Neil Archibald Primrose, 7th Earl of Rosebery, 3rd Earl of Midlothian, DL (11 February 192930 June 2024), styled Lord Primrose between 1931 and 1974, was a Scottish nobleman. He was a member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

from 1974 to 1999. He was succeeded by his son Harry Primrose, Lord Dalmeny.

Biography

He was the only surviving son of Harry, Earl of Rosebery. His paternal grandfather was

Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, 1st Earl of Midlothian (7 May 1847 – 21 May 1929) was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from March 1894 to June 1895. Between the death of h ...

, the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister Advice (constitutional law), advises the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign on the exercise of much of the Royal prerogative ...

from 1894 to 1895. His paternal grandmother was the heiress Hannah, Countess of Rosebery (daughter of Mayer de Rothschild), who was regarded as the richest woman in England in the late 19th century. After the death of his elder half-brother

Ronald Ronald is a masculine given name derived from the Old Norse ''Rögnvaldr'',#H2, Hanks; Hardcastle; Hodges (2006) p. 234; #H1, Hanks; Hodges (2003) § Ronald. or possibly from Old English ''Regenweald''. In some cases ''Ronald'' is an Anglicised ...

in 1931, he became heir apparent to his father and was styled Lord Primrose, as the courtesy title Lord Dalmeny was reserved out of respect for his late elder brother. During

World War II 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 ...

he was educated at

Sandroyd School Sandroyd School is an independent co-educational preparatory school for day and boarding pupils aged 2 to 13 in the south of Wiltshire, England. The school's main building is Rushmore House, a 19th-century country house which is surrounded by th ...

before being evacuated to America, attending the

Millbrook School Millbrook School is a private, coeducational preparatory boarding school located in Stanford, New York, United States. History Millbrook School was founded in 1931 by Edward Pulling. Pulling was a graduate of both Princeton University ...

in Millbrook, N.Y. (A slightly older student who attended at the same time, writer

William F. Buckley Jr. William Frank Buckley Jr. (born William Francis Buckley; November 24, 1925 – February 27, 2008) was an American conservative writer, public intellectual, political commentator and novelist. Born in New York City, Buckley spoke Spanish as his ...

, would remark in a magazine article in 1981 that the young lord had been an uncontrollable "brat".) Afterward, he was educated at

Stowe School The Stowe School is a public school (English private boarding school) for pupils aged 13–18 in the countryside of Stowe, England. It was opened on 11 May, 1923 at Stowe House, a Grade I Heritage Estate belonging to the British Crown. ...

and

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

. He married Alison Mary Deirdre Reid in 1955. He was appointed a deputy lieutenant of Midlothian in 1960 and succeeded his father as earl in 1974. Rosebery resided at the family seat

Dalmeny House Dalmeny House (pronounced ) is a Gothic revival mansion located in an estate close to Dalmeny on the Firth of Forth, in the north-west of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was designed by William Wilkins, and completed in 1817. Dalmeny House is the hom ...

near

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

with his wife. The Earl and Countess of Rosebery had five children, four daughters and a son. The Countess is a patroness of the

Royal Caledonian Ball The Royal Caledonian Ball is a ball held annually in London for the benefit of Scottish charities. With few exceptions, the Royal Caledonian Ball has been held annually since 1849, and is the oldest charity ball in the world. History The ball ...

. Their son and youngest child,

Harry Harry may refer to: Television * ''Harry'' (American TV series), 1987 comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (New Zealand TV series), 2013 crime drama starring Oscar K ...

, bore the

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but is rather used by custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some context ...

Lord Dalmeny until succeeding to the Rosebery earldoms, viscountcies and baronies. Rosebery died on 30 June 2024, at the age of 95.

References

External links

* 1929 births 2024 deaths Nobility from Edinburgh People educated at Sandroyd School People educated at Stowe School Alumni of New College, Oxford 7 Scottish people of German-Jewish descent Deputy lieutenants of Midlothian Midlothian, Neil Primrose, 3rd Earl of

Neil Neil is a masculine name of Irish origin. The name is an anglicisation of the Irish ''Niall'' which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "honour" or "champion".. As a surname ...

Rosebery {{Scotland-earl-stub