Henry John Innes-Ker, 8th Duke of Roxburghe (25 July 1876 – 29 September 1932) was a Scottish peer and courtier.

Early life

Henry John Innes-Ker was born on 25 July 1876. He was the son of James Henry Robert Innes-Ker, 7th Duke of Roxburghe (1839–1892) and Lady Anne Emily Spencer-Churchill (1854–1923), the fourth daughter of John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough, who served in

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 ...

governments as

Lord President of the Council The Lord President of the Council is the presiding officer of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and the fourth of the Great Officers of State, ranking below the Lord High Treasurer but above the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal. The Lor ...

and

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...

, and his wife, Lady Frances Vane, daughter of the 3rd Marquess of Londonderry. His first cousin was

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

. His younger brother, Lord Robert Edward Innes-Ker (1885–1958) married the actress Jose Collins. He attended the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

and

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

.Mosley, Charles, editor.

Burke's Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher, considered an authority on the order of precedence of noble families and information on the lesser nobility of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1826, when the Anglo-Irish genea ...

, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes.

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: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003

Peerage

On 23 October 1892, following his father's death, he succeeded to the titles of 8th Duke of Roxburghe, 8th Marquess of Bowmont and Cessford, 12th Earl of Roxburghe, 8th Earl of Kelso, 3rd Earl Innes, 8th Viscount of Broxmouth, 9th Baronet Innes, 12th Lord Roxburghe, and 12th Lord Ker of Cessford and Cavertoun.

Career

He started his military career as a lieutenant in the Royal Horse Guards. In 1895, he gained the rank of 2nd lieutenant in the service of the 4th Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Militia) In 1900, he served with the Household Cavalry composite regiment in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

. In March 1901, he was appointed an Aide-de-camp to the Duke of Cornwall and York during his colonial tour March–October 1901. He later served in

World War I 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 was severely wounded. The Duke was appointed a Member of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

in February 1901. He was appointed 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 ...

(KT) in the 1902 Coronation Honours list published on 26 June 1902, and was invested by King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

on 8 August 1902. He served as Chancellor of the Order of the Thistle from 1926 until his death. He served as the Lord Lieutenant of Roxburghshire from 1918 until his death. He was appointed a lieutenant of the Royal Company of Archers in 1930.

Personal life

On 10 November 1903, he married Mary Goelet (1878–1937), daughter of the New York real-estate millionaire Ogden Goelet. At the time of their marriage, she was one of the wealthiest American heiresses, with a dowry of twenty million dollars, exceeded only by that of

Consuelo Vanderbilt Consuelo Vanderbilt-Balsan (formerly Consuelo Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough; born Consuelo Vanderbilt; 2 March 1877 – 6 December 1964) was an American socialite and member of the Vanderbilt family. Her first marriage to the 9th D ...

. They lived at

Floors Castle Floors Castle, in Roxburghshire, south-east Scotland, is the seat of the Duke of Roxburghe. Despite its name it is an estate house rather than a fortress. It was built in the 1720s by the architect William Adam for John Ker, 1st Duke of Roxbur ...

on 60,500 acres, which Mary decorated with her own collection of art including a series of 17th century Gobelins Manufactory tapestries. Together, they had one child: * George Victor Robert John Innes-Ker, 9th Duke of Roxburghe (1913–1974), whose sponsor was King George. One of his godparents was

Queen Alexandra Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was List of British royal consorts, queen-consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 Januar ...

. The Duke of Roxburghe died on 29 September 1932 and was succeeded in his titles by his only son, George Victor Robert John Innes-Ker, 9th Duke of Roxburghe.

References

Notes Sources *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roxburghe, Henry Innes-Ker, 8th Duke of 1876 births 1932 deaths Nobility from the Scottish Borders People educated at Eton College Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst 8 Knights of the Thistle Lord-lieutenants of Roxburghshire Members of the Royal Victorian Order Royal Horse Guards officers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of World War I Deputy lieutenants of Roxburghshire Goelet family