Montague Charles Eliot, 8th Earl of St Germans, (13 May 1870 – 19 September 1960) was a British peer and courtier. Eliot was born in

Pimlico Pimlico () is an area of Central London in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by Victor ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

to Charles George Cornwallis Eliot (16 October 1839 – 22 May 1901) and his wife Constance Rhiannon Guest (November 1844 – 1916). He was educated at Castleden Hall School, (

Farnborough, Hampshire Farnborough is a town in northeast Hampshire, England, part of the borough of Rushmoor and the Farnborough/Aldershot Built-up Area. Farnborough was founded in Saxon times and is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. The name is formed fro ...

), Charterhouse and

Exeter College, Oxford (Let Exeter Flourish) , old_names = ''Stapeldon Hall'' , named_for = Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter , established = , sister_college = Emmanuel College, Cambridge , rector = Sir Richard Trainor ...

, taking a BA in 1893. By 1895, he was a

Barrister-at-law A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and g ...

at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

. From 1901–1906, he was appointed a

Gentleman Usher Gentleman Usher is a title for some officers of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. See List of Gentlemen Ushers for a list of office-holders. Gentlemen Ushers as servants Historical Gentlemen Ushers were originally a class of servants fou ...

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second chil ...

, and from 1908–1910 a

Groom-in-Waiting The office of Groom in Waiting (sometimes hyphenated as Groom-in-Waiting) was a post in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, which in earlier times was usually held by more than one person at a time – in the late Middle Ages there might be d ...

. From 1910–1936, he was a Gentleman Usher to

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 his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother ...

. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Montague was a Lieutenant-Commander with the RNVR. He was appointed Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(OBE) in 1919, and became

Groom of the Robes Groom of the Robes is an office in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of England (later Great Britain, ultimately the United Kingdom). In 1953, the Groom of the Robes to Elizabeth II had the task of bringing forward the robes and other items of ...

from 1920–1936. In 1923, he was appointed Member of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

(MVO), and from 1924–1936 he became Extra Groom-in-Waiting to King George V. He was appointed Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) in 1928; Knight Commander (KCVO) in 1934. In 1936 he became Extra Groom-in-Waiting to

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 1 ...

, and, from 1937 to 1952, Extra Groom-in-Waiting to

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of I ...

. From 1952–1960, he was Extra Groom-in-Waiting to

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states durin ...

. He had been awarded the cross of Officer of the

Order of Leopold (Belgium) The Order of Leopold ( nl, Leopoldsorde, french: Ordre de Léopold, ) is one of the three current Belgian national honorary orders of knighthood. It is the oldest and highest order of Belgium and is named in honour of its founder, King Le ...

. On 22 November 1942, Eliot succeeded his older brother

Granville Eliot, 7th Earl of St Germans Granville John Eliot, 7th Earl of St Germans (22 September 1867 – 20 November 1942) was an English aristocrat. Early life Granville Eliot was the son of Charles George Cornwallis Eliot (16 October 1839 – 22 May 1901) and his wife, Constan ...

to become the 8th

Earl of St Germans Earl of St Germans, in the County of Cornwall, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom that is held by the Eliot family. The title takes its name from the village of St Germans, Cornwall, and the family seat is Port Eliot. The earldom h ...

Personal life

In 1907, under the name 'Ellova Gryn', Eliot published the parody ''Too Weak'', a play on

Elinor Glyn Elinor Glyn ( Sutherland; 17 October 1864 – 23 September 1943) was a British novelist and scriptwriter who specialised in romantic fiction, which was considered scandalous for its time, although her works are relatively tame by modern stan ...

's ''Three Weeks''. Under the same name, he was also the author of the books ''The Meanderings of Mary Ann,'' ''Reflections of Whiskerine'', ''The Vicissitudes of Acetylene'', ''The Nun and the Noodle'', and ''Over the Mud'' that parodied other of Glyn's books such as ''The Vicissitudes of Evangeline''. In 1918, Eliot bought Ince Castle in Cornwall that had previously been owned by the Earl of Buckinghamshire. He was married on 22 June 1910 to Helen Agnes Post (d. 1 September 1962), the daughter of Arthur Post of New York and his wife Elizabeth Wadsworth, who was the daughter of American General James S. Wadsworth. They had a daughter and two sons: * Lady Germaine Elizabeth Olive Eliot (11 April 1911 – 1991) * Nicholas Richard Michael Eliot, 9th Earl of St Germans (1914–1988) * (Montague) Robert Vere Eliot (29 October 1923 – 16 May 1994), contested

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market to ...

as a Conservative in the 1959 general election. Eliot died on 19 September 1960 and his titles passed to his elder son, Nicholas Nicholas Richard Michael Eliot.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Germans, Montague Eliot, 8th Earl Of 1870 births 1960 deaths Earls of St Germans Officers of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order People educated at Charterhouse School Members of the Inner Temple Gentlemen Ushers Montague Eliot Royal Navy officers of World War I Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War I