HE was Britain’s most eccentric aristocrat, he housed 74 lovers on his sprawling country estate — and the elderly Marquess of Bath proudly boasted he had no need to take Viagra.
The controversial owner of Longleat Safari Park — home to its famous lions — counted the ex-wife of a rock star among his conquests.
He dubbed them “wifelets” — and two even had a punch-up over who would share his bed.
Nicknamed The Loins Of Longleat, the lusty viscount filled his 130-room mansion with paintings of the Kama Sutra.
His death on Saturday aged 87 from coronavirus prompted tributes from celebrities mourning the death of a true eccentric.
Good Morning Britain’s Piers Morgan, described him as “one of Britain’s most colourful characters”.
Ben Fogle, who filmed BBC1 series Animal Park at Longleat, which has a total of 9.000 acres, said he was “devastated”.
His co-presenter Kate Humble tweeted: “Everyone will describe him as eccentric — and he was, gloriously so — but he was also kind and fun.”
Don't miss the latest news and figures - and essential advice for you and your family.
To receive The Sun’s Coronavirus newsletter in your inbox every tea time, sign up here.
To follow us on Facebook, simply ‘Like’ our Coronavirus page.
Get Britain’s best-selling newspaper delivered to your smartphone or tablet each day – find out more.
Too much is wrong with monogamy …I like the excitement of variation
Lord Bath
Alexander Thynn, 7th Marquess of Bath, was born in London but grew up at Longleat.
Educated at Ludgrove prep and Eton — the same schools as Princes William and Harry — he went on to study at Oxford, where he became president of the notorious toffs’ society The Bullingdon Club.
After National Service he toured Europe.
In Paris he discovered the colourful clothes he continued to wear for the rest of his life — and a love for pornographic art.
He married Hungarian model Anna Gael in 1969 after begging her to leave her husband.
He said: “I was 37 years old and began to worry that I was unmarriageable.
“I said, ‘Can we not get something together where we can create sons and heirs?’”
The family was worth £150million but the couple’s children — Lady Lenka Abigail and son Ceawlin — went to the local comprehensive.
By then he had begun moving wifelets into the estate, where stories abounded of drug parties and orgies.
He once said: “People use words like ‘mistress’ in a sneering tone so I came up with the term ‘wifelet’ and I am their ‘hublet’.
“In monogamous relationships too much can go wrong — I like the excitement of variation.”
Model Cherri Gilham was the 54th wifelet of the Marquess, who gave her a cottage on the estate.
She quit over his constant demands for three-in-a bed sex.
In an interview with The Sun in 1993, Cherri revealed how Thynn wanted to take his tally to 100.
She said: “Alexander makes you feel wonderful in and out of bed.”
BRITAIN’s four million NHS staff are on the frontline in the battle against coronavirus.
But while they are helping save lives, who is there to help them?
The Sun has launched an appeal to raise £1MILLION for NHS workers.
The Who Cares Wins Appeal aims to get vital support to staff in their hour of need.
We have teamed up with NHS Charities Together in their urgent Covid-19 Appeal to ensure the money gets to exactly who needs it.
The Sun is donating £50,000 and we would like YOU to help us raise a million pounds, to help THEM.
No matter how little you can spare, please donate today here
But she revealed that the problems she faced at Longleat came from the other wifelets.
She said: “I thought it was a hippy-like commune but it was a nest of vipers.
“Many wifelets were back-biting, treacherous and double-dealing.
“I think Alexander enjoyed the cat-fights.”
JoJo Lane, the ex-wife of singer Denny Laine, was reported to be his favourite.
Long-term lover Trudie Juggernauth-Sharma said: “From the moment I met him I thought he looked fantastic — so deadly, but so beautifully deadly.”
Thynn once claimed: “I’ve tried Viagra but I didn’t find it as useful as I would have hoped.
“I just rely on myself to get my own steam.”
His original surname was Thynne but in 1976 he dropped the final ‘e’ from to return to the historical spelling of the family name.
He became the 7th Viscount on the death of his father in 1992 and immediately sacked his brother Christopher, who ran the estate.
During his reign at Longleat he recreated a life-size Stonehenge and launched a branch of Center Parcs in nearby forests.
His attempts to run a nightclub on the estate ended in disaster as the venue was closed down due to problems with violence and drugs.
In 2010, Thynn admitted he had an eight-year-old daughter but “did not see enough of her”.
Son Ceawlin, 45, becomes the 8th Marquess of Bath, although he has been running the estate since 2010 with wife Emma, 34, who was on Strictly Come Dancing last year.
Ceawlin, then Viscount Weymouth, was said to have had a number of backstage tantrums on the show — and was even pictured urinating on a wheelie bin outside the studios.
The couple married in 2013 but their union caused a bitter family feud that tore the family apart.
Alexander and wife Anna were said to have been against it — and even boycotted the wedding.
