[3][4] He became a habitual gambler, forcing his grandfather to step in and pay hundreds of thousands of pounds to satisfy his creditors.

In the process of paying off certain creditors, the 3rd Marquess was forced to sell the family's Yorkshire properties to raise the more than £175,000 of debt Willie had amassed.

[11][12] After years of legal battles and appeals, Edward Guinness, by then known as Lord Iveagh, became impatient and withdrew his offer, after a 1 May 1893 deadline was not met.

[13] Not long after that, Ailesbury suffered an untimely death, brought about by a sudden illness, and due mainly to his excessive lifestyle.

[14] The April 1888 Vanity Fair caricature of William was originally published with a caption that is quoted, in part: "Lord Ailesbury is at bottom an excellently good creature ...