A previous version of this story did not make it clear the exact details of the case brought forward and stated the Earl of Yarmouth was attempting to take over the ownership of the Ragley Hall estate. This article has been updated. Nub News apologies for any inaccurate reporting.

A huge South Warwickshire estate is currently locked in a legal battle over the running of its trusts.

William Seymour, the Earl of Yarmouth, is battling to remove and replace trustees of trusts which manage the estates and assets of the 400-year-old family seat of Ragley Hall.

However, his parents the Marquess and Marchioness of Hertford, and Lord Yarmouth's three siblings Lady Gabriella Seymour, 32, Lord Edward Seymour, 30, and Lady Antonia Seymour, do not believe the trustees should be removed.

The trustees - of the Ragley Trust Company Ltd and Seymour Trust Company Ltd - have denied any bias or wrongdoing.

Andrew Wilkinson, partner at Shakespeare Martineau, who is acting on behalf of the earl said: "William Seymour is not suing his parents, nor is he contesting his father's decision not to pass the running of the hall to him either now or when he dies. 

"The rest of the estate sits within a number of family trusts, of which William is a potential beneficiary, alongside his young children.

"He is seeking the trustees' removal on numerous grounds – including the failure to act impartially, fairly and disinterestedly between beneficiaries – and replace them with independent, impartial and professional trustees."

At the hearing at the High Court, Paul Burton argued for the earl the trustees had misdirected the estate and "caused the family breakdown".

The BBC reported the judge, Master James Brightwell, was told during a hearing the earl expected to take over the estate in 2023, and reportedly sent "hostile and inflammatory" emails to his mother Beatriz, 64, "questioning [his father's] mental capacity".

The relationship between the father and son has reportedly deteriorated since the earl's marriage to Kelsey Wells in 2018.

Meanwhile Lord Yarmouth and his wife claim they were kicked out of their cottage on the Ragley Estate and the trustees of the estate had clashed with him over payments for his two children's private school fees.

The family can trace their lineage back to Edward Seymour, brother of Jane Seymour - third wife to Henry VIII.

The earl's premium Elderflower liqueur business - St Maur - was said to "signal an exciting new direction" for him, as he was "driven by his vision to build not just a livelihood but a 'new legacy' to be proud of."

The company's branding includes a red-legged partridge on the bottle, a bird successfully introduced to England in the 19th century by an ancestor Francis Seymour, the 5th Marquess.

The earl said in a press release after the launch of the brand: "My family has an interesting history, in years gone by, and more recently, with characters some good and others less so.

"I want my sons though also to inherit a contemporary story that's not based on the mores of the past, but which is much more forward looking.

"I want to pass on the values of tenacity, honesty, and hard work, and reinvigorate the spirit of our family motto 'by faith and love'."

A judgement will be made at a later date.