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The Earl of Snowdon, 56, is already a hereditary peer, but is seeking to become a fully fledged member of the chamber, it was revealed yesterday.
He is one of 19 hereditary peers standing to make the step up in the House of Lords.
Only 92 hereditary peers are allowed to sit in the House of Lords at any one time, and a space has been left vacant following the death of Lord Snowdon’s father, Tony Armstrong Jones, the First Earl of Snowden, last year.
Only the hereditary peers who currently sit as crossbenchers in the Lords will be the ones who make the final decision on who wins the place.
They will vote by post over the next few weeks and the result will be announced on July 4.
If he gets the place, Lord Snowdon will be able to speak all day in the Lords, vote on laws, and claim the expenses of up to £300 a day.
His place could prove difficult for the Royal Family, since members of The Firm are supposed to remain politically neutral.
Lord Snowdon, if elected, would be expected to express a view on a wide range of political matters.
Lord Snowdon is the only candidate to have not submitted a statement justifying why he deserves a place in the elite chamber.
One of the other candidates is only 24 years old.
The young Lord Glenconner’s grandfather left the family’s entire wealth to his servant after living on the island of St Lucia.
The son of Princess Margaret was known as David Armstrong Jones, until his father died last year.
His father surprised many by serving in the Lords until his death.
He had been expected to be thrown out in the 1999 reforms that reduced the hereditary numbers to 92.
The 56-year old is a furniture maker and in the past has managed Christie’s, London’s luxury auction house.
The First Earl of Snowdon was partially alienated from the Royal Family after he divorced Princess Margaret in 1978.
The pair had a turbulent marriage, and both parties were reported to have had several extra-marital affairs before their separation.
However, the current Lord Snowdon is known to be fairly close to the Royal Family, and was pictured at the Royal Wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex last month.
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