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Lonsdale was known as the Yellow Earl for his penchant for the colour.[citation needed] He was a founder and first president of the Automobile Association (AA) which adopted his livery.
In 1907, Lonsdale was part of the famous wager with John Pierpont Morgan over whether a man could circumnavigate the globe and remain unidentified.
In August 1895 the German Emperor Wilhelm II visited Lowther Castle for some grouse shooting. The kings of Italy and Portugal later came to stay, and the Kaiser a second time in 1902. The Kaiser conferred upon the Earl a knighthood of the first class of the Order of the Prussian Crown.[9]
Although he was a Peer, he was rarely seen in the House of Lords.[citation needed] Because of his extravagance he was forced to sell some of his inherited properties. In 1921 Whitehaven Castle was sold, and in 1926 Barleythorpe. The same year the west Cumberland coalmines closed. In 1935 he moved from Lowther Castle because he could no longer afford to live there and moved to much smaller accommodation.[10]
His free-spending had largely wrecked the estate, and his heir, his brother Lancelot, the 6th Earl was forced to auction off the contents of Lowther Castle in 1947. This proved to be the largest English country house sale of the 20th century.[11]
Personal life
In 1878, before obtaining his inheritance, Lonsdale married Lady Grace Cecilie Gordon, third daughter of Maria Antoinetta Pegus (c. 1821–1893) and Charles Gordon, 10th Marquess of Huntly. Her family opposed the marriage as Lonsdale was not then wealthy and seemed irresponsible. This proved to be correct as the following year he invested in cattle in America; the venture collapsed and the Lowther family was forced to save him.
The couple then lived at Barleythorpe Hall near Oakham. Grace became pregnant but had a miscarriage after a fall while hunting. After this she was unable to bear children and remained a partial invalid for the rest of her life. She died in 1941.[citation needed]
After an affair with the actress Violet Cameron caused a scandal,[12] Lonsdale set out in 1888 to explore the Arctic regions of Canada as far north as Melville Island, nearly dying before reaching Kodiak, Alaska in 1889[13] and returning to England. His collection of Inuit artefacts that he assembled during his explorations in Alaska and north-west Canada at this time is now in the British Museum.[14]
Lonsdale died in 1944 at Stud House, Barleythorpe, aged 87.[5]
He enjoyed foxhunting, serving as Master of the Quorn from 1893 to 1898 and of the Cottesmore Hunt for long periods. He was also a director of Arsenal Football Club and served as chairman for a brief period in 1936, and later became the club's honorary president.
After the First World War, Hugh gave up hunting and became more involved with race horses. He became a senior steward of the Jockey Club. He had two major wins with his colt Royal Lancer in 1922, the St Leger and the Irish St Leger. He was also the first president of the International Horse Show at Olympia.
From 1929 Lonsdale was the joint editor of the Lonsdale Library of Sports, Games and Pastimes, a book series published by Seeley, Service and Co.[16][17]