{{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 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 hereditary titles, but ...

, 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,

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

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

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

, burial_date = , burial_place = , religion = , occupation = , memorials = , website = , module = George Keith, 10th Earl Marischal (1692/1693 – 1778) was a Scottish military officer, diplomat and peer. After leading Jacobite forces in the

Jacobite rising of 1719 The Jacobite Rising of 1719 was a failed attempt to restore the exiled James Francis Edward Stuart to the throne of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain. Part of a series of Jacobitism, Jacobite risings between 1689 and 1745, it was supported ...

, he fled Britain and joined the Prussian Army. Becoming a close confidant of

Frederick the Great Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...

, he served as the Prussian ambassador to Spain, 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 ...

Life

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

James Drummond, 4th Earl of Perth James Drummond, 4th Earl of Perth, Order of the Thistle, KT, Privy Council of England, PC (164811 May 1716) was a Scottish peer and politician. Lyle, Kathleen (2019), ''The Jacobites in Perth 1715-16'', Tippermuir Books Ltd., Perth, p. 162, Fa ...

.{{Cite ODNB , title=Mary Drummond , date=2004-09-23 , url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/62762 , editor-last=Matthew , editor-first=H. C. G. , access-date=2023-06-11 , place=Oxford , doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/62762 , editor2-last=Harrison , editor2-first=B. He was probably born at Inverugie Castle, Scotland and inherited his father's title in 1712. Keith served in Flanders under the

Duke of Marlborough General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 O.S.) was a British army officer and statesman. From a gentry family, he ...

from 1708 to 1711, but for considering placing the Old Pretender 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 ( ; 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, local landowner the Earl ...

, including at the

battle of Sheriffmuir The Battle of Sheriffmuir (, ) was an engagement in 1715 at the height of the Jacobite rising of 1715, Jacobite rising in Scotland. The battlefield has been included in the Inventory of Historic Battlefields in Scotland and protected by Histor ...

, 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 Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. He led the landing in Scotland of a force of Spanish marines and Jacobite exiles in the

, but fled again to Europe following defeat at the

Battle of Glen Shiel The Battle of Glen Shiel took place on 10 June 1719 in the Scottish Highlands, during the Jacobite rising of 1719. A Jacobitism, Jacobite army composed of Highland levies and Spanish Marine Infantry, Spanish marines was defeated by British gover ...

. 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 ...

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. 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 (31 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, making him the grandson of James VII and II, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, ...

, 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 Prussian 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 () 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 of Prussia, Friedrich I, King in Prussia, the ...

. He was a friend and patron of

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Republic of Geneva, Genevan philosopher (''philosophes, philosophe''), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment through ...

. His brother

James Francis Edward Keith James Francis Edward Keith (in later years ''Jakob von Keith''; 11 June 1696 – 14 October 1758) was a Scottish soldier and ''Generalfeldmarschall'' of the Royal Prussian Army. As a Jacobite he took part in a failed attempt to restore t ...

also served Prussia as a

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

. His portrait is in the collection of the

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...

. It depicts both Keith and Salvador, an enslaved Black boy he owned.George Keith, 10th Earl Marischal and his groom, possibly Ibrahim
National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 11 November 2022.

Arms

{{Infobox COA wide, name=the Earl Marischal , image= Coat of Arms of the Earl Marischal

, bannerimage= , badgeimage= , notes= , crest= A Hart's Head erased proper armed with ten Tynes Or. , torse= , helm= , escutcheon= Argent on a Chief Gules three Palets Or; behind the shield two Baton Gules semy of Thistles ensigned on the top with an Imperial Crown Or placed saltirewise being the insignia of the office of Great Marischal of Scotland. , supporters= On either side a Hart proper attired as in the Crest. , compartment= , motto= Veritas Vincit (Truth conquers) , orders= , other_elements= , banner= , symbolism= , previous_versions=

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 , 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 1690s births 1778 deaths Nobility from Aberdeenshire Ambassadors of Prussia British Life Guards officers Earls Marischal 18th-century Prussian military personnel People of the Jacobite rising of 1715 People of the Jacobite rising of 1719 Scottish diplomats Scottish Jacobites Scottish slave owners