Victor Hay, 21st Earl of Erroll

The Earl of Erroll
The Right Honourable; The Earl of Erroll; KCMG
	Photograph of Lord Kilmarnock, 1920
British High Commissioner to the Inter-Allied Rhineland High Commission
	In office; December 1920 – 20 February 1928
Preceded by	Sir Harold Stuart
Succeeded by	William Seeds
Personal details
Born	Victor Alexander Sereld Hay; 17 October 1876
Died	20 February 1928 (aged 51)
Spouse(s)	Mary Lucy Victoria Mackenzie; (m. 1900; his death 1928)
Relations	William Harry Hay, 19th Earl of Erroll (grandfather); Diana Hay, 23rd Countess of Erroll (granddaughter)
Children	Josslyn Hay, 22nd Earl of Erroll; Gilbert Boyd, 6th Baron Kilmarnock; Lady Rosemary Hay
Parents	Charles Hay, 20th Earl of Erroll; Mary Caroline L'Estrange

Victor Alexander Sereld Hay, 21st Earl of Erroll and 4th Baron Kilmarnock, KCMG (17 October 1876 – 20 February 1928), styled Lord Hay from 1876 to 1891 and Lord Kilmarnock from 1891 to 1927, was a British diplomat, a writer and briefly a member of the House of Lords, who was "noted for his tact and charm."[1]

Early life

Erroll was the first son of Charles Hay, 20th Earl of Erroll (1852–1927) and his wife Mary Caroline L'Estrange.[2] He was a godson of Queen Victoria and a favourite of King George V and Queen Mary, who often invited him to Balmoral Castle.[1]

Through his paternal grandfather, the 19th Earl of Erroll, he was a direct descendant of King William IV (his great-grandmother Elizabeth Hay, Countess of Erroll, wife of the 18th Earl of Erroll, was King William's daughter by his mistress Dorothea Jordan. His maternal grandfather was General the Hon. Sir Charles Stephen Gore, KH, GCB, a Waterloo officer (who was a son of the 2nd Earl of Arran and brother to the Duchess of Inverness).[2] His maternal grandparents were Edmund L'Estrange and Lady Harriett L'Estrange (sister of Richard Lumley, 9th Earl of Scarbrough, and daughter of Frederick Lumley-Savile and of Charlotte De la Poer-Beresford, a daughter of George de la Poer Beresford, Bishop of Kilmore).[3]

Career

The young Hay entered the diplomatic service and was promoted Attaché, 1900, Third Secretary, 1902, Second Secretary, 1906, First Secretary, 1913. He was First Secretary in Copenhagen, 1918–19, then briefly Chargé d'Affaires in Berlin, on the United Kingdom's resumption of diplomatic relations with Germany in 1920, until the arrival of a British Ambassador. He remained in Berlin as Counsellor until November, 1921, and served finally as British High Commissioner to the Inter-Allied Rhineland High Commission, from December 1920 until his death in February 1928.[4]

He was also an author and belonged to the St James's Club. He had two plays published and produced in London, The Dream Kios and The Anonymous Letter.[5]

He succeeded his father in the earldom in 1927.[1]

Personal life

In 1900, he married Mary Lucy Victoria Mackenzie, only daughter of Sir Allan Mackenzie, 2nd Baronet, of Glen Muick, Aberdeenshire. She inherited a fortune made by her grandfather in the indigo trade in India.[1] Together, they were the parents of two sons and one daughter:[2]

Josslyn Victor Hay, 22nd Earl of Erroll (1901–1941),[6] who married Lady Idina Sackville, daughter of the 8th Earl De La Warr, in 1923.[2]
Gilbert Boyd, 6th Baron Kilmarnock (1903–1975), who married The Hon. Rosemary Guest, daughter of Ivor Guest, 1st Viscount Wimborne. He married, secondly, Denise Coker. He changed his surname to Boyd in 1941 to inherit the barony of Kilmarnock after the death of his brother without male issue.[2]
Lady Rosemary Hay, who married Lt.-Col. Rupert Ryan. She married, secondly, Maj. James Gresham.[2]

He held the earldom only briefly, and was succeeded by his elder son, Lord Kilmarnock, in 1928.[5] Today, his son and heir is best known for the unsolved case surrounding his murder and the sensation it caused during wartime in Britain.[7][8][9][10]

Publications

Ferelith, 1903
The Dream Kiss (play), produced at the Wimbledon Theatre, 1924
The Anonymous Letter (play), produced at Q Theatre, 1927

Ancestry

Ancestors of Victor Hay, 21st Earl of Erroll

16. William Hay, 17th Earl of Erroll (1772 – 1819)

8. William Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll (1801 - 1846)

17. Alicia Eliot (1778 - 1812)

4. William Harry Hay, 19th Earl of Erroll (1823 - 1891)

18. William IV, king of the United Kingdom

9. Lady Elizabeth FitzClarence (1801 - 1856)

19. Dorothea Jordan (1761 - 1816)

2. Charles Hay, 20th Earl of Erroll (1852 - 1927)

20. Arthur Gore, 2nd Earl of Arran, KP (1734 - 1809)

10. Gen. the Hon. Sir Charles Stephen Gore, KH, GCB (1793 – 1869)

21. Elizabeth Underwood ( - 1829)

5. Eliza Amelia Gore (1829 - 1916)

22. Hon. James Fraser (1759 - 1822), member of the Executive Council of Nova Scotia

11. Sarah Rachel Fraser (1824 - 1880)

23. Rachel Otis DeWolf (1773 - 1815)

1. Victor Hay, 21st Earl of Erroll

24. Henry Peisley L'Estrange, of Moystown (1732 - 1796)

12. Col. Henry Peisley L'Estrange, of Moystown (1776 - 1824)

25. Mary Carleton

6. Edmund L'Estrange (1813 - 1866)

26. George Burdett (1735 - 1817)

13. Grace Burdett

27. Jane Frend

3. Mary Caroline L'Estrange (1849 - 1934)

28. Hon. Frederick Lumley-Saunderson (1761 - 1831)

14. Frederick Lumley-Savile (1788 - 1837)

29. Harriet Boddington ( - 1810)

7. Lady Harriet Susan Beresford Lumley-Savile (1823 - 1904)

30. George De la Poer-Beresford, bishop of Kilmore (1765 - 1841)

15. Charlotte De la Poer-Beresford ( - 1851)

31. Frances Bushe

References

"EARL OF ERROLL DIES SUDDENLY; British High Commissioner in Rhineland Is Stricken While at Coblentz. SCOTLAND'S HIGHEST PEER Descendant of William 11 and Godson of Victoria--Noted for HisCharm and Tact". The New York Times. 21 February 1928. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
"Erroll, Earl of (S, 1452)". cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990,
ERROLL, Victor Hay, 21st Earl of at Who Was Who 1897–2006 online.
"Late obiturary: Earl of Erroll". Observer. Adelaide. 25 February 1928. p. 43. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
TIMES, Wireless to THE NEW YORK (25 January 1941). "AUTO CRASH FATAL TO EARL OF ERROLL; London Gets Word of Death in Kenya Colony of Lord High Constable of Scotland". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
"HINTS EARL OF ERROLL WAS MURDER VICTIM; Doctor Finds Pistol Wound After Kenya Auto Accident". The New York Times. 28 January 1941. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
"KENYA KILLING LAID TO TITLED OFFICER; Sir Delves Broughton Accused of Murder of Earl of Erroll After Fashionable Party MISSING PISTOLS HUNTED Younger Victim Had Escorted Bride of Suspect Home -Suicide 'Ruse' Rejected". The New York Times. 12 March 1941. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
"EARL OF ERROLL SEEN AS A BRITISH FASCIST; Political Motive in His Murder Hinted as Kenya Trial Opens". The New York Times. 27 May 1941. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
"FREED IN KENYA MURDER; Broughton Acquitted in 3 1/2 Hours of Killing Earl of Errol". The New York Times. 3 July 1941. Retrieved 8 June 2020.

External links

Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Earl of Erroll
Lundy, Darryl. "FAQ". The Peerage.

Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by Charles Gore Hay	Earl of Erroll 1927–1928	Succeeded by Josslyn Victor Hay

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1928Obit-1] "EARL OF ERROLL DIES SUDDENLY; British High Commissioner in Rhineland Is Stricken While at Coblentz. SCOTLAND'S HIGHEST PEER Descendant of William 11 and Godson of Victoria--Noted for HisCharm and Tact". The New York Times. 21 February 1928. Retrieved 8 June 2020.

[EarlErroll-2] "Erroll, Earl of (S, 1452)". cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 8 June 2020.

[Kidd1990-3] Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990,

[WhoWasWho-4] ERROLL, Victor Hay, 21st Earl of at Who Was Who 1897–2006 online.

[ObserverObituary-5] "Late obiturary: Earl of Erroll". Observer. Adelaide. 25 February 1928. p. 43. Retrieved 4 January 2020.

[1941Crash-6] TIMES, Wireless to THE NEW YORK (25 January 1941). "AUTO CRASH FATAL TO EARL OF ERROLL; London Gets Word of Death in Kenya Colony of Lord High Constable of Scotland". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 June 2020.

[1941Hints-7] "HINTS EARL OF ERROLL WAS MURDER VICTIM; Doctor Finds Pistol Wound After Kenya Auto Accident". The New York Times. 28 January 1941. Retrieved 8 June 2020.

[1941Killing-8] "KENYA KILLING LAID TO TITLED OFFICER; Sir Delves Broughton Accused of Murder of Earl of Erroll After Fashionable Party MISSING PISTOLS HUNTED Younger Victim Had Escorted Bride of Suspect Home -Suicide 'Ruse' Rejected". The New York Times. 12 March 1941. Retrieved 8 June 2020.

[1941Trial-9] "EARL OF ERROLL SEEN AS A BRITISH FASCIST; Political Motive in His Murder Hinted as Kenya Trial Opens". The New York Times. 27 May 1941. Retrieved 8 June 2020.

[1941Acquittal-10] "FREED IN KENYA MURDER; Broughton Acquitted in 3 1/2 Hours of Killing Earl of Errol". The New York Times. 3 July 1941. Retrieved 8 June 2020.