James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Abercorn, (born 4 July 1934), is a British nobleman, peer, and politician. He became

Duke of Abercorn The title Duke of Abercorn () is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1868 and bestowed upon James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn, James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Abercorn. Although the Dukedom is in the Peerage of Ireland, it refe ...

in the

Peerage of Ireland 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 divisi ...

on the death of his father in June 1979. He is the son of

James Edward Hamilton, 4th Duke of Abercorn James Edward Hamilton, 4th Duke of Abercorn (29 February 1904 – 4 June 1979) styled Viscount Strabane until 1913 and Marquess of Hamilton between 1913 and 1953, was a British peer. He was the son of James Hamilton, 3rd Duke of Abercorn, and L ...

, and Kathleen Crichton. He is a former politician and

Lord Steward of the Household The Lord Steward or Lord Steward of the Household is an official of the Royal Household in England. He is always a peer. Until 1924, he was always a member of the Government. Until 1782, the office was one of considerable political importance ...

Career

Educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

and the

Royal Agricultural College ;(from Virgil's Georgics)"Caring for the Fieldsand the Beasts" , established = 2013 - University status – College , type = Public , president = King Charles , vice_chancellor = Peter McCaffery , students ...

, in 1953 he was commissioned into the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

Lord James Paisley, and then promoted to

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 ...

in 1955. He quit active service and was absorbed into the Regular Reserves a year later. In 1964 he became

Ulster Unionist The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule movem ...

MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, succeeding his cousin, Lord Robert Grosvenor. He held his seat in the 1966 election but lost it to Frank McManus in 1970 by 1,423 votes.Michael Stenton and Stephen Lees, "Who's Who of British Members of Parliament", vol. IV (Harvester Press, 1981), p. 149. In 1970 he served as

High Sheriff of Tyrone The High Sheriff of Tyrone is the Sovereign's judicial representative in County Tyrone. Initially an office for lifetime, assigned by the Sovereign, the High Sheriff became annually appointed from the Provisions of Oxford in 1258. Besides his ju ...

. In 1974 he joined the

Ulster Defence Regiment The Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) was an infantry regiment of the British Army established in 1970, with a comparatively short existence ending in 1992. Raised through public appeal, newspaper and television advertisements,Potter p25 their offi ...

, but left the regiment and remained in the British Army in the Volunteer List in 1980. From 1986 to 2009 he was the

Lord Lieutenant of County Tyrone This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of County Tyrone. There were lieutenants of counties in Ireland until the reign of James II of England, James II, when they were renamed governors. The office of Lord Lieutenant was recr ...

. In 1999, he was appointed a Knight of the

Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George C ...

. He was

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

of the

Irish Guards ("Who Shall Separate s") , colors = , identification_symbol_2 Saffron (pipes), identification_symbol_2_label = Tartan , identification_symbol = , identification_symbol_label = Tactical Recognition F ...

from 2000 to 2008. Additionally, he was appointed

in 2001, serving until 2009. He owns more than . His seat is

Baronscourt Baronscourt, Barons-Court or Baronscourt Castle is a Georgian country house and estate 4.5 km southwest of Newtownstewart in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, and is the seat of the Duke of Abercorn. It is a Grade A-listed building. The Bar ...

, near

Newtownstewart Newtownstewart is a village and townland of in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is overlooked by hills called Bessy Bell and Mary Gray and lies on the River Strule below the confluence with its tributary the Owenkillew. It is situated in th ...

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional Counties of Ireland, counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an admini ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. The Dukedom of Abercorn is in the

and did not carry an entitlement 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 ...

, but until 1999 the Duke was entitled to sit there under his subsidiary title Marquess of Abercorn, in the

Peerage of Great Britain The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain between the Acts of Union 1707 and the Acts of Union 1800. It replaced the Peerage of England and the Peerage of Scotland, but was itself r ...

. He was appointed

Chancellor of the Order of the Garter The Chancellor of the Order of the Garter is an officer of the Order of the Garter. History of the office When the Order of the Garter was founded in 1348 at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, by Edward III of England three officers were initiall ...

on 17 October 2012. In 1987, he served as a judge in Prince Edward's charity television special ''

The Grand Knockout Tournament ''The Grand Knockout Tournament'' (also known as ''It's a Royal Knockout'') was a one-off charity event which took place on 15 June 1987, and was shown on British television on 19 June 1987 (BBC1, repeated on 27 December 1987), in addition to a ...

''.

Family

On 20 October 1966, the then Lord Hamilton married Alexandra Phillips, daughter of Lieutenant Colonel Harold Phillips and

Georgina Wernher Georgina, Lady Kennard (''née'' Wernher; formerly Phillips; 17 October 1919 – 28 April 2011) was a British aristocrat who was considered "one of the best connected women in the country." She was connected to many prominent families such as th ...

, herself the elder daughter and co-heiress of

Sir Harold Wernher, 3rd Baronet Major-General Sir Harold Augustus Wernher, 3rd Baronet, (16 January 1893 – 30 June 1973) was a British military officer. Life and career He was the second son of Sir Julius Wernher, 1st Baronet, and his wife, Alice Sedgwick Mankiewicz. He rea ...

, of

Luton Hoo Luton Hoo is an English country house and Estate (land), estate near Luton in Bedfordshire and Harpenden in Hertfordshire. Most of the estate lies within the civil parish of Hyde, Bedfordshire. The Old English language, Saxon word wikt:hoo#Etym ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

. Their wedding at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

was attended by members of the royal family, including

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

and the

Queen Mother A queen mother is a former queen, often a queen dowager, who is the mother of the reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since the early 1560s. It arises in hereditary monarchies in Europe and is also used to describe a number of ...

, and

Prince Andrew Prince Andrew, Duke of York, (Andrew Albert Christian Edward; born 19 February 1960) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger brother of King Charles III and the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince ...

was a pageboy. The Duke and Duchess of Abercorn had three children: * James Harold Charles Hamilton, Marquess of Hamilton (born 19 August 1969); a godson of

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

; married Tanya Marie Nation on 7 May 2004, had issue: ** James Alfred Nicholas Hamilton, Viscount Strabane (born 30 October 2005) ** Lord Claud Douglas Harold Hamilton (born 12 December 2007) * Lady Sophia Alexandra Hamilton (born 8 June 1973); married

Anthony Loyd Anthony William Vivian Loyd (born 12 September 1966) is an English journalist and noted war correspondent, best known for his 1999 book ''My War Gone By, I Miss It So''. He gained prominence in February 2019 when he tracked down a British Islami ...

on 7 September 2002, divorced 2005, no issue * Lord Nicholas Edward Hamilton (born 5 July 1979); married Tatiana Kronberg on 30 August 2009, had issue The Duke was a first cousin of the 8th Earl Spencer, father of

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

. He attended Diana's 1981 wedding to Prince Charles at St Paul's Cathedral.

Arms

References

* "Burke's Peerage and Baronetage" * http://www.recyclegen.com/archives/montg_coll/def/evans.htm * http://www.exeter-cathedral.org.uk/_assets/mary%20jane%20nation.pdf * http://www.nationstudy.com/getperson.php?personID=I8941&tree=NationStudy

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abercorn, James Hamilton, 5th Duke of 1934 births Alumni of the Royal Agricultural University Grenadier Guards officers 105 Knights of the Garter Living people High Sheriffs of Tyrone Lord-Lieutenants of Tyrone Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Fermanagh and South Tyrone (since 1950) People educated at Eton College People from County Tyrone Ulster Unionist Party members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Hamilton, Marquess of Hamilton, Marquess of UK MPs who inherited peerages Chancellors of the Order of the Garter