John Francis Amherst Cecil

John Francis Amherst Cecil was born in 1890 in London, England to Lord William Cecil (1854–1943) and Mary Rothes Margaret Tyssen-Amherst, 2nd Baroness Amherst of Hackney (1857–1919). His father, a Groom-in-Waiting to Queen Victoria until her death in 1901 and an Extra Gentleman Usher from 1924 under King George V until 1937, was a younger son of the William Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Exeter (1825–1895) and Lady Georgina Sophia Pakenham (d. 1909), the daughter of Thomas Pakenham, 2nd Earl of Longford (1774–1835). His maternal grandfather was William Tyssen-Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst of Hackney (1835–1909).

He attended Eton College and Oxford University.

Career He became the first secretary of the British Embassy in Washington in 1923. After his marriage in 1924, he resigned from his diplomatic post.

Personal life In 1924, he married Cornelia Stuyvesant Vanderbilt, the daughter of the late George Washington Vanderbilt II and the former Edith Stuyvesant Dresser. Together, they had:

George Henry Vanderbilt Cecil (b. 1925) William Amherst Vanderbilt Cecil (b. 1928) They divorced in 1934 and he died on October 22, 1954 in Asheville, North Carolina.