# Nicholas Eden, 2nd Earl of Avon
**Nicholas Eden, 2nd Earl of Avon** (3 October 1930 – 17 August 1985), styled Viscount Eden between 1961 and 1977, was a [British Army](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-army) officer and Conservative politician, the younger son of Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden and his first wife, Beatrice Helen Beckett. He served as a minister in the government of [Margaret Thatcher](https://www.edgepedia.org/margaret-thatcher) and, on his death without heirs, the earldom created for his father in 1961 became extinct.[1](https://www.thepeerage.com/p1397.htm) • [2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-08-22-me-2375-story.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | 3 October 1930; 17 August 1985, aged 54, unmarried[1](https://www.thepeerage.com/p1397.htm) |
| Parents | Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, and Beatrice Helen Beckett[1](https://www.thepeerage.com/p1397.htm) |
| Peerage | Styled Viscount Eden 1961–1977; succeeded as 2nd Earl of Avon and 2nd Viscount Eden on 14 January 1977; titles extinct on his death[1](https://www.thepeerage.com/p1397.htm) |
| Military career | King's Royal Rifle Corps officer 1949–1951; Aide-de-Camp to the Governor-General of Canada 1952–1953; Territorial Decoration; Lieutenant-Colonel, Queen's Royal Rifles (TA) 1965–1967 and 4th (Volunteer) Battalion, Royal Green Jackets, 1968[1](https://www.thepeerage.com/p1397.htm) |
| Political career | Minister in Margaret Thatcher's government; parliamentary undersecretary at the Department of the Environment until March 1985[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-08-22-me-2375-story.html) • [3](https://calmview.bham.ac.uk/GetDocument.ashx?db=Catalog&fname=AP.pdf) |
| End of the title | Never married and left no heirs, so the earldom lapsed at his death[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-08-22-me-2375-story.html) |
## Family and education
Nicholas Eden was the second son of [Anthony Eden](https://www.edgepedia.org/anthony-eden) and Beatrice Beckett, who married in 1923 and divorced in 1950.[1](https://www.thepeerage.com/p1397.htm) • [4](https://findoes.etoncollege.com/sir-anthony-eden/) His elder brother Simon Gascoyne Eden (1924–1945) was killed serving with the RAF in Burma during the Second World War, a loss that marred the end of the war for their father.[3](https://calmview.bham.ac.uk/GetDocument.ashx?db=Catalog&fname=AP.pdf) • [5](https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/1977-01-18/debates/eaeae498-dccf-41c2-b11a-b186949b619e/TheLateEarlOfAvon)
He was educated at [Eton College](https://www.edgepedia.org/eton-college) in [Windsor, Berkshire](https://www.edgepedia.org/windsor-berkshire).[1](https://www.thepeerage.com/p1397.htm)
## Military career
Eden gained the rank of officer in the [King's Royal Rifle Corps](https://www.edgepedia.org/kings-royal-rifle-corps), his father's former regiment, between 1949 and 1951.[1](https://www.thepeerage.com/p1397.htm) He served as Aide-de-Camp to the Governor-General of Canada from 1952 to 1953 and was awarded the Territorial Decoration.[1](https://www.thepeerage.com/p1397.htm) His later service was with the Territorial Army: he reached the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the Queen's Royal Rifles (TA) between 1965 and 1967, and in 1968 in the 4th (Volunteer) [Battalion](https://www.edgepedia.org/battalion), Royal Green Jackets.[1](https://www.thepeerage.com/p1397.htm)
## Political career
Eden sat in the [House of Lords](https://www.edgepedia.org/house-of-lords) as Lord Avon after succeeding his father on 14 January 1977, on Eden's death.[1](https://www.thepeerage.com/p1397.htm) He served as a minister in the government of Margaret Thatcher,[3](https://calmview.bham.ac.uk/GetDocument.ashx?db=Catalog&fname=AP.pdf) holding the post of parliamentary undersecretary in the Department of the [Environment](https://www.edgepedia.org/environment). Ill health forced his resignation in March 1985, five months before his death.[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-08-22-me-2375-story.html) Hansard records his contributions in the Lords in 1985 on subjects including the [Tyne and Wear Metro](https://www.edgepedia.org/tyne-and-wear-metro) (Rateable Values) Order, the Osborne House Convalescent Home, and the Widdicombe Inquiry on the conduct of local authority business.[6](https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/people/mr-nicholas-eden/1985) In a later Lords debate on the televising of Parliament, Lord Thomas of Swynnerton recalled that Lord Avon had argued that a reform campaign would have won but for the payroll vote.[7](https://www.parliament.uk/globalassets/documents/tso-pdf/lords-hansard/lhan3.pdf)
## Death and extinction of the title
Eden died on 17 August 1985 in London at the age of 54 after a long illness; obituaries in The Times of London and the Daily Telegraph reported his death, and the cause was not made public.[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-08-22-me-2375-story.html) • [8](https://belnapfamily.org/Sir_Robert_Belknap_Descendants_%28register%29.pdf) Because he never married and had no heirs, the earldom of Avon, created in 1961 to honor his father, lapsed with him, and his titles became extinct.[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-08-22-me-2375-story.html) • [1](https://www.thepeerage.com/p1397.htm)
## References
1. [Nicholas Eden, 2nd Earl of Avon, The Peerage (citing The Complete Peerage, Volume XIV, page 833, and BP1970 volume 141)](https://www.thepeerage.com/p1397.htm)
2. [Anthony Eden's Son, Nicholas, Dies, Los Angeles Times, 22 August 1985](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-08-22-me-2375-story.html)
3. [Avon Papers Resource Guide 2024, Cadbury Research Library, University of Birmingham](https://calmview.bham.ac.uk/GetDocument.ashx?db=Catalog&fname=AP.pdf)
4. [Sir Anthony Eden, later 1st Earl of Avon, Eton Museum](https://findoes.etoncollege.com/sir-anthony-eden/)
5. [The Late Earl of Avon, Hansard, House of Lords, 18 January 1977](https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/1977-01-18/debates/eaeae498-dccf-41c2-b11a-b186949b619e/TheLateEarlOfAvon)
6. [Mr Nicholas Eden: speeches in 1985, Hansard](https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/people/mr-nicholas-eden/1985)
7. [House of Lords Hansard, Volume 737, No. 3, 14 May 2012](https://www.parliament.uk/globalassets/documents/tso-pdf/lords-hansard/lhan3.pdf)
8. [Descendants of Sir Robert Belknap, register, Belnap Family Organization](https://belnapfamily.org/Sir_Robert_Belknap_Descendants_%28register%29.pdf)
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