The 3rd Baron Glenconner, who transformed the Caribbean island of Mustique from a barren rock into an exclusive playground for royalty and rock stars, has died in St Lucia at the age of 83.
Known to friends as Colin Tennant, he estimated he had blown £100 million on his “projects,” chiefly the purchase and development of Mustique. He bought the mosquito-infested island for £45,000 in 1958 and built roads, electricity, and a hospital, creating a way of life that attracted the likes of Princess Margaret, Mick Jagger, and David Bowie.
Princess Margaret, who received 10 acres as a wedding gift from Tennant, became Mustique’s most famous resident, entertaining her lover Roddy Llewellyn there. Prince Andrew later visited with Koo Stark. The island became synonymous with louche behaviour in the 1970s.
Tennant was described as the “Basil Fawlty of the aristocracy” for his eccentricity, shouting, and tantrums. His wife Lady Anne, a lady-in-waiting to Princess Margaret, once told him on camera: “To you, losing your temper, shouting, hitting people with your white stick is OK but I mind and the children mind.”
The Tennant family fortune originated from weaver’s apprentice Charles Tennant, who invented dry bleaching powder in 1799, revolutionising the linen industry. The family was ennobled as barons of Glenconner, and Colin inherited a baronial castle but focused his energies on Mustique, saying: “I wanted a lifestyle.”
