Robert Alexander Lindsay, 29th Earl of Crawford, 12th Earl of Balcarres, Baron Balniel, (5 March 1927 – 18 March 2023), known by courtesy as Lord Balniel between 1940 and 1975, was a Scottish hereditary peer and Conservative politician who was a member of Parliament from 1955 to 1974. He was chief of Clan Lindsay and also acted, from 1975 to 2019, as Premier Earl of Scotland.
After the October 1974 general election, Lindsay was made a life peer and joined the House of Lords. Following the death of Lord Eden of Winton in 2020, Lindsay became the surviving former MP with the earliest date of first election, having first entered Parliament at the 1955 general election. and educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge. From 1945 to 1948, he served in the Grenadier Guards. He was honorary attaché at the British Embassy in Paris from 1950 to 1951 and then worked for the Conservative Research Department.
Career
Balniel was elected for the Conservative Party in Hertford at the 1955 general election, aged 28, and served as parliamentary private secretary to Henry Brooke until 1959. From 1959 to 1965, Balniel was president of the Rural District Councils Association, and from 1963 to 1970, he was chair of the National Association for Mental Health. and the National Library of Scotland.
Appointments
Crawford was appointed first Crown Estate commissioner from 1980 to 1985. Crawford was Lord Chamberlain to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother between 1992 and her death in 2002. He was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) in the 2002 Demise Honours, the special honours list published after the Queen Mother's death.
Marriage and children
Crawford married Ruth Beatrice Meyer-Bechtler (1924–2021) on 27 December 1949. They had four children:
- Lady Bettina Mary Lindsay (born 26 June 1950)
- Lady Iona Sina Lindsay (born 10 August 1957) married Charles Gerard Mackworth-Young, son of Robin Mackworth-Young.
- Anthony Robert Lindsay, 30th Earl of Crawford (born 24 November 1958)
- The Hon Alexander Walter Lindsay (born 18 March 1961)
Lord Crawford died at Balcarres House on 18 March 2023, at age 96. His hereditary titles passed to his eldest son, Anthony.
- Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, 2002
- Privy Counsellor, 4 February 1972
- Deputy lieutenant of Fife, 23 July 1976
Arms
See also
- Balcarres House, Fife
- Peerage of Scotland