VISCOUNTESS LOOK-AT-ME!
She’s the glamorous young wife of the heir to Longleat who wasn’t pukka enough for her snooty in-laws. So are her attention-seeking antics the ultimate revenge?
THERE are few things Emma McQuiston, the camera-courting Viscountess Weymouth, likes more than being the centre of attention.
And Emma, 30, wife of Ceawlin Thynn, 42, heir to the 7th Marquess of Bath who will one day own the Longleat Estate in Wiltshire, has become quite adept at ensuring that all eyes are on her.
Whether flaunting her fantastic figure in skimpy swimwear, sprawled on the bonnet of a safari van in a corset and hot pink heels, or attending star-studded soirees in one of her many thigh-skimming, cleavage-baring dresses, she’s impossible to ignore.
Halloween parties at the weekend provided the ideal opportunity for her to do what she does best. And her outfits didn’t disappoint. For a party at Mayfair haunt Loulou’s on Friday, Emma opted for a black lacy bra under a sheer dress, with a black veil and scarlet lipstick.
The following night, the mother of one pouted up a storm in a transparent dress, platinum blonde wig, feathered headpiece and ghostly silver make-up.
One can only imagine what the ghosts, prowling the 130 historysteeped rooms of the 16th-century mansion of which she is chatelaine, make of it all.
For it’s fair to say that Ceawlin’s father, Lord Bath, 84, and mother, the Hungarian-born Anna Gael, 73, haven’t held back with their disapproval.
Despite their own unconventional — some might say louche — lifestyle (Lord Bath is an erotic artist best known for his string of more than 70 ‘wifelets’, who occupy cottages around the estate, while the longsuffering Lady Bath is a former erotic actress once nicknamed the ‘Naked Lady of Longleat’), they were snooty in the extreme about their son’s choice of bride.
Ceawlin’s mother went as far as describing his marriage to Emma — Britain’s first mixed- race viscountess — as a disruption to ‘400 years’ of English ‘bloodline’, and she did not attend their 2013 wedding.
Although the rift is reportedly now healed — the arrival of the couple’s adorable son John, now two, must have helped — you can’t help but wonder whether Emma’s exuberance is a well-aimed ‘one in the eye’ for British aristocracy.
Barely a week goes by without the indefatigable Viscountess appearing at parties, charity galas or red carpet events, and posting photographs of her exploits on her several social media accounts.
For her engagement, Emma posed provocatively on the cover of Tatler in a scarlet Vivienne Westwood gown, while she sold pictures of her wedding — at which she wore a bespoke designer dress and diamond-studded tiara — to Hello!
But showing off in the spotlight is second nature to Emma.
Her glamorous blonde mother, Suzanna, was a society beauty of the Seventies, who charmed a flock of male admirers. One partygoer recalls Suzanna — who changed her name from the more mundane ‘Eileen’ after separating from her first husband, Ian McQuiston, during the Sixties — wearing some ‘very provocative clothes’.
‘She was superbly beautiful and knew how to dress to impress,’ adds the friend. ‘She would wear black leather mini-skirts because she had wonderful legs.’ Like mother, like daughter. In the mid-Eighties, Suzanna met Oxford- educated Nigerian oil tycoon Ladi Jadesimi, then a chartered accountant who lived in London’s so- called ‘Millionaire’s Row’ in Hampstead with his wife. The pair had a steamy affair and, in 1986, Emma was born.
AS A girl, she attended the upmarket Queen’s Gate girls’ school in Kensington — alma mater of the Duchess of Cornwall, chef Nigella Lawson and actress Vanessa Redgrave — where she was appointed head girl.
Popular and outgoing, Emma was never short on confidence. After studying history of art at University College London, she started modelling part-time and enrolled on a postgraduate drama course, before moving to Los Angeles for a year to pursue an acting career.
Although this failed to materialise, she insists it was her choice to come home and try TV presenting instead.
‘ I’m a better fit for presenting because I have a very unique look and acting is such a lottery,’ she explained, with her usual humility.
She maintains that she was ‘nearly cast’ for the fantasy series Game Of Thrones and still harbours ambitions of being a Bond girl — though she’s yet to receive the call.
Emma first met her husband when she was just four years old and a bridesmaid at the wedding of her half-brother, Iain, to Ceawlin’s halfaunt, Silvy. During her childhood, they saw each other regularly at family gatherings at Longleat.
But it wasn’t until 2011 that their relationship blossomed, after a meeting at the London members’ club Soho House. At this time, Emma was described in diary columns as a ‘ would- be TV chef’ and ‘ former actress’, though there was little evidence of either.
Like her mother, she quickly gained a reputation for her attentiongrabbing dress sense and cameraready smile. Twelve years Ceawlin’s junior, she began appearing on his arm in a collection of flamboyant, figure-hugging dresses, most with a thigh-high split and low-cut neckline.
She describes herself as ‘so not a casual girl’ and says she wears jeans ‘once in a blue moon’. Indeed, she’s so comfortable with her own body that she once stripped down to her knickers to change her clothes midinterview without batting an eyelid.
Now a mother herself, one might imagine Emma would have toned
down her behaviour. But her marriage into one of Britain’s most eccentric families seems only to have fuelled her craving for the spotlight.
Could it be that Emma can’t bear to be outdone by the exploits of her unconventional in-laws? Despite the thawing in relations, she seems unable to resist antagonising them. Among the posts on Emma’s Instagram account are selfies showing her sprawled across the stairs at Longleat, ballgown hitched up to her thighs — just the ticket to rub her disapproving in-laws up the wrong way.
A concerned friend of the family said there was ‘dismay and disquiet’ about the marriage. ‘That’s because Emma appears to be so self-promoting,’ the source explained.
Neither was seen in attendance at Emma’s lavish 30th birthday party, held at Longleat, back in March, at which she wore a corset tied with a huge white bow and drank cocktails served by topless barmen.
There’s also the matter of her fledgling ‘cookery career’ — or an apparent lack of it.
Though she and Ceawlin aren’t short of money — Longleat Enterprises holds assets of £ 10 million, while Emma, whose father is one of the richest men in Nigeria, owns a £9 million London townhouse — her string of public appearances certainly detract attention from her bid to make it as a TV chef.
Emma’s food blog, once brimming with low- calorie recipes for sweet treats such as macaroons and chocolate cake, has been taken down from the internet.
Meanwhile, Emma’s Kitchen, a new venture at Longleat, using local produce and traditional recipes to make meals and host demonstrations, hasn’t been updated since it was first advertised more than a year ago. On the website, Emma, dressed in a skimpy, white lace dress, promises ‘a space for me to share my passion and some of my favourite recipes’ — but none appear to have been uploaded.
It may be that Emma’s priorities have shifted but, nonetheless, a busy social calendar does help to gloss over a career that has so far failed to materialise.
While she may be hoping this will slip from our minds, Viscountess Weymouth certainly doesn’t want the public to forget about her.
With those barely- there outfits, passion for posing and love of the lens, there’s very little chance of that.