Charles Chetwynd-Talbot, 22nd Earl of Shrewsbury

Irish titles He is an earl in the Peerage of Ireland as the Earl of Waterford, the oldest earldom in that peerage held by someone with no higher title (1446). He also holds the title of Lord High Steward of Ireland.

Background and education Shrewsbury is the fifth child and eldest son of John Chetwynd-Talbot, 21st Earl of Shrewsbury, and his first wife, Nadine Crofton, a daughter of Brigadier General Cyril Randell Crofton. Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, was his godfather. His parents divorced in 1963. He was educated at Harrow School.

From 1992 to 1998, Shrewsbury was the first chancellor of the University of Wolverhampton and was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws.

In 1994 he was appointed a Deputy to the Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire, Sir James Hawley.

He retired as director and deputy chairman of the Britannia Building Society and then was appointed as president of the Building Societies Association.

Breaches of parliamentary standards In April 2022, the House of Lords Commissioners for Standards began an investigation into an allegation that Shrewsbury had failed to comply with rules preventing peers from profiting financially from their membership of the Lords. He was largely exonerated in May, when the Commissioners concluded that he was guilty of a minor breach of the peers' Code of Conduct and ordered him to write a letter of apology.

In August 2022, the House of Lords Commissioners for Standards launched a second investigation into Shrewsbury's dealings with SpectrumX, a healthcare firm that had paid him £3,000 a month between the summer of 2020 and January 2022, after leaked documents revealed that he had boasted of "very considerable" potential to open doors for SpectrumX, through what he described as his "high-level contacts". In October 2022, it was revealed that Shrewsbury had failed to register that he was being paid by SpectrumX. This contradicted his earlier claims that he had reported his financial interest when promoting a SpectrumX product in 2021.

On 16 December 2022, the House of Lords Conduct Committee recommended that he be suspended from the House of Lords for nine months after being paid £57,000 over two years to lobby ministers and officials, which was described as "extremely serious" misconduct that damaged the reputation of the House of Lords.

In January 2026, Shrewsbury was suspended from the House of Lords for two weeks for making false travel expenses claims and using a House of Lords rail season ticket for non-parliamentary business.

Family On 5 January 1973, Shrewsbury married Deborah Jane Hutchinson, a daughter of Noel Staughton Hutchinson and Jenifer Hutchinson of Ellerton, Shropshire. They have three children:

Arms