David Alexander Cospatrick Douglas-Home, 15th Earl of Home, ( ; 20 November 1943 – 22 August 2022) was a British banker and

hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of April 2025, there are 800 hereditary peers: 30 dukes (including six royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 189 earls, 108 viscounts, and 439 barons (not counting subsidiary ...

. He was a

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

member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

from 1996 until his death in 2022.

Background and education

Home was born in London, the only son of

Sir Alec Douglas-Home Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel ( ; 2 July 1903 – 9 October 1995), known as Lord Dunglass from 1918 to 1951 and the Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963, was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative ...

, the 14th Earl of Home and

British prime minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet, and selects its ministers. Modern pri ...

and later Lord Home of the Hirsel, and Elizabeth Alington, daughter of Cyril Alington. He was educated at

Ludgrove School Ludgrove School is an English independent school, independent boys' Preparatory school (UK), preparatory boarding school. Ludgrove was founded in 1892 at Ludgrove Hall in Middlesex by the Old Etonian sportsman Arthur Dunn. Dunn had been employed ...

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

, and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

. In 1963, the year his father disclaimed his earldom (and became prime minister), David discontinued the use of his

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but is rather used by custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some context ...

, Lord Dunglass.

Career

Home succeeded to his father's disclaimed

earldom Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used. The titl ...

after his death in October 1995. When the

s of the

were reduced under the

House of Lords Act 1999 The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given royal assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords ...

, he was elected as one of the 92 that were allowed to remain. He sat as a

, having served some time on the Conservative

front bench In many parliaments and other similar assemblies, seating is typically arranged in banks or rows, with each political party or caucus grouped together. The spokespeople for each group will often sit at the front of their group, and are then kno ...

. Apart from his political career, Lord Home worked in finance. In 1974, he joined

Morgan Grenfell Morgan, Grenfell & Co. was a leading London-based investment bank regarded as one of the oldest and once most influential British merchant banks. It had its origins in a merchant banking business commenced by George Peabody. Junius Spencer Morga ...

and worked in Egypt,

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, and Thailand. From 1999 to 2013, he was chairman of the private bank Coutts & Co. He was also President of the

British Association for Shooting and Conservation The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) is a registered society under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014, whose mission is to promote and protect sporting shooting and the well-being of the countrysid ...

and Chief of the Name and Arms of

Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or more human occupants, and sometimes various companion animals. Homes provide sheltered spaces, for instance rooms, where domestic activity can be p ...

. Home was appointed a Knight of the

Order of the Thistle The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland, who asserted that he was reviving an earlier order. The ...

(KT) in the

2014 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2014 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

Personal life

Lord Home married Jane Margaret Williams-Wynne (born 20 February 1949), of the Williams-Wynn baronet family, in 1972. They had three children: *Lady Iona Katherine Douglas-Home (born 1980), married the Hon. James Thomas Wingfield Hewitt (born 1979), son and heir of the 9th Viscount Lifford, on 5 April 2008. They have three sons: **Harry Alexander Wyldbore Hewitt (born 9 February 2010) **Rory David Wingfield Hewitt (born 3 February 2012) **Nico James Cospatrick Hewitt (born 15 May 2015) *Lady Mary Elizabeth Douglas-Home (born 1982), married Christopher Gurth Clothier. They have one daughter: **Eira Thursday Clothier (born 5 January 2013) * Michael David Alexander Douglas-Home, 16th Earl of Home (born 30 November 1987), married to Sally Underhill

Death

Lord Home died from

lung disease The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in many animals, including humans. In mammals and most other tetrapods, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of the heart. Their function in the respiratory syst ...

at The Hirsel on 22 August 2022, at the age of 78. He was succeeded in the earldom by his only son, Michael.

Honours and arms

Honours

Arms

Ancestry

References

External links

*
Clan Home Association
– Official website
www.debretts.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Home, David Douglas-Home, 15th Earl Of 1943 births 2022 deaths Nobility from the Scottish Borders 20th-century Scottish businesspeople 21st-century Scottish businesspeople Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Children of prime ministers of the United Kingdom Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Conservative Party (UK) hereditary peers Deaths from lung disease Earls of Home Bankers from London British expatriates in Egypt Scottish expatriates in Hong Kong Scottish expatriates in Thailand Knights of the Thistle People educated at Eton College People educated at Ludgrove School Sons of life peers Hereditary peers elected under the House of Lords Act 1999