pioneered a new form of tourism known as “the stately home business”. His showmanship and success inspired a new breed of aristocrats to open their doors to the public and transformed Edward Montagu into a prominent national figure.