described as a shy person who "saw little company and lived much out of the world; his habits were those of a country gentleman, bending his mind to agriculture, moderately addicted to field sports and more than either, to reading in which he passed many hours; firm in his principles which were those of the old Whig; amiable in his disposition mild in his manners, he was beloved of his friends". The family's prospects improved significantly in 1759 when Coke was five, when his great-uncle, Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester, died. The cause of Thomas's death is not certain, although there are chances it was a duel, but the result was that upon the death of Thomas's wife Margaret, Wenman inherited a substantial Norfolk estate, including Holkham Hall, a "Palladian masterpiece". Margaret studiously avoided the rest of the family, vowing to outlive Wenman simply to ensure that he did not inherit the estate. In the event she died in 1775, one year before Wenman, who thereby inherited. Few records exist of Thomas Coke's early years, although it is known that he was educated in Longford, Derbyshire, before going to a school in Wandsworth run by French settlers. In 1765 he was sent to Eton College, where he was joined by William Windham, a close friend in his later life. Coke was apparently happy at Eton, and was excellent at field sports; on one occasion 70 snipes he had killed were found in his room, and on another, he narrowly avoided being punished for shooting a pheasant in Windsor Great Park. He was not particularly interested in his academic studies, but by the time he left Eton in 1771 Coke had developed a close circle of friends and connections from the landowning class, and practical skills to deal with his future estates. After leaving school he undertook a Grand Tour of Europe, financed by his father and his great-aunt (who offered him £500 not to go to a university, regarding them as dens of vice). Coke visited France and Italy, where he witnessed the marriage of the Young Pretender to Princess Louise of Stolberg-Gedern; Louise apparently fell in love with Coke, preferring the similarly aged Englishman to her 52-year-old alcoholic husband. Career By the time Coke returned to Britain, plans were already under way for him to enter Parliament. When an election was called in 1774, Weman stood for the