A VERY STYLISH CHRISTMAS

Emma Thynn, the Marchioness of Bath, gives us a glimpse of her life during the festive period at Longleat, from hosting a family feast to welcoming celebrity guests

STYLIST: ROSIE ARKELL-PALMER

Dress, Richard Quinn; shoes, Malone Souliers; earrings, bracelet and ring, Chopard

PHOTOGRAPHER: RACHEL LOUISE BROWN

Tuxedo, Knatchbull; shoes, Malone Souliers; earrings, bracelet and ring, Chopard

Dress, Caroline’s Couture; earrings, necklace, watch and ring, Chopard

It is a wet, wintry day at Longleat and the Billiard Room is a hive of activity. Emma Thynn, the Marchioness of Bath, has opened the private apartment of her stately home at Longleat to hello! and is using this room – formerly the chapel of the house – to switch between designer dresses for a photoshoot that showcases spectacular rooms such as the State Dining Room and The Great Hall, before hauling a Christmas tree up the stone steps to her front door.

At one end of the room is a life-sized oil portrait of her sons, John, Viscount Weymouth, 11, and Lord Henry Thynn, who turns nine on 30 December, dressed in military-style Stella McCartney jackets with shorts and Wellington boots.

STUNNING SURROUNDS

There is a bar globe that resembles a glitter ball and a bookcase featuring copies of William Gladstone’s Studies on Homer. Outside the window are illuminated replicas of Tower Bridge and a London bus, because the Christmas extravaganza that pops up for the festive period is in full swing.

“Longleat is marvellous and uniquely unusual,” Emma says in a break between being photographed on her rooftop to the sound of sea lions’ barks from the ornamental lake below, and another shot that involves her lying on a giant red velvet bow at the foot of a four-poster bed. “Everywhere you look, there’s something weirdly wonderful.”