Shield of arms of Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch, KG, PC

Walter Francis Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch, 7th Duke of Queensberry, (born Walter Francis Montagu-Scott; 25 November 1806 – 16 April 1884), styled Lord Eskdail between 1808 and 1812 and Earl of Dalkeith between 1812 and 1819, was a prominent Scottish nobleman, landowner and politician. He was Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal from 1842 to 1846 and

Lord President of the Council The lord president of the Council is the presiding officer of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and the fourth of the Great Officers of State, ranking below the Lord High Treasurer but above the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal. The Lord ...

Background and education

His Grace the Duke of Buccleuch - and Queensberry, K

Buccleuch was born at the Palace of Dalkeith,

Midlothian Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east- central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinbu ...

, Scotland, the fifth child of seven, and second son of

Charles Montagu-Scott, 4th Duke of Buccleuch Charles William Henry Montagu-Scott, 4th Duke of Buccleuch and 6th Duke of Queensberry, KT (24 May 1772 – 20 April 1819), styled Earl of Dalkeith until 1812, was a British landowner, amateur cricketer and Tory politician. Background and educ ...

, and Hon. Harriet Katherine Townshend, daughter of

Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney (24 February 1733 – 30 June 1800) was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1754 to 1783 when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Sydney. He held several important Cabinet posts in ...

and Elizabeth Powys. When his older brother, George Henry, died at the age of 10 from measles, Walter became heir apparent to the Dukedoms of Buccleuch and Queensberry. He was only thirteen when he succeeded his father to the Dukedoms of Buccleuch and Queensberry in 1819. He was educated at Eton and

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The ...

(M.A., 1827). In June 1833 he was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemati ...

. In 1841, he played in two

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

matches for

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influe ...

Walter Montagu Douglas Scott Royal Mile Edinburgh

Career

A great Scottish land magnate, Buccleuch was a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

in politics, and was appointed a

Knight of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George ...

in 1835 and a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of ei ...

in 1842. He served as

Lord Privy Seal The Lord Privy Seal (or, more formally, the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal) is the fifth of the Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and above the Lord Great Chamberlain. Originally, ...

from 1842 to 1846 and as

from January to July 1846 in Peel's government, when he reluctantly supported Peel's decision to repeal the

Corn Laws The Corn Laws were tariffs and other trade restrictions on imported food and corn enforced in the United Kingdom between 1815 and 1846. The word ''corn'' in British English denotes all cereal grains, including wheat, oats and barley. They wer ...

. After Peel's fall, the Duke's political career largely came to an end. In 1878 he became

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, a post he held until his death in 1884. On 6 January 1842 he was appointed

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

of the Edinburgh Militia (a regiment that his grandfather the 3rd Duke had raised in 1798). He was appointed an Aide-de-Camp to

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 ...

for the militia on 19 March 1857. On resigning from the command on 20 May 1879 he was appointed the first Honorary Colonel of the

Queen's Edinburgh Light Infantry Militia The Queen's Edinburgh Light Infantry Militia was an auxiliary regiment raised in and around the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. It was formed in 1798 and reformed in 1802, but had links with earlier Fencible and Volunteer units from the area. It se ...

, as the regiment had by then become. He joined the

Canterbury Association The Canterbury Association was formed in 1848 in England by members of parliament, peers, and Anglican church leaders, to establish a colony in New Zealand. The settlement was to be called Canterbury, with its capital to be known as Christchurch ...

on 20 May 1848. It was planned to build a town called Buccleuch in his honour near

Alford Forest Alford Forest is a location in Ashburton District, Canterbury, New Zealand. Alford Forest was named after Lord Alford, a member of the Canterbury Association. In 1883, stones found in Alford Forest were identified as diamonds, leading to a br ...

, but this did not eventuate.

Family

Buccleuch married Lady Charlotte Anne Thynne, daughter of

Thomas Thynne, 2nd Marquess of Bath Thomas Thynne, 2nd Marquess of Bath KG (25 January 1765 – 27 March 1837), styled Viscount Weymouth from 1789 until 1796, was a British peer. Life Early life Thynne was the eldest son of Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath, and Lady Elizab ...

and Hon. Isabella Elizabeth Byng, daughter of the 4th Viscount Torrington, on 13 August 1829 at St George's church, Hanover Square, London. The couple had four sons and three daughters: * William Henry Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 6th Duke of Buccleuch (born 9 September 1831, died 5 November 1914) * Lord Henry John Montagu Douglas Scott Montagu, 1st Baron Montagu of Beaulieu (born 5 November 1832, died 4 November 1905) * Lord Walter Charles Montagu Douglas Scott (born 2 March 1834, died 3 March 1895): his son Walter married Alison Ralouka Heriot (1873-1935), granddaughter of Pasha Constantine Musurus. *

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...

Lord Charles Thomas Montagu Douglas Scott (born 20 October 1839, died 21 August 1911) * Lady Victoria Alexandrina Montagu Douglas Scott (born 20 November 1844, died 19 June 1938), married

Schomberg Kerr, 9th Marquess of Lothian Schomberg Henry Kerr, 9th Marquess of Lothian, (2 December 1833 – 17 January 1900), styled Lord Schomberg Kerr until 1870, was a British diplomat and Conservative politician. He served as Secretary for Scotland under Lord Salisbury betwee ...

and had issue * Lady Margaret Elizabeth Montagu Douglas Scott (born 10 October 1846, died 5 February 1918), married

Donald Cameron, 24th Lochiel Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...

and had issue * Lady Mary Charlotte Montagu Douglas Scott (born 6 August 1851, died 13 December 1908)

Rightful King of England

King George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten ye ...

spent some days in 1822 as the Duke's guest at Dalkeith Palace, the first visit of a reigning Hanoverian monarch to Scotland. Twenty years later,

also honoured him with a visit. The family continued to hold a high profile in royal circles, being invited to the Coronations 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 h ...

and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, with the Duke acting as Gold Stick. The story goes that in 1879 the Historical Manuscripts Commission discovered an old black box amongst the Duke of Buccleuch's papers at Dalkeith, which was found to contain a contract proving Charles II had married Lucy Walter. In fact, the document meant the Duke was the rightful King of England, being the eldest agnatic descendant of

James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, 1st Duke of Buccleuch, KG, PC (9 April 1649 – 15 July 1685) was a Dutch-born English nobleman and military officer. Originally called James Crofts or James Fitzroy, he was born in Rotterdam in the Netherlan ...

. When he was shown the deed, he threw it on the fire, remarking, "that might cause a lot of trouble".

Death

Buccleuch died at

Bowhill House Bowhill House is a historic house near Bowhill, Scottish Borders, Bowhill at Selkirk, Scottish Borders, Selkirk in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It is a member of the Historic Houses Association, and is one of the homes of the Duke of Bu ...

near Bowhill,

Selkirkshire Selkirkshire or the County of Selkirk ( gd, Siorrachd Shalcraig) is a historic county and registration county of Scotland. It borders Peeblesshire to the west, Midlothian to the north, Roxburghshire to the east, and Dumfriesshire to the south. ...

, in April 1884, aged 77, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

. He was buried in the family crypt of the Buccleuch Memorial Chapel in St. Mary's Episcopal Church,

Dalkeith Dalkeith ( ; gd, Dail Cheith, IPA: �t̪alˈçe is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, on the River Esk. It was granted a burgh of barony in 1401 and a burgh of regality in 1540. The settlement of Dalkeith grew southwestwards from its 12th-cent ...

, Midlothian. The church is located on Dalkeith's High Street, at the entrance to Dalkeith Country Park.

Ancestry

References

External links

*
Cricinfo: Lord Drumlanrig
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buccleuch, Walter Montagu-Douglas-Scott, 5th Duke of 1806 births 1884 deaths Lords Privy Seal Garter Knights appointed by William IV Lord-Lieutenants of Midlothian Lord-Lieutenants of Roxburghshire Edinburgh Militia officers Lord Presidents of the Council Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom 107 205 People educated at Eton College Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Chancellors of the University of Glasgow W English cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Fellows of the Royal Society Scottish Episcopalians Members of the Canterbury Association 19th-century Scottish landowners 19th-century Scottish businesspeople Surtees Society