James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Abercorn

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The Duke of Abercorn

Portrait by Allan Warren
Born 4 July 1934 (1934-07-04) (age 77)
Tenure 4 June 1979 – present
(&1000000000000003200000032 years, &10000000000000277000000277 days)
Other titles 6th Marquess of Abercorn, 5th Marquess of Hamilton, 14th Earl of Abercorn, 9th Viscount Strabane, 7th Viscount Hamilton, 14th Lord Paisley, 14th Lord Abercorn, 14th Lord Paisley, Hamilton, Mountcashell and Kirkpatrick, 13th Lord Hamilton of Strabane, 9th Baron Mountcastle
Spouse(s) Alexandra Philips
Parents James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Abercorn
Mary Kathleen Crichton

James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Abercorn, KG (born 4 July 1934), is the current Duke of Abercorn in the Peerage of Ireland, having succeeded his father in June 1979. The son of James Edward Hamilton, 4th Duke of Abercorn, and Lady Mary Crichton (daughter of Lt.-Col. Henry William Crichton, Viscount Crichton (1872–1914), eldest son of John Crichton, 4th Earl Erne). He is a former politician and Lord Steward of the Household.

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[edit] Career

Educated at Eton College and the Royal Agricultural College, in 1952 he was commissioned into the Grenadier Guards. In 1964 he became Ulster Unionist MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone (when he held the courtesy title Marquess of Hamilton), succeeding his brother-in-law, Lord Robert Grosvenor (later Duke of Westminster). He held his seat in the 1966 election but lost it to a Unity candidate, Frank McManus, in 1970 by 1,423 votes.[1] In 1986, he was appointed Lord Lieutenant of County Tyrone and stood down in 2009. In 1999, he was appointed a Knight of the Order of the Garter. He was colonel of the Irish Guards from 2000 to 2008. Additionally, he was appointed Lord Steward of the Household in 2001, serving until 2009.

He is one of the largest landowners in all of Ireland with more than 15,000 acres (61 km²). His seat is Baronscourt, near Newtownstewart, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.

The Dukedom of Abercorn is in the Peerage of Ireland and did not carry an entitlement to a seat in the House of Lords, but until 1999 the Duke was entitled to sit there under his subsidiary title Marquess of Abercorn, in the Peerage of Great Britain.

[edit] Family

In 1966 he married Alexandra Anastasia "Sacha" Phillips (b. 27 February 1946), eldest daughter of Lt.-Col. Harold Pedro Joseph Phillips (1909–1980) and Georgina Wernher (1919-2011), elder daughter and co-heiress of Sir Harold Wernher, 3rd Baronet, of Luton Hoo, Bedfordshire). The Duchess is known by her second name Alexandra, and her nickname "Sacha". She is the elder sister of Natalia, wife of the Duke of Westminster.

The Duke and Duchess of Abercorn have two sons and a daughter:

  • James Harold Charles Hamilton, Marquess of Hamilton (born 19 August 1969), who was married on 7 May 2004 at the Guards Chapel, Wellington Barracks, to Tanya Marie Nation (b. 1971), eldest daughter of Douglas Percy Codrington Nation, senior managing director of Bear Stearns (1942–2001) and his wife Barbara "Bobbie" Brookes. They have two children, James Alfred Nicholas Hamilton, styled Viscount Strabane (born 30 October 2005) and Lord Claud Douglas Harold Hamilton (b. 12 December 2007).
  • Lady Sophia Alexandra Hamilton (b. 8 June 1973), who was a model before 1996. She married British war journalist Anthony Loyd in 2002, but they divorced, without children, in 2005.
  • Lord Nicholas Edward Hamilton (b. 5 July 1979).[2]

He is also a relative of the late Diana, Princess of Wales as he is the first cousin of Diana's father, the 8th Earl Spencer. The current duke's father, the 4th Duke of Abercorn was the brother of Diana's grandmother, Cynthia Spencer, Countess Spencer. Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, who is the next King of England, and Prince Harry of Wales are both his grandnephews.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Michael Stenton and Stephen Lees, "Who's Who of British Members of Parliament", vol. IV (Harvester Press, 1981), p. 149.
  2. ^ "James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Abercorn". thepeerage.com. http://thepeerage.com/p11283.htm. Retrieved 25 January 2010. 

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Abercorn
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Lord Robert Grosvenor		 Member of Parliament for Fermanagh and South Tyrone
1964 – 1970		 Succeeded by
Frank McManus
Court offices
Preceded by
The Viscount Ridley		 Lord Steward
2001 – 2009		 Succeeded by
Earl of Dalhousie
Military offices
Preceded by
Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg		 Colonel of the Irish Guards
2000 – 2008		 Succeeded by
Sir Sebastian Roberts
Honorary titles
Preceded by
John Hamilton-Stubber		 Lord Lieutenant of Tyrone
1986 – 2009		 Succeeded by
Robert Lowry Scott
Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by
James Hamilton		 Duke of Abercorn
1979 – present		 Incumbent
Heir:
James Hamilton
Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom
Preceded by
His Grace The Duke of Norfolk
(Earl Marshal)		 Gentlemen (England and Wales; Northern Ireland)
The Lord Steward of the Household		 Succeeded by
The Rt Hon The Earl Peel
(The Lord Chamberlain of the Household)
Preceded by
His Grace The Duke of Sutherland		 Gentlemen (Scotland)
His Grace The Duke of Abercorn		 Succeeded by
His Grace The Duke of Westminster
England and Wales

The Sovereign • HRH The Duke of Edinburgh • HRH The Prince of Wales • HRH The Duke of York • HRH The Earl of Wessex • HRH The Duke of Cambridge • HRH Prince Harry of Wales • Viscount Severn • Mr Peter Phillips • Viscount Linley • HRH The Duke of Gloucester • HRH The Duke of Kent • HRH Prince Michael of Kent • The Most Rev and Rt Hon Rowan Williams • The Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke QC MP • The Most Rev and Rt Hon John Sentamu • The Rt Hon David Cameron MP • The Rt Hon Nick Clegg MP • The Rt Hon John Bercow MP • The Rt Hon The Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers QC PC • The Rt Hon The Lord Judge QC PC • The Rt Hon Sir George Young, Bt MP • The Most Hon The Marquess of Cholmondeley KCVO • His Grace The Duke of Norfolk DL • His Grace The Duke of Abercorn KG • The Rt Hon The Earl Peel GCVO PC DL • The Rt Hon The Lord Vestey DL
Scotland
Northern Ireland

The Sovereign • HRH The Duke of Edinburgh • HRH The Prince of Wales • HRH The Duke of York • HRH The Earl of Wessex • HRH The Duke of Cambridge • HRH Prince Harry of Wales • Viscount Severn • Mr Peter Phillips • Viscount Linley • HRH The Duke of Gloucester • HRH The Duke of Kent • HRH Prince Michael of Kent • His Eminence Cardinal Seán Brady • The Most Rev Alan Harper, OBE  • The Most Rev Diarmuid Martin • The Most Rev John Niell • The Rt Rev Stafford Carson • The Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke QC MP • The Rt Hon David Cameron MP • The Rt Hon Nick Clegg MP • The Rt Hon John Bercow MP • The Rt Hon The Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers QC PC • The Rt Hon Sir George Young, Bt MP • The Most Hon The Marquess of Cholmondeley KCVO • His Grace The Duke of Norfolk DL • The Rt Hon The Earl of Dalhousie
not including short-term appointments, visiting dignitaries and most peers
Royal dukes
Coronet of a British Duke.svg
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* Current dukes, listed by precedence, from highest to lowest
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