Parsons, William Clere Leonard Brendan, 7th Earl of Rosse
- Person
- 1936-
Lord William Clere Leonard Brendan Parsons, 7th Earl of Rosse, Baron of Oxmantown, 10th Baronet of Birr Castle, was born 21 October 1936 to Lord Laurence Parsons, 6th Earl of Rosse, and Anne Messel. Lord Brendan Parsons attended Eton College, Aiglon College, University of Grenoble, and Christ Church, Oxford. He served as an officer in the Irish Guards from 1955-57 and worked for the United Nations from 1963-80. On 15 October 1966 he married Alison Margaret Cooke-Hurle. He succeeded his father as the 7th Earl of Rosse in 1979. During hias first thirty years as earl, Lord and Lady Rosse facilitated research by A.P.W. Malcomson resulting in the production of a comprehensive Calendar of the Rosse Papers in 2008. Lord Rosse lives at the family home of Birr Castle, County Offaly, with the Countess of Rosse. They have three children: Lawrence Patrick Parsons, Lord Oxmantown (b.1969), Lady Alicia Parsons (b.1971), and the Honourable Michael Parsons (b.1981).