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Rupert Ponsonby, 7th Baron de Mauley

British politician (born 1957)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 22, 2026
Entity authorityQ2176582 ↗
Source-derived summary

Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Charles Ponsonby, 7th Baron de Mauley, Baron de Mauley of Canford (born 30 June 1957), is a British hereditary peer, former Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and retired Territorial Army officer.

In May 2026, it was announced that he was to be given one of 26 new life peerages, returning him to the House of Lords after the coming into force of the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026.

Background and education

Ponsonby was born to Col. the Hon. Thomas Maurice Ponsonby (1930–2001) of The Common, Little Faringdon, Lechlade, late Royal Wessex Yeomanry, High Sheriff of Gloucestershire, and his wife Maxine Henrietta (née Thellusson, 1934–2020), daughter of William Dudley Keith Thellusson, of 39, Draycott Place, SW3, of the Brodsworth Hall branch of the family of the Barons Rendlesham. The 5th Baron de Mauley was his paternal grandfather.

He was educated at Eton College, an independent school for boys near Windsor, Berkshire.

Military service

Ponsonby first joined the Territorial Army in 1976, when he was commissioned into the Royal Wessex Yeomanry as a second lieutenant. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1978, major in 1988, and lieutenant-colonel in 2003. In 1988, he was awarded the Efficiency Decoration (Territorial) (TD).

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Rupert Ponsonby, 7th Baron de Mauley” as british politician (born 1957). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Rupert, Ponsonby and Baron.

Editorial reviewA useful biographical orientation record, particularly for establishing names, roles and a first chronology. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1957, 2026, 1930, 2001—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1957-06-30. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Rupert, Ponsonby and Baron providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Rupert Ponsonby, 7th Baron de Mauley”, the useful work is to connect “british politician (born 1957)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2176582. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1957, 2026, 1930 and 2001.

Critical limits

Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
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Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Rupert Ponsonby, 7th Baron de Mauley”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Rupert Ponsonby, 7th Baron de Mauley primary sources, Rupert Ponsonby, 7th Baron de Mauley archive and Rupert research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Rupert Ponsonby, 7th Baron de Mauley” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.