Victor Alexander Sereld Hay, 21st Earl of Erroll and 4th Baron Kilmarnock, KCMG (17 October 1876 – 20 February 1928), styled Lord Kilmarnock from 1891 to 1927, was a British diplomat, a writer and briefly 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 ...

, who was "noted for his tact and charm."

Early life

Erroll was the first son of

Charles Hay, 20th Earl of Erroll Major General Charles Gordon Hay, 20th Earl of Erroll, (7 February 1852 – 8 July 1927), styled Lord Kilmarnock until 1891, was a Scottish soldier and Conservative politician. Early life Hay was the eldest surviving son of eight children born ...

(1852–1927) and his wife Mary Caroline L'Estrange. He was a godson of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

and a favourite of

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

and

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

, who often invited him to

Balmoral Castle Balmoral Castle () is a large estate house in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and a residence of the British royal family. It is near the village of Crathie, west of Ballater and west of Aberdeen. The estate and its original castle were bought ...

. Through his paternal grandfather, the 19th Earl of Erroll, he was a direct descendant of

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...

(his great-grandmother Elizabeth Hay, Countess of Erroll, wife of the 18th Earl of Erroll, was King William's daughter by his mistress

Dorothea Jordan Dorothea Jordan (née Bland; 22 November 17615 July 1816) was an Anglo-Irish actress, as well as a courtesan. She was the long-time partner of Prince William, Duke of Clarence (later King William IV), and the mother of 10 illegitimate children ...

. His maternal grandfather was General the Hon. Sir

Charles Stephen Gore General Sir Charles Stephen Gore (26 December 1793 – 4 September 1869), also styled as the Honorable Charles Gore, was a British general. Early life Gore was a son of Arthur Gore, 2nd Earl of Arran and, his third wife, the former Elizabe ...

, KH, GCB, a Waterloo officer (who was a son of the 2nd Earl of Arran and brother to the Duchess of Inverness). His maternal grandparents were Edmund L'Estrange and Lady Harriett L'Estrange (sister of

Richard Lumley, 9th Earl of Scarbrough Lieutenant-Colonel Richard George Lumley, 9th Earl of Scarbrough (7 May 1813 – 5 December 1884) was an Anglo-Irish peer and soldier. Biography He was born at Tickhill Castle, the son and heir of Frederick Lumley-Saville (1788–1837), the o ...

, and daughter of Frederick Lumley-Savile and of Charlotte De la Poer-Beresford, a daughter of George de la Poer Beresford, Bishop of Kilmore).Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990,

Career

The young Hay entered the diplomatic service and was promoted Attaché, 1900, Third Secretary in July 1902, Second Secretary, 1906, First Secretary, 1913. He was First Secretary in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, 1918–19, then briefly

Chargé d'Affaires A (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is Frenc ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, on the United Kingdom's resumption of diplomatic relations with

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in 1920, until the arrival of a British Ambassador. He remained in Berlin as Counsellor until November, 1921, and served finally as British High Commissioner to the

Inter-Allied Rhineland High Commission The Inter-Allied Rhineland High Commission was created by the Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919, to supervise the occupation of the Rhineland and "ensure, by any means, the security and satisfaction of all the needs of the Armies of Occupation ...

, from December 1921 until his death in February 1928.ERROLL, Victor Hay, 21st Earl of
at ''Who Was Who 1897–2006'' online. He was also an author and belonged to the

St James's Club The St James's Club was a London gentlemen's club which operated between 1857 and 1978. It was founded by two leading diplomats and its members continued to be largely diplomats and authors. It was first established in Bennet Street, and after a b ...

. He had two plays published and produced in London, ''The Dream Kios'' and ''The Anonymous Letter''. He succeeded his father in the earldom in 1927.

Personal life

In 1900, he married Mary Lucy Victoria Mackenzie, only daughter of

Sir Allan Mackenzie, 2nd Baronet ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part o ...

, of Glen Muick,

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

. She inherited a fortune made by her grandfather in the indigo trade in India. Together, they were the parents of two sons and one daughter: * Josslyn Victor Hay, 22nd Earl of Erroll (1901–1941), who married

Lady Idina Sackville Lady Myra Idina Sackville-West (26 February 1893 – 5 November 1955) was an English Aristocracy (class), aristocrat and member of the Happy Valley set. Divorced five times, Lady Idina's behaviour and lifestyle scandalised upper-class Edwardian ...

, daughter of the 8th Earl De La Warr, in 1923. * Gilbert Boyd, 6th Baron Kilmarnock (1903–1975), who married The Hon. Rosemary Guest, daughter of

Ivor Guest, 1st Viscount Wimborne Ivor Churchill Guest, 1st Viscount Wimborne, KP, PC (16 January 1873 – 14 June 1939), known as Lord Ashby St Ledgers from 1910 to 1914 and as Lord Wimborne from 1914 to 1918, was a British politician and one of the last Lords Lieutenant of ...

. He married, secondly, Denise Coker. He changed his surname to Boyd in 1941 to inherit the barony of Kilmarnock after the death of his brother without male issue. * Lady Rosemary Constance Ferelith Hay (15 May 1904 – 19 May 1944), who married Lt.-Col. Rupert Ryan and divorced him. She married, secondly, Maj. James Gresham. He held the earldom only briefly, and was succeeded by his elder son, Lord Kilmarnock, in 1928. Today, his son and heir is best known for the unsolved case surrounding his murder and the sensation it caused during wartime in Britain.

Shooting incident

On Wednesday 31 August 1910, Lord Kilmarnock was one of a shooting party at Balmoral, with

and friends. Captain Hood (later to become a

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

) accidentally shot Kilmarnock, who was in a shooting butt near him. Kilmarnock's

glasses Glasses, also known as eyeglasses (American English), spectacles (Commonwealth English), or colloquially as specs, are vision eyewear with clear or tinted lenses mounted in a frame that holds them in front of a person's eyes, typically u ...

were broken, and he sustained a "slight abrasion". The ''Buchan Observer'' reported:

It appears that the accident happened about two o'clock in the afternoon, and that Captain Hood was in the next butt to his Lordship. Captain Hood got on to the line of a bird just crossing between his butt and that of Lord Kilmarnock who was facing him. When the trigger was pulled Lord Kilmarnock at once shouted to his companion who ceased firing immediately. At the close of the drive he reported the accident to the King, who expressed sympathy with both Lord Kilmarnock and Captain Hood. His Lordship continued shooting all the afternoon, and it was not until after dinner that Dr Mitchell was sent for. Captain Hood, who was greatly upset at the accident, left the hill and returned to
Braemar Braemar is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, around west of Aberdeen in the Highlands. It is the closest significantly-sized settlement to the upper course of the River Dee, sitting at an elevation of . The Gaelic ''Bràigh Mhàrr'' p ...
a short time after the occurrence.

There followed "exaggerated reports" of the incident, which Kilmarnock denied, saying that he dined with the king on the Thursday night. One of those reports, by The '' Darling Downs Gazette (Toowoomba)'', reported that it was

who had shot Kilmarnock, that Kilmarnock was "badly wounded", and that "the most desperate efforts have been made to hush the whole thing up".

Publications

*''Ferelith'', 1903 *''The Dream Kiss'' (play), produced at the Wimbledon Theatre, 1924 *''The Anonymous Letter'' (play), produced at

Q Theatre The Q Theatre was a British theatre located near Kew Bridge in Brentford, west London, which operated between 1924 and 1958. It was built on the site of the former Kew Bridge Studios. The theatre, seating 490 in 25 rows with a central aisle, wa ...

, 1927

Ancestry

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Erroll, Victor Hay, 21st Earl 1876 births 1928 deaths British diplomats Diplomatic peers 21 Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Inter-Allied Rhineland High Commission British people of World War I