{{Infobox noble , name = George Keith, 10th Earl Marischal , title = Earl Marischal , image = George Keith, 10th Earl Marischal by Placido Costanzi.jpg , caption = George Keith, 10th Earl Marischal, by

Placido Costanzi Placido Costanzi (1702–1759) was an Italian painter of the late-Baroque period. Placido Costanzi was born in 1702 to a family of gem-makers in Rome. He was exposed to art at a very young age, and became a pupil of Benedetto Luti and painted m ...

, {{circa, 1733 , alt = , CoA = , more = no , succession = , reign = , reign-type = , predecessor = William Keith, 9th Earl Marischal , successor = None,

attainted In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and heredit ...

, spouse = , spouse-type = , issue = , issue-link = , issue-pipe = , full name = , native_name = , styles = , titles = , noble family = , house-type = , father = William Keith, 9th Earl Marischal , mother = Mary Drummond, ''dau. of The Earl of Perth'' , birth_name = , birth_date = 1692 or 1693 , birth_place = probably

Inverugie Castle Inverugie Castle or Cheyne's Tower is the ruins of a motte-and-bailey castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is a scheduled ancient monument. Location Inverugie Castle is located from Peterhead on the north-east coast. The ruins are a sma ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially different boundaries. The Aberdeenshire Council area inclu ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, christening_date = , christening_place = , death_date = 1778 , death_place =

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of ...

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...

, burial_date = , burial_place = , religion = , occupation = , memorials = , website = , module = George Keith, 10th Earl Marischal (1692 or 1693 – 1778) was a Scottish Jacobite army officer and diplomat, who led Jacobite forces in the rising of 1719. He later joined in the

Prussian Army The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power. The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...

and became a close confidant of

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...

, serving as his ambassador to both France and Great Britain. He was the tenth and last

Earl Marischal The title of Earl Marischal was created in the Peerage of Scotland for William Keith, the Great Marischal of Scotland. History The office of Marischal of Scotland (or ''Marascallus Scotie'' or ''Marscallus Scotiae'') had been hereditary, held b ...

Life

Keith was the son of William Keith, 9th Earl Marischal and Mary Drummond, daughter of

James Drummond, 4th Earl of Perth James Drummond, 1st Duke of Perth KT PC (164811 May 1716), also 4th Earl of Perth and 7th Lord Drummond, was a Scottish statesman, and Jacobite. Family The eldest son of James Drummond, 3rd Earl of Perth by his spouse Lady Anne, daughter of ...

. He was probably born at

, Scotland and inherited his father's title in 1712. Keith served in Flanders under the Duke of Marlborough from 1708 to 1711, but for considering placing the

Old Pretender James Francis Edward Stuart (10 June 16881 January 1766), nicknamed the Old Pretender by Whigs, was the son of King James II and VII of England, Scotland and Ireland, and his second wife, Mary of Modena. He was Prince of Wales from ...

on the British throne on Queen Anne's death he was deprived of his commission (or resigned). He fought on the Jacobite side during the

1715 Jacobite rising The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( gd, Bliadhna Sheumais ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland for the exiled Stuarts. At Braemar, Aberdeenshire, lo ...

, including at the battle of Sheriffmuir, and was subsequently attainted for treason by the British government, with his estates falling to the crown.{{Cite EB1911, wstitle=Keith (family), display=George, 10th earl marishal, volume=15, page=715 He fled to the continent of Europe and went on to serve the Jacobite court at Avignon and to be its ambassador to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. He led the landing in Scotland of a force of Spanish marines and Jacobite exiles in the Jacobite rising of 1719, but fled again to Europe following defeat at the Battle of Glen Shiel. On 29 December 1725 he was made a knight of the

Order of the Thistle The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the Order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland, who asserted that he was reviving an earlier Order. The O ...

by the Old Pretender. In March 1740, the Old Pretender appointed Keith to be his Commander-in-Chief in Scotland, although the position was purely titular and had no practical role. He retired from the Spanish court in 1741, finding it impotent to help the Jacobite cause and warning the Old Pretender not to trust the more positive reports from his agent in Paris,

Lord Sempill Lord Sempill (also variously rendered as Semple or Semphill) is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in circa 1489 for Sir John Sempill, founder of the collegiate Church of Lochwinnoch. Sempill was killed at the Battle of Flodde ...

. He became increasingly isolated from the many Jacobite plots of the early 1740s and entered the service of

of Prussia. In August 1751, Frederick appointed Keith as his ambassador to Versailles. Keith had always been distrustful of

Charles Edward Stuart Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (20 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, grandson of James II and VII, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland and ...

, and refused to meet him in Paris during the Prince's secret visits, only engaging with the Prince's agent Henry Goring. Following the Prince's dismissal of Goring in 1751, Keith broke off all communication with the Prince. He then served Frederick the Great as his ambassador to Spain from 1759 to 1761, informing the British government of Spanish preparations to enter the war on France's side, which gained him his pardon by George II on 29 May 1759. Further actions by the British government returned him his right to use his title and regain his estates in Great Britain. Frederick appointed Keith his ambassador to Great Britain in 1759, but despite brief return trips to Scotland in 1761 and 1763–64, he found the climate and his neighbours unfavourable. At Frederick's invitation, Keith sold the estates and returned to Prussia for good, becoming a close friend of the Prussian king and dying in

in 1778. Keith was a recipient of the

Order of the Black Eagle The Order of the Black Eagle (german: Hoher Orden vom Schwarzen Adler) was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg (who became Friedrich I, King i ...

. He was a friend and patron of

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...

. His brother James Francis Edward Keith also served Prussia as a

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

. His portrait is in the collection of the

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...

.George Keith, 10th Earl Marischal and his groom, possibly Ibrahim
National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 11 November 2022.

References

{{Reflist {{Commons category *{{ODNBweb, id=15265, title=Keith, George {{s-start {{s-mil {{s-bef , before= The Earl of Crawford {{s-ttl , title=Captain and Colonel of the

2nd Troop Horse Grenadier Guards The Horse Grenadier Guards, usually referred to ''Horse Grenadiers'' were a series of cavalry troops in the British Household Cavalry between 1687 and 1788, who used grenades and other explosives in battle. Originally attached to the Horse Guar ...

, years=1713–1715 {{s-aft , after= The Earl of Deloraine {{s-reg, sct {{s-bef , before= William Keith {{s-ttl , title=

, years=1712–1715 {{s-non , reason=Forfeit {{s-end {{Jacobitism {{Authority control {{DEFAULTSORT:Marischal, George Keith, 10th Earl 1692 births 1778 deaths Ambassadors of Prussia British Life Guards officers Earls Marischal People from the Kingdom of Prussia People of the Jacobite rising of 1715 People of the Jacobite rising of 1719 Scottish diplomats Scottish Jacobites