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 Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing colony, self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The reg ...

-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 subsidi ...

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 Unio ...

and a British

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician.

Biography

Parents

The Duke was born in

, where his father, then the Marquess of Graham, 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 ...

of Graham, he married Catherine Elizabeth MacDonell Young (d. 29 October 2014), of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

. 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 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 ...

, first in

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 ...

and after that at the

Loretto School Loretto School, founded in 1827, is an independent boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 0 to 18. The campus occupies in Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland. History The school was founded by the Reverend Thomas Langhorne in 1827. ...

near

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Politics and international relations

The Duke considers himself a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

and took his seat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

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 The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords ...

, 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 who, as hereditary

Earl Marshal Earl marshal (alternatively marschal or marischal) is a hereditary royal officeholder and chivalric title under the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign of the United Kingdom used in England (then, following the Act of Union 1800, in the U ...

and one of the

Great Officers of State Government in medieval monarchies generally comprised the king's companions, later becoming the Royal Household, from which the officers of state arose, initially having household and government duties. Later some of these officers became ...

, does not have to stand for election. The Duke of Montrose was a shadow minister for the

Scotland Office The Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland ( gd, Oifis Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba), often referred to as, and formerly officially called, the Scotland Office, is a department of His Majesty's Government headed by the Secretary of State ...

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 List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

promoting renewable energy and environmental measures, and he is a fluent speaker of Mandarin.

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