Guinness heir struck down at just 51 leaves £30m to family

WHEN former Conservative Cabinet minister’s son Henry Channon died last October at the age of just 51, it was the latest tragedy to befall his family. He has, however, ensured that his widow, Katie, is an extremely rich woman.

I can reveal that Channon (pictured), a member of the Guinness dynasty, left a fortune of more than £30 million.

After his debts were paid, he left £27.53million, which goes on trust to Katie and his four children, according to probate documents.

Friends said Henry — whose older sister, Olivia Channon, died from a heroin overdose at Oxford University in 1986 — had battled with an illness for several months before his death.

His father, Paul Channon, was a Cabinet minister in governments led by Edward Heath and Margaret Thatcher before becoming Lord Kelvedon.

In his will, Henry asked to be buried alongside his parents and grandfather Sir Henry Channon, at Kelvedon Hall, near Brentwood, Essex.

The Guinness wealth came from his grandfather, U.S.-born Sir Henry ‘Chips’ Channon, who had married Lady Honor Guinness and inherited her share of the family fortune.

He had two sons, from his marriage to first wife Henrietta, and two children from his second marriage to Katie. He is also survived by his sister Georgia, 56. Channon’s privileged upbringing was overshadowed by the shock death of his sister Olivia when he was just 16. The 22-year-old history student binged on alcohol and drugs at a party at Christ Church College and choked on her own vomit.

The Guinness family have been struck by a series of tragedies, prompting claims of a family ‘curse’. Guinness heir Tara Browne died in 1966 when his car ran through red lights in Kensington, smashing into a van. Lady Henrietta Guinness jumped off a bridge in Umbria, Italy, in 1978. Fouryear-old Peter Guinness died in a car crash in the same year.

In 2004, Robert Hesketh died in his sleep after taking drugs at a country house party and, in 2020, Guinness heiress Honor Uloth died in a freak swimming pool accident aged 19.