Archibald Hugh Stirling, Laird of Keir (born 18 September 1941), is a Scottish theatrical producer, a former officer in the

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642 in the Ki ...

, and

Laird Laird () is a Scottish word for minor lord (or landlord) and is a designation that applies to an owner of a large, long-established Scotland, Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a Baronage of ...

of the Keir estate at

Lecropt Lecropt (''Leac Croit'' in Gaelic) is a rural parish lying to the west of Bridge of Allan, Scotland. The population of the parish of Lecropt is estimated to be around 75, consisting entirely of isolated farms and houses, as well as the Keir Esta ...

in the

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

council area in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. Stirling is the eldest son of William Joseph Stirling of Keir (9 May 1911 – 1983) and his wife (m. 22 November 1940) Susan Rachel Bligh (12 August 1916 – 1983), and a nephew of

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

Sir ''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 ...

David Stirling Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Archibald David Stirling, (15 November 1915 – 4 November 1990) was a Scottish officer in the British Army and the founder and creator of the Special Air Service (SAS). Under his leadership, the SAS carried out hit-and ...

, DSO,

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

who was the founder of the

Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling, and in 1950 it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terr ...

; both are descendants of Charles II of Scotland and England. His sister Hannah is married to the 7th Marquess of Salisbury.

Marriages

Stirling's first wife was Charmian Rachel Montagu Douglas Scott (18 July 1942 – 5 April 2009). They married on 11 November 1964 and were divorced in 1977. She was the niece of

Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester (born Lady Alice Christabel Montagu Douglas Scott; 25 December 1901 – 29 October 2004) was a member of the British royal family. She was the wife of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, the third son of King ...

, and the granddaughter of the 7th Duke of Buccleuch. The couple had two sons, William Rory Alexander Stirling, born on 15 December 1965, and Ludovic David Stirling, born on 29 April 1967. Stirling was married to

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

Dame ''Dame'' is a traditionally British honorific title given to women who have been admitted to certain orders of chivalry. It is the female equivalent of ''Sir'', the title used by knights. Baronet, Baronetesses Suo jure, in their own right also u ...

Diana Rigg Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg (20 July 1938 – 10 September 2020) was an English actress of stage and screen. Her roles include Emma Peel in the TV series ''The Avengers (TV series), The Avengers'' (1965–1968); Countess Tracy Bond, Teresa di ...

(20 July 1938 – 10 September 2020) from 1982 to 1990. Their only child is the actress Rachael Stirling, who was born in 1977. Their marriage ended in divorce after Stirling had an affair with actress

Joely Richardson Joely Kim Richardson (born 9 January 1965) is a British actress. She is notable for her roles as Julia McNamara in the FX drama series '' Nip/Tuck'' (2003–2010) and Katherine Parr in the Showtime series ''The Tudors'' (2010). Her credits in ...

. Stirling married Sharon Silver of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on 4 August 2000. They have one child, David.

Scottish Voice political party

On 4 January 2007, news media reported that Stirling (referred to as a "Scots millionaire") had begun setting up a new

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

aiming to improve standards at the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...

in order "to make Scottish politics work for the disillusioned majority," and will "also put defending the Union at the heart of its policy." The politically conservative party, known as Scottish Voice, was formally launched in February 2007, and stood in the Scottish Elections of 2007, but drew a low vote and failed to gain any seats. Further coverage and analysis published on 5 January 2007 was provided by '' The Herald'' and ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until ...

''. The party was backed by an unnamed group of like-minded people, including the millionaire

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

businessman Robert Mcleod Hotchkiss, opposed to the breakup of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Due to a breach in security, information and documents were leaked in advance of the launch. In April 2012, Stirling announced that he was winding up the party.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stirling, Archie 1941 births Living people Scots Guards officers Scottish politicians British political party founders Scottish theatre managers and producers Archie Lairds Lecropt 20th-century Scottish businesspeople 21st-century Scottish businesspeople