Arthur Stuart, 7th Earl Castle Stewart, MC (6 August 1889 – 5 November 1961), styled Viscount Stuart from 1915 to 1921, was an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...

peer and Unionist politician.

Background and education

Stuart was the third son of Andrew John Stuart, 6th Earl Castle Stewart, an

Ulster Scots Ulster Scots, may refer to: * Ulster Scots people * Ulster Scots dialect Ulster Scots or Ulster-Scots (', ga, Albainis Uladh), also known as Ulster Scotch and Ullans, is the dialect of Scots language, Scots spoken in parts of Ulster in North ...

nobleman, and his wife, Emma Georgiana Diana, the youngest daughter of Major-General Arthur Stevens (1821–1895) of the Madras Native Infantry and his second wife (of five), Georgiana Eliza Dickson, a descendant of John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby. The Stuart family descends in the male line from

King Robert II of Scotland Robert II (2 March 1316 – 19 April 1390) was King of Scots from 1371 to his death in 1390. The son of Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland, and Marjorie, daughter of King Robert the Bruce, he was the first monarch of the House of Stewa ...

. He was educated at Charterhouse,

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

and the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

Military and political career

Stuart fought in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as a Major in the

Machine Gun Corps The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front in the First World War. The Heavy Branch of the MGC was the first to use tank ...

, was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

and was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

in the

1918 Birthday Honours The 1918 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, 3 June a ...

. His two elder brothers were both killed in the First World War and in 1921, he succeeded his father as seventh Earl Castle Stewart. However, as this was an

Irish peerage The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisio ...

it did not entitle him to a seat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

. He was elected to the House of Commons for

Harborough Market Harborough is a market town in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, in the far southeast of the county, forming part of the border with Northamptonshire. Market Harborough's population was 25,143 in 2020. It is the ad ...

in 1929 as a Conservative and Unionist, a seat he held until 1933.

Family

On 16 December 1920, then-Viscount Stuart married Eleanor May, daughter of Solomon Guggenheim. They had four sons, of whom the two eldest were killed in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He committed suicide with a shotgun in his study at Old Lodge, his house and estate at Ashdown Forest near Uckfield on 5 November 1961,The Irish Times, 8 November 1961; Phillips-Evans, James. ''The Longcrofts: 500 Years of a British Family'', Amazon (2012) aged 72, and was succeeded in his titles by his third son,

Arthur Stuart, 8th Earl Castle Stewart Arthur Patrick Avondale Stuart, 8th Earl Castle Stewart (born 18 August 1928), styled Viscount Stuart from 1944 to 1961, is a nobleman in the Peerage of Ireland. The third son of Arthur Stuart, 7th Earl Castle Stewart and his wife Eleanor May Gug ...

. Eleanor, Dowager Countess Castle Stewart died in 1992. After her death, Old Lodge was sold to H.H. Torki M Bin Saud Al Kabeer, a member of the royal family of Saudi Arabia.

References

Sources

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Castle Stewart, Arthur Stuart, 7th Earl 1889 births 1961 deaths Earls in the Peerage of Ireland British Army personnel of World War I Machine Gun Corps officers Suicides by firearm in England Recipients of the Military Cross Stuart, Arthur Stuart, Arthur Stuart, Arthur UK MPs who inherited peerages People educated at Charterhouse School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge British military personnel who committed suicide British politicians who committed suicide Guggenheim family