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Lord Montagu, who established the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu, has died aged 88.
Representatives for The Beaulieu Estate, in the New Forest, have said Edward, 3rd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu, died "peacefully" after a short illness. His wife Fiona, his son and heir Ralph, daughter Mary and second son Jonathan survive him.
The Hampshire estate and visitor attractions are to continue to operate as usual, Has been confirmed.
Lord Montagu became one of the first to make stately homes commercially viable, opening Palace House, to the public in 1952. His passion for all things automotive led him to found the National Motor Museum on the 7,000-acre estate. He was a leading authority on veteran and vintage cars, usually taking part in the London to Brighton run.
Lord Montagu was only two years old when he succeeded his father, John, to become the 3rd Baron. Studying at Eton and Oxford he went on to become a lieutenant in the Grenadier Guards when in 1948, when he made his maiden speech in the House of Lords.
Lord Montagu took over the running of the Beaulieu Estate on his 25th birthday in 1951. His mother and the trustees had managed the estate since the death of his motor pioneering father in 1929.
He subsequently described the estate as a “white elephant” as his £1,500 per year inheritance barely covered it’s running costs. He is further reported as of saying, "The wise solution was to get rid of it, but for me that would neither be entirely sensible nor rational - that was unthinkable."
He later recounted: "What catapulted me permanently into the major league for the future was the idea of commemorating my father's life… by exhibiting veteran cars.
"Without it, my life would have been very different and I doubt whether I would have been able to remain as owner and occupier of my ancestral home."