Before his parents' marriage, she had previously been the wife of Richard Desborough Malcolm Mason, of Mau Narok, Kenya.

[2] A supporter of hunting, Portsmouth was Chairman of the Hampshire branch of the Game Conservancy Trust from 2001 to 2005.

He is a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers, President of the Basingstoke Conservative Association, patron of the Hampshire branch of the British Red Cross, and churchwarden of St Andrew's Church, Farleigh Wallop.

[4] In 1988, Portsmouth helped to fund £376,000 of the legal expenses of Nikolai Tolstoy in defending his libel case against Lord Aldington.

He also helped fund the legal expenses of Neil Hamilton in defending his libel case against Mohammed Al-Fayed.