WANTED: One VERY tolerant Lady! Picky aristocrat, 79, launches bid to find a wife. Eskimos, Scorpios, the poor, the short, Guardian readers, Scots and anyone who can’t fly a helicopter needn’t apply

A controversial aristocrat has appealed for a bride, saying he would pay her £50,000 a year to father his male heirs and help manage his 1,300-acre Somerset estate.

But despite approaching his eighties, 79-year-old Sir Benjamin Slade is not ready to settle for second best and has drawn up a long list of the qualities he looks for in a partner.

The first cut-off point for interested applicants is age, as the next Lady Slade must be at least 20 years younger; This means women in their 60s do not need to apply.

Sir Benjamin says he is after a ‘good breeder’ who will provide him with at least two male heirs, but clarifies that having already given birth to a child is not a deal breaker.

He added: ‘I can have two sons, three would be better, but if I have two sons that would save the situation.

‘There is always a lady of the house, women manage the houses. People think this is sexist. Jane Austen said that if you have a big house, you need a wife.

‘Women run the house. ‘They manage the staff and have an eye on this.’

Sir Benjamin hopes the successful candidate will bear him at least two male heirs and help manage his 1,300-acre Somerset estate (pictured)

However, the aristocrat also has very special conditions, such as his new wife being over 1.90 tall, not being a Scorpio or not being able to read the Guardian newspaper.

Far from asking for a shrinking violet, the nobleman says that the woman who wins his heart must have a shotgun and a licence, while a helicopter license ‘will be useful’.

When it comes to hobbies, Sir Benjamin is looking for a bride who loves ballroom dancing, gaming He is skilled at bridge and backgammon – and management.

He should be able to manage two castles and it would ‘be useful’ if he had training in real estate, law and accounting.

The candidate will be paid £50,000 a year plus a bonus and this includes a car, house, expenses, food and holidays.

Baronet Sir Benjamin, a descendant of Charles, says that he cannot come from countries whose flags start with ‘I’, which includes the color green, which excludes people living in Ireland, India, Italy, Ivory Coast and Iran.

He said: ‘I like to call Canadians, Americans, Germans and Northern Europeans – similar people. I don’t think marrying an Eskimo is for me.

‘All I need is a nice, ordinary country girl who knows and understands everything.

Sir Benjamin is seen with former partner Kirsten Hughes at his lavish mansion in Somerset

Sir Benjamin already has a daughter named Violet (pictured as a baby with her mother Sahra Sunday Spain in 2022), but now says he wants male heirs to pass on his estate to someone else.

‘I’m very social, I go out often and I need someone to adapt to me.’

Sir Benjamin also hinted at more pragmatic factors behind his rush to find a bride, saying he would have to marry a lady at least 20 years his junior for tax reasons.

Slade has a 34-year-old daughter, Violet, with entrepreneur and former children’s author Sahara Sunday Spain, but is still searching for a male heir with a genetic similarity to one of his paternal ancestors.

‘The death tax is 40 percent and the only way I can leave property, art collection, etc. tax-free to my spouse is to distribute it to distant relatives,’ he added.

‘Of course he has to live seven years. She needs to be insured too, so we need a lady at least 20 years younger than me, because I can’t insure an older wife, so the younger the better.

‘Obviously the widow will get a financial percentage for passing this on. That’s the only way left to get around the inheritance tax.’

He added: ‘I can’t insure a 70-year-old woman. I have a lot of beautiful girls who want to get married at 70, but they get old, they last a few years and then you die, and then they might die and that’s a risk.

‘I meet people socially and I have a very social life and I meet my own people.

‘If you were a young man and you stuck to your own religion, your own class, your own country and your own politics, you’d have a 50 per cent chance of success and not end up in divorce court.’

Sir Benjamin Julian Alfred Slade, 6th Baronet is the son of Sir Michael Nial Slade and Angela Clare Rosalind Chichester.

Aristocrat Sir Benjamin Slade carries a gun under each arm in his mansion with his three dogs

He inherited his baronetcy from his father in 1962, and his elder brother Robert predeceased them.

He was educated at Millfield School. He lives at Maunsel House in Bridgwater, Somerset.

The full requirements were: ‘Sir Ben seeks the Lady of the Household.

‘You need to have a shotgun licence, a driver’s license (a helicopter license would also be useful), ammorial beds, and be able to manage two castles, a manor and a grouse moor.

‘Law and accounting education will be useful. She must be able to give birth to two sons (doesn’t matter if she has mated before and is proven).

‘Some private capital and income could be useful. A large fortune would be more useful!

The candidate will be paid £50,000 a year plus a bonus and this includes a car, house, expenses, food and holidays.

‘Guardian readers, Scorpios, drug users, alcoholics, Scots under 5’6, people from countries that start with ‘I’ and have green on their flags, and people from countries that don’t wear coats in winter need not apply!’