Robert Lindsay, 29th Earl of Crawford

The Earl of Crawford and Balcarres
The Right Honourable; The Earl of Crawford and Balcarres; KT GCVO PC DL
Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
	In office; 5 November 1972 – 4 March 1974
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Edward Heath
Preceded by	Joseph Godber
Succeeded by	David Ennals
Minister of State for Defence
	In office; 23 June 1970 – 5 November 1972
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Edward Heath
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Ian Gilmour
Member of the House of Lords; Lord Temporal
	In office; 24 January 1975 – 28 November 2019; Life peerage
	In office; 13 December 1975 – 11 November 1999 ; Hereditary peerage
Preceded by	The 28th Earl of Crawford and Balcarres
Succeeded by	Seat abolished
Member of Parliament; for Welwyn Hatfield
	In office; 28 February 1974 – 10 October 1974
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Helene Hayman
Member of Parliament; for Hertford
	In office; 26 May 1955 – 28 February 1974
Preceded by	Sir Derek Walker-Smith
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Personal details
Born	Robert Alexander Lindsay; 5 March 1927
Nationality	United Kingdom
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Ruth Meyer-Bechtler (m. 1949)
Children	2 sons, 2 daughters
Parents	David Lindsay, 28th Earl of Crawford; Mary Cavendish
Residence	Balcarres House, Fife
Education	Eton College
Alma mater	Trinity College, Cambridge

Robert Alexander Lindsay, 29th Earl of Crawford and 12th Earl of Balcarres, KT, GCVO, PC, DL (born 5 March 1927), styled Lord Balniel between 1940 and 1975, is a Scottish hereditary peer and Conservative politician. The elder son of the 28th Earl of Crawford and 11th Earl of Balcarres, he succeeded to the family titles in 1975. Lord Crawford and Balcarres is Premier Earl of Scotland and Chief of Clan Lindsay.

The Star of the Thistle

Early life

He was educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge.[1] From 1945 to 1948, he served in the Grenadier Guards. He was honorary attache at the British Embassy in Paris from 1950 to 1951, and then worked for the Conservative Research Department.[2]

Career

Balniel was elected for the Conservative Party in Hertford at the 1955 United Kingdom general election, and served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Henry Brooke until 1959. From 1959 to 1965, he was president of the Rural District Councils Association, and from 1963 to 1970, he was chair of the National Association for Mental Health.[2]

While the Conservative Party was in opposition, he served as spokesman on Foreign Affairs from 1965 until 1967, and then joined the Shadow Cabinet as spokesman on Social Services. Following the party's victory in the 1970 United Kingdom general election, he served as Minister of State for Defence, and then from 1972 was Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.[2]

Balniel switched to represent Welwyn and Hatfield at the February 1974 United Kingdom general election, narrowly winning the seat, but he was defeated in the general election in October. He was given a life peerage as Baron Balniel, of Pitcorthie in the County of Fife, in January 1975 before succeeding as Earl of Crawford in December the same year. After the passage of House of Lords Act 1999, he sat in the Lords by virtue of his life peerage.[2] He retired from the House of Lords on 28 November 2019. Following the death of The Lord Eden of Winton on 23 May 2020, Crawford became the living former MP with the earliest date of first election.

Appointments

Crawford was appointed First Crown Estate Commissioner from 1980 to 1985.[3] He was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order in the Special Honours List published after The Queen Mother's death.[4]

Honours

Knight of the Thistle, 1996
Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, 2002
Privy Counsellor, 4 February 1972[5]

Ancestry

Ancestors of Robert Lindsay, 29th Earl of Crawford[6]

8. James Lindsay, 26th Earl of Crawford, 9th Earl of Balcarres

4. David Lindsay, 27th Earl of Crawford, 10th Earl of Balcarres

9. Emily Bootle-Wilbraham

2. David Lindsay, 28th Earl of Crawford, 11th Earl of Balcarres

10. Sir Henry Pelly, 3rd Baronet

5. Constance Pelly

11. Lady Lilian Charteris

1. Robert Lindsay, 29th Earl of Crawford, 12th Earl of Balcarres

12. Lord Edward Cavendish

6. Lord Richard Cavendish

13. Emma Lascelles

3. Mary Cavendish

14. William Beauclerk, 10th Duke of St Albans

7. Lady Moyra Beauclerk, PHD

15. Grace Bernal Osborne

Arms

Coat of arms of Robert Lindsay, 29th Earl of Crawford
	Crest A Swan's Head neck and wings Proper issuing from an antique Ducal-coronet Or Escutcheon Quarterly, 1st and 4th, Gules a Fess chequy Argent and Azure (Lindsay), 2nd and 3rd, Or a Lion rampant Gules debruised of a ribbon in bend Sable (Abernethy) Supporters Two Lions rampant guardant Gules armed and langued Azure Motto Endure fort (en: Suffer bravely) Orders Thistle Circlet

References

"CRAWFORD, 29th Earl of, cr. 1398, AND BALCARRES, 12th Earl of, cr. 1651 (Robert Alexander Lindsay)". Who's Who. 2018 (online ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. (subscription or UK public library membership required) (subscription required)
Stenton, Michael; Lees, Stephen (1981). Who's Who of British Members of Parliament. IV. Brighton: Harvester Press. p. 16.
"No. 48258". The London Gazette. 23 July 1980. p. 10459.
"No. 56653". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 5 August 2002. p. 1.
Privy Council of the United Kingdom website, leighrayment.com; accessed 2 June 2016.
Mosley, Charles (ed.) (2003). Burke's Peerage & Baronetage, 107th edn. London: Burke's Peerage & Gentry Ltd. p. 950 (CRAWFORD and BALCARRES, E). ISBN 0-9711966-2-1.

External links

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

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Sir Derek Walker-Smith	Member of Parliament for Hertford 1955 – February 1974	Constituency abolished
New constituency	Member of Parliament for Welwyn and Hatfield February 1974–October 1974	Succeeded by Helene Hayman
Court offices
Preceded by The Earl of Dalhousie	Lord Chamberlain to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother 1992–2002	Death of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by David Lindsay	Earl of Crawford 1975–present	Incumbent
Preceded by David Lindsay	Earl of Balcarres 1975–present	Incumbent

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[1] "CRAWFORD, 29th Earl of, cr. 1398, AND BALCARRES, 12th Earl of, cr. 1651 (Robert Alexander Lindsay)". Who's Who. 2018 (online ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. (subscription or UK public library membership required) (subscription required)

[stenton-2] Stenton, Michael; Lees, Stephen (1981). Who's Who of British Members of Parliament. IV. Brighton: Harvester Press. p. 16.

[3] "No. 48258". The London Gazette. 23 July 1980. p. 10459.

[4] "No. 56653". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 5 August 2002. p. 1.

[5] Privy Council of the United Kingdom website, leighrayment.com; accessed 2 June 2016.

[6] Mosley, Charles (ed.) (2003). Burke's Peerage & Baronetage, 107th edn. London: Burke's Peerage & Gentry Ltd. p. 950 (CRAWFORD and BALCARRES, E). ISBN 0-9711966-2-1.

Current members of the Order of the Thistle
The Sovereign	Elizabeth II
Knights and Ladies Companion	The Earl of Elgin and Kincardine The Earl of Airlie The Earl of Crawford and Balcarres The Lord Macfarlane of Bearsden The Lord Mackay of Clashfern The Lord Wilson of Tillyorn The Lord Steel of Aikwood The Lord Robertson of Port Ellen The Lord Cullen of Whitekirk The Lord Hope of Craighead The Lord Patel The Earl of Home The Lord Smith of Kelvin The Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry Sir Ian Wood
Extra Knights	The Duke of Edinburgh The Duke of Rothesay The Princess Royal The Earl of Strathearn
Officers	Iain Torrance (Dean) The Earl of Airlie (Chancellor) RAdm Christopher Hope Layman (Green Rod) Joseph Morrow (King of Arms) Elizabeth Roads (Secretary)