James Graham, 8th Duke of Montrose (born 6 April 1935), known as Earl of Kincardine until 1954 and Marquess of Graham between 1954 and 1992, is a
Southern Rhodesia-born
hereditary peer
The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of September 2022, there are 807 hereditary peers: 29 dukes (including five royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 190 earls, 111 viscounts, and 443 barons (disregarding subsid ...
of the
Peerage of Scotland
The Peerage of Scotland ( gd, Moraireachd na h-Alba, sco, Peerage o Scotland) is one of the five divisions of peerages in the United Kingdom and for those peers created by the King of Scots before 1707. Following that year's Treaty of Union, ...
and a British
Conservative Party politician.
Biography
Parents
The Duke was born in
Southern Rhodesia, where his father, then the
Marquess of Graham
Duke of Montrose (named for Montrose, Angus) is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Scotland. The title was created anew in 1707, for James Graham, 4th Marquess of Montrose, great-grandson of famed James Graham, 1st Marquess ...
, was attempting to establish a farm.
Marriage
On 31 January 1970, as
Marquess
A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...
of Graham, he married
Catherine Elizabeth MacDonell Young (d. 29 October 2014), of
Canada.
They have three children:
* Lady Hermione Elizabeth Graham (born 20 July 1971), married 1998 Christopher John Thornhill
** John Graham Thornhill (born 1998)
** Grace Graham Thornhill (born 1998)
*
James Alexander Norman Graham, Marquess of Graham (born 16 August 1973), married 2004 Cecilia Manfredi, without issue
* Lord Ronald John Christopher Graham (born 13 October 1975), married 24 September 2016 to Florence Mary Arbuthnott, in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. He is a practising lawyer with a firm in England and has two sons.
Education
The Duke attended boarding school in
Scotland, first in
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland.
It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...
and after that at the
Loretto School near
Edinburgh.
Politics and international relations
The Duke considers himself a
Conservative and took his seat in the
House of Lords on his father's death in 1992. He is one of four dukes to have re-entered the House (of the 24 non-royal dukes eligible) following the
House of Lords Act 1999, having been one of the
90 peers chosen or elected by the others sitting. The other dukes in the upper house among these are
The Duke of Somerset, who won a by-election in December 2014,
The Duke of Wellington, who won a by-election in September 2015, and
The Duke of Norfolk
Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the county of Norfolk. The current duke is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk. The duke ...
who, as hereditary
Earl Marshal and one of the
Great Officers of State, does not have to stand for election.
The Duke of Montrose was a shadow minister for the
Scotland Office before the
2010 general election. He has also spent some time in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
promoting renewable energy and environmental measures, and he is a fluent speaker of
Mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
.
References
External links
James Graham, 8th Duke of Montrose Chief of the Grahams
thePeerage.com
Conservative Party website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montrose, James Graham, 8th Duke of
Conservative Party (UK) hereditary peers
208
Hereditary peers elected under the House of Lords Act
1935 births
Living people
People educated at Loretto School, Musselburgh
James