Hugo Charteris, 11th Earl of Wemyss

The Right Honourable The Earl of Wemyss and March DL
Lord Elcho as caricatured by Spy (Leslie Ward) in Vanity Fair, March 1892
Personal details
Born	25 August 1857 Edinburgh, Lothian, Scotland, UK
Died	12 July 1937 (aged 79)
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Mary Constance Wyndham
Children	Hugo Francis Charteris Guy Lawrence Charteris Cynthia Mary Evelyn Charteris Asquith Colin Charteris Mary Pamela Madeline Sibell Charteris Strickland Lyon Yvo Alan Charteris Irene Corona Charteris Windsor-Clive
Profession	Politician

Hugo Richard Charteris, 11th Earl of Wemyss and 7th Earl of March DL (25 August 1857 – 12 July 1937), styled Lord Elcho from 1883 to 1914, was a Scottish Conservative politician.

Wemyss and March was the fifth but eldest surviving son of Francis Charteris, 10th Earl of Wemyss, and his wife Lady Anne Frederica, daughter of Thomas Anson, 1st Earl of Lichfield. He entered Parliament for Haddingtonshire in 1883 (succeeding his father), but lost his seat in the 1885 general election. He returned to the House of Commons in the 1886 general election as one of two representatives for Ipswich, a seat he held until 1895. He succeeded his father in the two earldoms in 1914 and served as Lord-Lieutenant of Haddingtonshire from 1918 to 1937.

Lord Wemyss and March married Mary Constance, daughter of the Hon. Percy Scawen Wyndham and sister of George Wyndham, in 1883. They were both two of the original members of The Souls. Their eldest daughter Lady Cynthia married Herbert Asquith and became a well-known writer. The Countess of Wemyss and March died in April 1937, aged 74. Lord Wemyss and March only survived her by three months and died in July of the same year, aged 79. He was succeeded in his titles by his grandson David, his eldest son Captain Hugo Francis Charteris, Lord Elcho, having been killed in action in the First World War.^[1] The latter's second son was Martin Charteris, Baron Charteris of Amisfield. His grandson, Hugo Charteris, was a renowned post war author and screenwriter. He is the great-grandfather of the Scottish cartoonist Jamie Charteris. An affair with Lady Hermione Whilhemina Duncombe allegedly produced a son, Edward FitzGerald, 7th Duke of Leinster.

Lord Wemyss and March's married life was detailed in the book The Wild Wyndhams by Claudia Renton.^[2]

References

1. Guest, Philip; Guest, Wendy (2012). "A Prime Minister and his Family at War: Part II". Siegfried's Journal (Siegfried Sassoon Fellowship) 22 (Summer 2012): 17–23.
2. Renton, Claudia (30 January 2014). Those Wild Wyndhams. William Collins. ISBN 978-0007544899.

Sources

• Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990,
• Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
• Lundy, Darryl. "FAQ". The Peerage. External link in |publisher= (help)

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Earl of Wemyss