Robert Alexander Lindsay, 29th Earl of Crawford, 12th Earl of Balcarres, Baron Balniel, (5 March 1927 – 18 March 2023), known by courtesy as Lord Balniel between 1940 and 1975, was a Scottish

hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of April 2025, there are 800 hereditary peers: 30 dukes (including six royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 189 earls, 108 viscounts, and 439 barons (not counting subsidiary ...

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 who was a member of Parliament from 1955 to 1974. He was

chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boat ...

Clan Lindsay Clan Lindsay is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Lowlands. History Origins of the clan The Lindsays were prominent in both England and Scotland from the late 11th century. The surname derives from the region of Lindsey, Lincolnshire, Lindsey in ...

and also acted, from 1975 to 2019, as Premier Earl of Scotland. After the October 1974 general election, Lindsay was made a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

and joined 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 ...

. Following the death of Lord Eden of Winton in 2020, Lindsay became the surviving former MP with the earliest date of first election, having first entered

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at the 1955 general election.

Early life

The elder son of the 28th Earl of Crawford and 11th Earl of Balcarres, he was born on 5 March 1927, and educated at

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 ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

. From 1945 to 1948, he served in the

Grenadier Guards The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...

. He was honorary attaché at the British Embassy in Paris from 1950 to 1951 and then worked for the Conservative Research Department.

Career

Balniel was elected for the Conservative Party in

Hertford Hertford ( ) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. The parish had a population of 26,783 at the 2011 census. The town grew around a Ford (crossing), ford on ...

at the 1955 general election, aged 28, and served as parliamentary private secretary to Henry Brooke until 1959. From 1959 to 1965, Balniel was president of the Rural District Councils Association, and from 1963 to 1970, he was chair of the

National Association for Mental Health Mind is a mental health charity in England and Wales. It was founded in 1946 as the National Association for Mental Health (NAMH). Mind offers information and advice to people with mental health problems and lobbies government and local author ...

. While the Conservative Party was in opposition, Balniel served as spokesman on Foreign Affairs from 1965 until 1967, and then joined the Shadow Cabinet as spokesman on Social Services. Following the party's victory in the 1970 general election, he served as minister of state for Defence, and then from 1972 was minister of state for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. Balniel switched to represent Welwyn and Hatfield at the February 1974 general election, narrowly winning the seat, but he was defeated in the general election in October. He was given a

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

under the

Life Peerages Act 1958 The Life Peerages Act 1958 ( 6 & 7 Eliz. 2. c. 21) established the modern standards for the creation of life peers by the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. Background This Act was passed during the Conservative governments of 1957–1964, when H ...

as Baron Balniel, of Pitcorthie in the County of Fife, in January 1975 before succeeding as Earl of Crawford in December the same year. After the passage of

House of Lords Act 1999 The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given royal assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords ...

, he sat in the

Lords Lords may refer to: * The plural of Lord Places *Lords Creek, a stream in New Hanover County, North Carolina *Lord's, English Cricket Ground and home of Marylebone Cricket Club and Middlesex County Cricket Club People *Traci Lords (born 19 ...

by virtue of his life peerage. He retired from the House of Lords on 28 November 2019. He was chairman of Historic Buildings Council for Scotland, the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland and the National Library of Scotland.

Appointments

Crawford was appointed first Crown Estate commissioner from 1980 to 1985. Crawford was

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Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was al ...

between 1992 and her death in 2002. He was appointed a

Knight Grand Cross 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 ...

(GCVO) in the 2002 Demise Honours, the special honours list published after the Queen Mother's death.

Marriage and children

Crawford married Ruth Beatrice Meyer-Bechtler (1924–2021) on 27 December 1949. They had four children: * Lady Bettina Mary Lindsay (born 26 June 1950) * Lady Iona Sina Lindsay (born 10 August 1957) * Anthony Robert Lindsay, 30th Earl of Crawford (born 24 November 1958) *

Hon Hon or HON may refer to: People Given name * Cho Hŏn (1544–1592), Joseon militia leader * Ho Hon (1885–1951), North Korean politician Surname * Han (surname) (Chinese: 韩/韓), also romanized Hon * Louis Hon (1924–2008), French fo ...

Alexander Walter Lindsay (born 18 March 1961) Lord Crawford died at

Balcarres House Balcarres House lies 1km north of the village of Colinsburgh, in the East Neuk of Fife, in eastern Scotland. It is centred on a mansion built in 1595 by John Lindsay (1552–1598), second son of David, 9th Earl of Crawford. The house became t ...

on 18 March 2023, at age 96. His hereditary titles passed to his eldest son, Anthony.

Honours

Knight 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 ...

, 1996 *

, 2002 *

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 ...

, 4 February 1972 * Deputy lieutenant of

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

, 23 July 1976

Arms

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, Robert Lindsay, 29th Earl of 1927 births 2023 deaths Nobility from Fife Military personnel from Fife 29 Earls of Balcarres Knights of the Thistle People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Lindsay, Robert Conservative Party (UK) life peers Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Grenadier Guards officers Lindsay, Robert Lindsay, Robert Lindsay, Robert Lindsay, Robert Lindsay, Robert Lindsay, Robert Crawford, E29 UK MPs who were granted peerages 20th-century Scottish politicians 21st-century Scottish politicians Deputy lieutenants of Fife

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

British military personnel of the Palestine Emergency Lindsay Life peers created by Elizabeth II Crawford Crawford Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother