Lord Charles George Francis Fitzmaurice MVO (12 February 1874 – 30 October 1914) was an English soldier and

courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the official r ...

. For the last few months of his life he was known as Lord Charles Mercer Nairne.

Early life

Fitzmaurice was the younger son of the former Lady Maud Evelyn Hamilton and

Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne, (14 January 18453 June 1927), was a British statesman who served successively as Governor General of Canada, Viceroy of India, Secretary of State for War and Secretary of State ...

, a British statesman who served successively as the fifth

Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, t ...

Viceroy of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 19 ...

Secretary of State for War The Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The Secretary of State for War headed the War Office and ...

, and

Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...

. His elder brother, Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice became the 6th Marquess and Charles inherited the

Meikleour Meikleour ( ) is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It lies near the confluence of the Tay and the Isla in the valley of Strathmore, north of Perth and south of Blairgowrie. It is in the parish of Caputh. Meikleour is home to the M ...

estate. His paternal grandparents were

Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 4th Marquess of Lansdowne Henry Thomas Petty-Fitzmaurice, 4th Marquess of Lansdowne (7 January 1816 – 5 July 1866), styled Lord Henry Petty-FitzMaurice until 1836 and Earl of Shelburne between 1836 and 1863, was a British politician. Background and education Born L ...

, and his wife, Emily, 8th Lady Nairne (née Joseph). His maternal grandparents were

James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn, (21 January 1811 – 31 October 1885), styled Viscount Hamilton from 1814 to 1818 and The Marquess of Abercorn from 1818 to 1868, was a British Conservative statesman who twice served as Lord Lieutenant of I ...

, and his wife Lady

Louisa Jane Russell Louisa Jane Hamilton, Duchess of Abercorn, VA (née Lady Louisa Jane Russell; 8 July 1812 – 31 March 1905) was a member of the British aristocracy. She was the half-sister of Prime Minister John Russell, 1st Earl Russell. Biography She was th ...

(a daughter of

John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford, (6 July 1766 – 20 October 1839), known as Lord John Russell until 1802, was a British Whig politician who notably served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the Ministry of All the Talents. He was the fathe ...

Career

He joined the

1st King's Dragoon Guards The 1st King's Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army. The regiment was raised by Sir John Lanier in 1685 as the 2nd Queen's Regiment of Horse, named in honour of Queen Mary, consort of King James II. It was renamed the 2nd Ki ...

in 1895, and served as an aide-de-camp to Frederick Roberts during the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

1899–1900. He stayed as a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

of the 1st Dragoon Guards until January 1901, when he was seconded for service on the army staff as Aide-de-camp to Lord Roberts, who had been appointed

Commander-in-Chief of the Forces The Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, later Commander-in-Chief, British Army, or just the Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C), was (intermittently) the professional head of the English Army from 1660 to 1707 (the English Army, founded in 1645, was suc ...

. Lord Roberts resigned when this post was abolished in early 1904, and Petty-Fitzmaurice was promoted to

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of his former regiment the 1st Dragoons in October 1904. In May 1902, he was part of a delegation led by the

Duke of Connaught Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom that was granted on 24 May 1874 by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to her third son, Prince Arthur. At the same time, he was also ...

to take part in the enthronement ceremonies in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

for the young

King Alfonso XIII of Spain Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alfo ...

, and he was awarded the First class of the Spanish Order of Military Merit. From 1909, he was an

equerry An equerry (; from French ' stable', and related to 'squire') is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attendant, usually up ...

to the Prince of Wales (later

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...

) until he was killed in action in

World War I 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 ...

. On 1 January 1914 he adopted the surname of Mercer Nairne in place of Fitzmaurice.

Personal life

On 20 January 1909, he married Lady Violet Mary Elliot-Murray-Kynymound (daughter of

Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto Gilbert John Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto, (; 9 July 18451 March 1914), known as Viscount Melgund by courtesy from 1859 to 1891, was a British peer and politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the eighth since Canadi ...

and Mary Caroline Grey) and they had two children: * Mary Margaret Elizabeth Mercer Nairne (1910–2003), who married Lt. Col.

Ririd Myddleton Lieutenant-Colonel Ririd Myddelton, MVO KStJ DL JP (25 February 1902 – 7 February 1988), was a country gentleman and one-time member of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. Early life Myddelton was born on 25 F ...

. She was granted the rank of a marquess's daughter in 1946. *

George Petty-Fitzmaurice, 8th Marquess of Lansdowne George John Charles Mercer Nairne Petty-Fitzmaurice, 8th Marquess of Lansdowne, DL (27 November 1912 – 25 August 1999), was a British peer and Conservative politician. Background Petty-Fitzmaurice was the only son of Lord Charles Mercer Nair ...

(1912–1999) Lord Charles was killed in action on 30 October 1914. He is buried in Ypres Town Cemetery. The inscription on his gravestone reads: NOT IN VAIN NOT UNHONOURED NOT FORGOTTEN THEY GAVE UP THEIR LIVES. After his death, his widow Violet remarried to

John Jacob Astor V Lieutenant-Colonel John Jacob Astor V, 1st Baron Astor of Hever, DL (20 May 1886 – 19 July 1971) was an American-born English newspaper proprietor, politician, sportsman, military officer, and a member of the Astor family. Biography Astor wa ...

on 28 August 1916.

References

External links

Burke's Peerage & Gentry, 107th editionLord Charles Petty-Fitzmaurice (1874-1914) c. 1920
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzmaurice, Lord Charles Equerries Members of the Royal Victorian Order Younger sons of marquesses British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in World War I 1st King's Dragoon Guards officers 1874 births 1914 deaths

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

Burials in Belgium