Granville George Leveson-Gower, 3rd Earl Granville (4 March 1872 – 21 July 1939) was a British diplomat from the

Leveson-Gower family Leveson-Gower ( ), also Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, is the name of a powerful British noble family. Over time, several members of the Leveson-Gower family were made knights, baronets and peers. Hereditary titles held by the family include the duke ...

who was an envoy to several countries.

Career

The elder son of the 2nd Earl Granville, Leveson-Gower was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

and joined the Diplomatic Service in 1893 as an attaché in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

. He served in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

and

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, then was appointed back to Berlin with the rank of Counsellor in 1911. In 1913 he was appointed to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, again as counsellor, and moved to

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectu ...

when the French government relocated there in September 1914 as the German army approached the capital before the

First Battle of the Marne The First Battle of the Marne was a battle of the First World War fought from 5 to 12 September 1914. It was fought in a collection of skirmishes around the Marne River Valley. It resulted in an Entente victory against the German armies in the ...

. On 1 January 1917 he was appointed Diplomatic Agent to the Greek provisional government of

Eleftherios Venizelos Eleftherios Kyriakou Venizelos ( el, Ελευθέριος Κυριάκου Βενιζέλος, translit=Elefthérios Kyriákou Venizélos, ; – 18 March 1936) was a Greek statesman and a prominent leader of the Greek national liberation move ...

Salonika Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

, shortly afterwards formalised as Minister Plenipotentiary. In June 1917, King Constantine abdicated, the previous British Minister to the Greek Government, Sir Francis Elliot, departed and Granville became official Minister to Greece in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

. He was Minister to

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

1921–26, Minister to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

1926–28 and

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or s ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

and

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

1928–33. As a Privy Counsellor, Earl Granville took part in the official procedures legalising the accession of King Edward VIII in 1936 and, later that year, his abdication and the accession of

King 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 In ...

Honours

Earl Granville was appointed MVO in 1904, raised to CVO in 1913 on the occasion of

King 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 Qu ...

's visit to Berlin, and knighted GCVO in the King's Birthday Honours of 1914. He was given the additional, senior knighthood of KCMG in the New Year Honours of 1924 and raised to GCMG in 1932. He was made a Privy Counsellor in 1928.

Orders

The Earl received several awards and orders from European foreign dignitaries. *The King of Belgium awarded him the Order of Leopold. * Awarded Order of the Dannebrog from Denmark. * Awarded Order of the Polar Star from Sweden. * Awarded

Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa The Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa (also known as The Order of Our Lady of Conception of Vila Vicosa; pt, Ordem de Nossa Senhora da Conceição de Vila Viçosa) is a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Braganza, the f ...

from Portugal. * Awarded

Order of the Crown (Prussia) The Royal Order of the Crown (german: Königlicher Kronen-Orden) was a Prussian order of chivalry. Instituted in 1861 as an honour equal in rank to the Order of the Red Eagle, membership could only be conferred upon commissioned officers (or civ ...

. He had also been a

Lord-in-waiting Lords-in-waiting (male) or baronesses-in-waiting (female) are peers who hold office in the Royal Household of the sovereign of the United Kingdom. In the official Court Circular they are styled "Lord in Waiting" or "Baroness in Waiting" (withou ...

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 her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

in 1895, to

King 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 his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

from 1905–10 and to

from 1910–15.

Family

On 27 September 1900, he married Nina Ayesha Baring (daughter of the diplomat Walter Baring, and son of Sir Francis Baring, 1st Baronet) but, in 1939, died without issue and his titles passed to his brother William.

References

GRANVILLE, 3rd Earl
''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007
Lord Granville
(obituary), ''The Times'', London, 22 July 1939, page 14

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Granville, Granville Leveson-Gower, 3rd Earl 1872 births 1939 deaths Leveson-Gower family People educated at Eton College Earls Granville Diplomatic peers Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Liberal Party (UK) Lords-in-Waiting Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Greece Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Denmark Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the Netherlands Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Belgium Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Luxembourg