Henry George Victor John Crichton, 6th Earl Erne, KCVO (9 July 1937 – 23 December 2015), was an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...

peer and a

Lord Lieutenant of Fermanagh A list of the Lord Lieutenants of Fermanagh, located County Fermanagh of Northern Ireland, U.K. The Lord Lieutenant is a ceremonial local government position. There were lieutenants of counties in Ireland until the reign of James II, when they we ...

. He was known to his family and friends as Harry Erne.

Biography

Lord Erne was the eldest son of the 5th Earl Erne and his wife Davina (Lady Davidema Katharine Cynthia Mary Millicent Bulwer-Lytton), a younger daughter of the 2nd Earl of Lytton, and was a godchild of

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...

. He inherited his father's titles in 1940, a few weeks before his third birthday, when his father was killed in action in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1945 he gained a step-father when his mother married secondly Montague Woodhouse, a

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

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

who in 1998 would succeed his elder brother as the 5th

Baron Terrington Baron Terrington, of Huddersfield in the County of York, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1918 for the former Liberal Member of Parliament for Huddersfield, Sir James Woodhouse, Kt. He was succeeded by his elde ...

. In due course he gained two half-brothers,

Christopher Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...

, now 6th Baron Terrington, and Nicholas, and a half-sister, Emma Davinia Mary. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

. In 1952, he was briefly a

Page of Honour A Page of Honour is a ceremonial position in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. It requires attendance on state occasions, but does not now involve the daily duties which were once attached to the office of page. The onl ...

to George VI and continued in the same capacity after

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 ...

came to the throne, until 1954. From 1960 to 1968, he was a junior officer in the

North Irish Horse The North Irish Horse was a yeomanry unit of the British Territorial Army raised in the northern counties of Ireland in the aftermath of the Second Boer War. Raised and patronised by the nobility from its inception to the present day, it was on ...

. He was a member of the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society and the

Royal Forestry Society The Royal Forestry Society (RFS) is an educational charity and one of the oldest membership organisations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for those actively involved in woodland management. The RFS has a broad membership which includes woo ...

and was

from 1986 to 2012. Erne was appointed

Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

(KCVO) in the 2012 New Year Honours List, for his services as Lord-Lieutenant. He died on 23 December 2015, aged 78.

Marriages and children

On 5 November 1958, Lord Erne married Camilla Roberts, elder daughter of the aviator Owen Roberts, himself grandson of wealthy American businessman

Marshall Owen Roberts Marshall Owen Roberts (March 22, 1813 – September 11, 1880) was an American merchant, financier, railroad man, and prominent art collector. Early life Roberts was born on March 22, 1813, in New York City. He was the son of Welsh born Dr. Owen Ro ...

. She was a cousin to The 12th Baron Farnham and second cousin to The 10th Duke of Atholl. They had five children:The Peerage, entry for 6th Earl Erne
/ref> * Lady Cleone Lucinda Crichton (born 27 August 1959) * Lady Davina Jane Crichton (born 25 June 1961) * Lady Katherine Patricia Crichton (born 4 November 1962) * Lady Tara Guinevere Crichton (born 9 May 1967) * John Henry Michael Ninian Crichton, 7th Earl Erne (born 19 June 1971) In 1980 he was divorced from his first wife and on 21 June 1980 married Anna Hitchcock, née Bjorck, who survives him.

Footnotes

References

Burke's Peerage & Gentry, 107th edition

External links

* 1937 births 2015 deaths Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Lord-Lieutenants of Fermanagh People educated at Eton College Pages of Honour North Irish Horse officers Earls Erne {{Ireland-earl-stub Erne