Conroy Ryder, 8th Earl of Harrowby

He is the only son of Dudley Ryder, 7th Earl of Harrowby, by his marriage to Jeanette Rosalthe Johnston-Saint.

[2] Harrowby was educated at Eton, Newcastle University, and Magdalene College, Cambridge.

[2] Harrowby succeeded to the earldom on the death of his father on 9 October 2007, when he retired from his job and relocated to manage the family seat, Sandon Hall in Staffordshire, England.

[3] The family also owns Burnt Norton House, made famous by T. S. Eliot's Four Quartets.

Harrowby was married secondly to author and the current Countess of Harrowby, née Caroline Coram James, sister to Lord Marks of Henley on Thames, on 2 May 1998.