Hugo Charteris, 11th Earl of Wemyss

The Right Honourable
The Earl of Wemyss and March
DL

Lord Elcho as caricatured by Spy (Leslie Ward) in Vanity Fair, March 1892
Personal details
Born (1857-08-25)25 August 1857
Edinburgh, Lothian, Scotland, UK
Died 12 July 1937(1937-07-12) (aged 79)
Nationality British
Political party Conservative
Spouse(s) Mary Constance Wyndham
Children Hugo Francis Charteris
Guy Lawrence Charteris
Cynthia Mary Evelyn Charteris Asquith
Colin Charteris
Mary Pamela Madeline Sibell Charteris Strickland Lyon
Yvo Alan Charteris
Irene Corona Charteris Windsor-Clive
Profession Politician

Hugo Richard Charteris, 11th Earl of Wemyss and 7th Earl of March DL (25 August 1857 – 12 July 1937), styled Lord Elcho from 1883 to 1914, was a Scottish Conservative politician. His full title was Hugo Wemyss Charteris Douglas.

Life

Wemyss and March was the fifth but eldest surviving son of Francis Charteris, 10th Earl of Wemyss, and his wife Lady Anne Frederica, daughter of Thomas Anson, 1st Earl of Lichfield. He entered Parliament for Haddingtonshire in 1883 (succeeding his father), but lost his seat in the 1885 general election. He returned to the House of Commons in the 1886 general election as one of two representatives for Ipswich, a seat he held until 1895. He succeeded his father in the two earldoms in 1914 and served as Lord-Lieutenant of Haddingtonshire from 1918 to 1937.

The Wyndham Sisters, by John Singer Sargent, 1899 (Metropolitan Museum)

Lord Wemyss and March married Mary Constance, daughter of the Hon. Percy Scawen Wyndham and sister of George Wyndham, in 1883. They were both two of the original members of The Souls. Their eldest daughter Lady Cynthia married Herbert Asquith and became a well-known writer. The Countess of Wemyss and March died in April 1937, aged 74. Lord Wemyss and March only survived her by three months and died in July of the same year, aged 79. He is buried in the family burial enclosure on the north side of Aberlady churchyard.

The grave of Hugo Charteris, Aberlady Churchyard

He was succeeded in his titles by his grandson David, his eldest son Captain Hugo Francis Charteris, Lord Elcho, having been killed in action in the First World War.[1] The latter's second son was Martin Charteris, Baron Charteris of Amisfield. His grand daughter was the socialite Ann Fleming[2] and his grandson, Hugo Charteris, was a renowned post war author and screenwriter. He is the great-grandfather of the Scottish cartoonist Jamie Charteris. An affair with Lady Hermione Whilhemina Duncombe allegedly produced a son, Edward FitzGerald, 7th Duke of Leinster.

Lord Wemyss and March's married life was detailed in the book The Wild Wyndhams by Claudia Renton.[3]

References

  1. Guest, Philip; Guest, Wendy (2012). "A Prime Minister and his Family at War: Part II". Siegfried's Journal. Siegfried Sassoon Fellowship. 22 (Summer 2012): 17–23.
  2. Andrew Lycett, ‘Fleming , Ann Geraldine Mary [other married names Ann Geraldine Mary O'Neill, Lady O'Neill; Ann Geraldine Mary Harmsworth, Viscountess Rothermere] (1913–1981)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2014 accessed 9 Feb 2017
  3. Renton, Claudia (30 January 2014). Those Wild Wyndhams. William Collins. ISBN 978-0007544899.

Sources

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Lord Elcho
Member of Parliament for Haddingtonshire
1883 – 1885
Succeeded by
Richard Haldane
Preceded by
Jesse Collings
Henry Wyndham West
Member of Parliament for Ipswich
18861895
With: Charles Dalrymple
Succeeded by
Charles Dalrymple
Daniel Ford Goddard
Honorary titles
Preceded by
The Earl of Haddington
Lord Lieutenant of East Lothian
1918–1937
Succeeded by
The Lord Polwarth
Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by
Francis Charteris
Earl of Wemyss
1914–1937
Succeeded by
Francis David Charteris
Earl of March
1914–1937

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