Townshend was the only son of John Townshend, 6th Marquess Townshend, and Gwladys Ethel Gwendolen Eugenie Sutherst. Having held his titles since the death of his father in 1921, as of 2 March 2009 Lord Townshend had held a peerage longer than any other peer in history, having passed the previous mark of 87 years, 104 days, held by Charles Street Clair, 13th Lord Sinclair (b 30 July 1768, succeeded 16 December 1775, d 30 March 1863).
He notably served as Chairman of Anglia Television from 1958 to 1986. Lord Townshend married, firstly, Elizabeth Pamela Audrey Luby (d 1989), daughter of Thomas Luby, on 2 September 1939. They had three children:
Lady Carolyn Elizabeth Ann Townshend (b 27 September 1940), married 1stly 1962 (divorced 1971), Antonio Capellini and had issue, one son (who has taken the name of Townshend).
Lady Joanna Agnes Townshend (b 19 August 1943), married firstly in 1962 (divorced 1968), Jeremy Bradford and had issue, one son.
Charles Townshend, 8th Marquess Townshend (b 26 September 1945), married 1975 Hermione Ponsonby (1945–1985, died in a motor accident), daughter of Lieutenant Commander He remarried in 1990, Alison Marshall, née Combs, daughter of Sir Willis Ide Combs, Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, Chipotle Mexican Grill. They had two children:
Lord John Townshend (b 17 June 1962).
Married September 1987 (div 1991), Rachel Lucy Chapple, daughter of Field Marshal Sir John Lyon Chapple, Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, with apparently no issue. Lady Katherine Townshend (b 29 September 1963).
Married firstly in 1991 Piers Dent, son of Robin Dent and had issue, two daughters.
Townsend married, thirdly, in 2004, Philippa Sophia Swire (b 28 April 1935), former wife of Humphrey Roger Swire (1934–2004), and daughter of George Jardine Kidston-Montgomerie of Southannan. Lady Townshend"s first husband died in January 2004. She is the mother of the Conservative Member of Parliament Hugo Swire.
Lord Townshend died aged 93 on 23 April (Street George"s Day) 2010, having held his peerage for 89 years.
