William Compton, 6th Marquess of Northampton

William Bingham Compton, 6th Marquess of Northampton, DSO (6 August 1885 – 30 January 1978), known as Earl Compton from 1897 to 1913, was a British peer and soldier.

Early life Northampton was the eldest son of William George Spencer Scott Compton, 5th Marquess of Northampton, and his wife Mary Florence (née Baring). He was educated at Eton College and Balliol College, Oxford, where he graduated as B.A. in 1906.

Military and public service Initially a Lieutenant in the Northamptonshire Yeomanry, he was commissioned into the regular army in the Royal Horse Guards, of which he became Adjutant in 1913 and achieved the rank of Major. He fought in the First World War, during which he was twice mentioned in despatches and wounded. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of Leopold (Belgium) and in 1919 he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. He was also a Commander of the Order of St John of Jerusalem.

He transferred as a Captain to the Warwickshire Yeomanry in 1921 As result of family pressure he broke off the engagement after succeeding to his peerage, a record in British legal history for a breach of promise case, in 1913.

Lord Northampton married, firstly, Lady Emma Marjory, daughter of Thomas Thynne, 5th Marquess of Bath, in 1921. They had no children and were divorced in 1941. He married, secondly, Virginia Lucie, daughter of Captain David Rimington Heaton, in 1942. They had two sons and two daughters, but were divorced in 1958. He married, thirdly, in 1958 with Lady Elspeth Grace Whitaker, daughter of William Ingham Whitaker and a member of the Whitaker family. Lord Northampton died in January 1978, aged 92, and was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son from his second marriage, Spencer. His eldest child, Lady Judith Compton, was married to Sir Adrian Swire.