Ronald Ruthven Leslie-Melville, 11th Earl of Leven and 10th Earl of Melville, (19 December 1835 – 21 August 1906) was a Scottish nobleman.
Early life
The son of the
John Thornton Leslie-Melville, 9th Earl of Leven and his second wife, Sophia, daughter of
Henry Thornton MP, he was educated at
Windlesham House School
Windlesham House School is an independent boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 4 to 13 on the South Downs, in Pulborough, West Sussex, England. It was founded in 1837 by Charles Robert Malden and was the first boys' preparatory sc ...
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 ...
. He matriculated in 1854 at
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 ...
, where he graduated B.A. in 1858 and M.A. in 1865.
He succeeded his half-brother
Alexander Leslie-Melville, 10th Earl of Leven
Alexander Leslie-Melville, 10th Earl of Leven, 9th Earl of Melville (1817–1889)
He was the son of John Leslie-Melville, 9th Earl of Leven.
He was a partner in Williams. Deacon & Co, and was a Representative Peer for Scotland (Conservative) from ...
in 1889.
Career
He was a Director of the
Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company
P&O (in full, The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company) was a British shipping and logistics company dating from the early 19th century. Formerly a public company, it was sold to DP World in March 2006 for £3.9 billion. DP World ...
and of the
Bank of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...
.
He was a
Scottish representative peer
This is a list of representative peers elected from the Peerage of Scotland to sit in the House of Lords after the Acts of Union 1707 abolished the unicameral Parliament of Scotland, where all Scottish Peers had been entit ...
from 1892 until his death,
Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland
The office of Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland, one of the Great Officers of State, first appears in the reign of David II of Scotland, David II. After the Act of Union 1707 its holder was normally a peerage, peer, like the Great Seal of Sco ...
from 1900 until his death, and
for nine successive years 1898–1906. Director of the Bank of England 1884–94. He was
deputy lieutenant for the
City of London
The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
. He was appointed 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 ...
in the
1902 Coronation Honours
The 1902 Coronation Honours were announced on 26 June 1902, the date originally set for the coronation of King Edward VII. The coronation was postponed because the King had been taken ill two days before, but he ordered that the honours list shou ...
list, and was sworn a member of the council at
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 11 August 1902. He was appointed a
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 ...
in 1905.
He was a close friend of the
Maharajah Duleep Singh and accompanied him on a voyage from England to Italy which began in December 1856.
Personal life
In 1885 he married Honourable Emma Selina Portman, eldest daughter of
Henry Portman, 2nd Viscount Portman
William Henry Berkeley Portman, 2nd Viscount Portman, GCVO (12 July 1829 – 16 October 1919) was a British Liberal Member of Parliament.
Background
Portman was the son of Edward Portman, 1st Viscount Portman and Lady Emma Lascelles, daughte ...
; they had children:
*
John David Leslie-Melville, 12th Earl of Leven,
*
Archibald Alexander Leslie-Melville, 13th Earl of Leven
Archibald Alexander Leslie-Melville, 13th Earl of Leven, 12th Earl of Melville Order of the Thistle, KT Deputy Lieutenant, DL (6 August 1890 – 15 January 1947) was a Scottish soldier, and peer.
Early life
Leslie-Melville was born on 6 August 1 ...
,
* Captain Honourable David William Leslie-Melville MBE (23 May 1892 – 10 December 1938),
* Lieutenant-Colonel Honourable Ian Leslie-Melville (14 August 1894 – 10 February 1967),
* Lady Constance Betty Leslie-Melville (7 August 1888 – 13 August 1922).
References
1835 births
1906 deaths
People educated at Eton College
Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford
Deputy lieutenants of the City of London
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Knights of the Thistle
People associated with the Bank of England
Earls of Leven
Scottish representative peers
Morden College
Lords High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
People educated at Windlesham House School
19th-century English businesspeople
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