James Charteris, 13th Earl of Wemyss

James Donald Charteris, 13th Earl of Wemyss and 9th Earl of March, DL (/ˈɑːrtərɪs/;[1] also known as Jamie Neidpath;[2] born 22 June 1948) is a British nobleman.


The Earl of Wemyss

Jamie Neidpath at the 2008 World Psychedelic Forum in Basel, Switzerland.
Born
James Donald Charteris

(1948-06-22) 22 June 1948
Other namesJamie Neidpath
EducationEton College
Oxford University (BA, 1969; MA, 1974)
St Antony's College, Oxford (DPhil, 1975)
Royal Agricultural College (1978)
Spouse(s)
Hon. Catherine Guinness
(m. 1983; div. 1988)

(m. 1995)
Children2, including Lady Mary Charteris
Parent(s)Francis David Charteris, 12th Earl of Wemyss
Mavis Murray
Lord Wemyss' coat of arms

Biography

Early life

Wemyss is the second son of Francis David Charteris, 12th Earl of Wemyss, and his first wife, Mavis Murray. He was educated at Eton College. While a teenager he was Page of Honour to the Queen Mother. He went to Oxford (BA 1969, MA 1974), obtaining a DPhil from St Antony's College in 1975.[3] He obtained a diploma from the Royal Agricultural College in 1978.[3] He is known to have undergone an operation of trepanation, the practice of drilling holes in the head, in 1996 in Cairo. He said, "It seemed to be very beneficial."[2]

Career

He runs Alro Group, a real estate fund management group.[4]

He became heir apparent to the Earldoms of Wemyss and March on the death of his elder brother, Iain David Charteris, Lord Elcho, in 1954. He was subsequently known as Lord Neidpath as opposed to the usual courtesy title of Lord Elcho. He was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Gloucestershire in 2005,[3] and is a supporter of UKIP, to whom he has made at least £54,000 in donations.[5][6]

Personal life

He married the Hon. Catherine Guinness (born 1952), daughter of Jonathan, 3rd Baron Moyne (and granddaughter of Diana Mitford and Bryan Guinness), in July 1983. They have a son, Francis Richard (Dick) Charteris, Lord Elcho (b. 1984),[7] who is the heir to the earldoms, and a daughter, Lady Mary Olivia Charteris, a model and singer.[8] James and Catherine were divorced in 1988, and she married Robert Hesketh in 1990.

He later married Amanda Feilding in January 1995.[9] She founded and directs the Beckley Foundation, a charitable trust which carries out pioneering scientific research into psychoactive drugs and consciousness, and promotes evidence-based, health-oriented drug policy reform.[10] They live at Stanway House in Gloucestershire and at Gosford House in East Lothian.[11]

References

  1. "Mind Your Language: Dot Wordsworth continues her look at BBC booklets on pronunciation published in the 1930s"
  2. Will successor to Gosford toe the line?, Sandra Dick, The Scotsman, 20 January 2009. Retrieved 16 August 2011
  3. ‘WEMYSS’, Who's Who 2014, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2014; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2013 ; online edn, Dec 2013 accessed 12 March 2014
  4. "Will successor to Gosford toe the line?". The Scotsman.
  5. Frank Johnson (19 June 2004). "Notebook". The Daily Telegraph.
  6. Electoral Commission Index of Donations http://search.electoralcommission.org.uk/English/Search/Donations?currentPage=1&rows=10&query=neidpath
  7. http://www.thepeerage.com/p1090.htm#i10899
  8. "Frock and roll: the alternative wedding of the year". London Evening Standard.
  9. James Donald Charteris, Lord Neidpath, thepeerage.com. Retrieved 16 August 2011
  10. "The Beckley Foundation". The Beckley Foundation.
  11. Tatler http://www.tatler.com/the-tatler-list/w/earl-of-wemyss-and-march Archived 2 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine
Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by
David Charteris
Earl of Wemyss
Earl of March

2008present
Incumbent
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