George John Charles Mercer Nairne Petty-Fitzmaurice, 8th Marquess of Lansdowne, DL (27 November 1912 – 25 August 1999), was a

British peer A Peerage is a form of crown distinction, with Peerages in the United Kingdom comprising both hereditary and lifetime titled appointments of various ranks, which form both a constituent part of the legislative process and the British hono ...

and

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

politician.

Background

Petty-Fitzmaurice was the only son of

Lord Charles Mercer Nairne Lord Charles George Francis Fitzmaurice MVO (12 February 1874 – 30 October 1914) was an English soldier and courtier. For the last few months of his life he was known as Lord Charles Mercer Nairne. Early life Fitzmaurice was the younger son o ...

, the second son of

Henry 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 ...

. His father was killed in action in 1914 while on active service in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and his mother, the former Lady Violet Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, later married secondly

John Jacob Astor, 1st Baron Astor of Hever 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, and military officer. He was a member of the Astor family. Early life ...

.”Lansdowne, 8th Marquess of, (George John Charles Mercer Nairne Petty-Fitzmaurice) (27 Nov. 1912 – 25 Aug. 1999)”
in ''

Who's Who A Who's Who (or Who Is Who) is a reference work consisting of biographical entries of notable people in a particular field. The oldest and best-known is the annual publication ''Who's Who (UK), Who's Who'', a reference work on contemporary promin ...

'' online edition, accessed 4 June 2022 He was educated at Eton and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, and served in the British Army in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

.Peter W. Hammond, ed., ''The Complete Peerage'', Vol. XIV (Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 1998), p. 424 In August 1944, Petty-Fitzmaurice’s life was significantly changed when his cousins the 7th Marquess of Lansdowne and his younger brother were both killed in action in the War. As a result, he suddenly and unexpectedly inherited the family peerages and estates, except for the Lordship of Nairne, which under Scottish law went to the 7th Marquess's sister Katherine Evelyn Constance Bigham (1912–1995).

Career

Lansdowne became a Justice of the Peace for

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

in 1950 and a Deputy lieutenant of Wiltshire in 1952. In 1957 and 1958 he was a

Lord-in-Waiting Lords-in-waiting (male) or baronesses-in-waiting (female) are peers who hold office in the Royal Household of the sovereign of the United Kingdom. In the official Court Circular they are styled "Lord in Waiting" or "Baroness in Waiting" (without ...

(

government whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline (that members of the party vote according to the party platform rather than their constituents, individual conscience or donors) in a legislature. Whips a ...

) and then was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...

between 1958 and 1962 and Minister of State for Commonwealth and Colonial Affairs between 1962 and 1964.George John Charles Mercer Nairne Petty-FitzMaurice, 8th Marquess of Lansdowne
/ref> Effectively his political career was ended by the election of the Labour government of 1964–1970. In 1964 he was appointed as a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...

Personal life

Lansdowne was married four times. On 18 March 1938 he married firstly Barbara Dempsey Chase (1918–1965), only child of Harold Stuart Chase (1890–1970), a real-estate investor of

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara (, meaning ) is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting A ...

, and

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, and his wife, née Gertrude Boyer. The first Lady Lansdowne died on 18 February 1965, from injuries sustained in a shotgun blast in the gunroom at her Scottish home, Meikleour House, found by the police to be an accident."Marchioness of Lansdowne, 46, Succumbs to Gunshot Wounds, ''The New York Times'', 18 February 1965 They had four children: * Lady Caroline Margaret Petty-Fitzmaurice (1939–1956); she, like her mother, died in a shooting accident. * Charles Maurice Petty-Fitzmaurice (born 1941); later 9th Marquess of Lansdowne. * Lord Robert Harold Mercer Nairne (born 1947); married Jane Elizabeth Gordon (born 1950), a cousin of Granville Gordon, 13th Marquess of Huntly, and had issue, two sons and one daughter. He is a writer who lives in Scotland on the Mercer-Nairne estates, inherited from his ancestress Emily Jane de Flahaut, 8th Lady Nairne. He has two sons and one daughter: ** Emily Jane Mercer Nairne (born 1974); married Dominic Robertson, has three daughters. ** Samuel George Mercer Nairne (born 1976); married Claire Aussudre, and has two sons (born 2009 and 2011) and one daughter. ** Joseph Douglas Mercer Nairne (born 1980); married Melissa Wakeley, and has one son and one daughter. * Lady Georgina Elizabeth Petty-Fitzmaurice (1950–2022); married Guy Hamilton in 1974 (divorced 1980), and married Robert Eric Miller in 1981 (divorced 1990). She lived in London and had two children and three grandchildren. ** Josiah Stirling Hamilton (born 1975); married Justine Miller and lives in Santa Barbara, California - has one son and one daughter. ** Emma Carissa Hamilton (born 1977); married David Malina and lives in New York City - has one daughter. On 22 December 1969, Lansdowne married, secondly, Selina Polly Dawson Carnegie, a daughter of

David Eccles, 1st Viscount Eccles David McAdam Eccles, 1st Viscount Eccles (18 September 1904 – 24 February 1999), was an English Conservative politician and businessman. Background Eccles was born in London. He was educated at Winchester College and New College, Oxford, w ...

, and former wife of Robin Andrew Duthac Carnegie, becoming the stepfather of Andrew James Carnegie (born 1963). This marriage ended in divorce in 1978. On 15 October 1978 Lansdowne married thirdly Gillian Anna Morgan (1936–1982), daughter of Alured A.E. Morgan and his first wife, the former Nancye Little-Jones. On 12 July 1995, Lansdowne married fourthly Penelope Eve Astor (died 2006), widow of his half-brother John Astor, a former wife of David Rolt, and daughter of

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

George Francis Norton Bradford.

References

Links

George, 8th Marquess of Lansdowne profile
thepeerage.com; Retrieved 1 June 2009.

thepeerage.com; Retrieved 1 June 2009.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lansdowne, George Petty-FitzMaurice, 8th Marquess of 1912 births 1999 deaths British Army personnel of World War II British Army soldiers Scottish justices of the peace Conservative Party (UK) Baronesses- and Lords-in-Waiting Deputy lieutenants of Wiltshire Earls of Kerry 8 Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers in the Macmillan and Douglas-Home governments, 1957–1964