William Eden

Sir William Morton Eden, 7th and 5th Baronet (4 April 1849 – 20 February 1915), was a British politician and artist. He was born at Windlestone Hall in County Durham. His parents were Elfrida Susanna Harriet Iremonger (1825–1885) and Sir William Eden, 4th Baronet (1803–1873). Eden was the second of eleven children in his family.

His paternal lineage included notable relatives such as aunt Caroline Eden Parker, wife of Vice-Admiral Hyde Parker, and uncles: Rt. Rev. Robert Eden, Bishop of Moray, Ross and Caithness; Lt. Gen. George Morton Eden; and Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Eden, Second Naval Lord. His maternal grandfather was William Iremonger of Wherwell Priory.

The Eden baronetcy originated with Sir Robert Eden, the last Royal Governor of Maryland, who was created a baronet in 1776. Eden’s father inherited the baronetcy of Maryland after the death of his uncle Sir Frederick Eden, and later also became the 6th Baronet of West Auckland in 1844. Upon his father’s death in 1873, William Eden became the 7th Baronet of West Auckland and the 5th Baronet of Maryland, after his elder brother died without male issue.

Eden served as a colonel and magistrate. He was also a watercolour artist, exhibiting regularly in London and Paris, and owned an Impressionist collection, including a chalk drawing by Giovanni Battista Piazzetta that is now in the Morgan Library and Museum. He served as a cornet in the 8th Hussars and was known as a daring traveler during his Grand Tour. Additionally, he was a sportsman, holding the position of Master of the Durham Hunt and engaging in gardening.

In 1886, Eden married Sybil Frances Grey (1867–1945), daughter of Sir William Grey of the Grey family of Northumberland. They resided at Windlestone Hall. The marriage produced five children who survived infancy:

- Elfrida Marjorie Eden (1887–1943), married Leopold Greville, 6th Earl of Warwick.

- John William "Jack" Eden (1888–1914), killed in action at the Battle of Jutland.

- Sir Timothy Calvert Eden, 8th and 6th Baronet (1893–1963), who authored a book about his father and whose wife Edith founded Lady Eden’s School in Kensington.

- Robert Anthony Eden (1897–1977), who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; he married twice, first to Beatrice Beckett and then to Clarissa Spencer-Churchill.

- Nicholas William Eden (1900–1916), who was killed when HMS Indefatigable sank at Jutland at age sixteen.

In 1892, Eden commissioned artist James McNeill Whistler to paint a portrait of Lady Eden. A dispute ensued over payment, resulting in court proceedings in Paris in 1895. Eden won the case, but Whistler destroyed the painting and later published a vindictive pamphlet titled "Eden versus Whistler" in 1899.

Sir William Eden died in London on 20 February 1915. Initially buried at Windlestone Hall Mausoleum, he was reinterred at St. Helen's Churchyard in December 1984. His wife, Lady Eden, died in 1945.

Through his descendants, Eden was the grandfather of Charles Greville, 7th Earl of Warwick, a notable figure in British aristocracy and cinema; John Eden, Baron Eden of Winton, a Conservative MP; and Nicholas Eden, 2nd Earl of Avon.