Robert Alexander Lindsay, 29th Earl of Crawford, 12th Earl of Balcarres,[2] Baron Balniel,[3] KT, GCVO, PC, DL (5 March 1927 – 18 March 2023),[4] known by courtesyasLord Balniel between 1940 and 1975, was a Scottish hereditary peer and Conservative politician who was a member of Parliament from 1955 to 1974. Lord Crawford and Balcarres was chiefofClan Lindsay and also acted, from 1975 to 2019, as Premier Earl of Scotland.[5]
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The Earl of Crawford and Balcarres
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|---|---|
  | |
| 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 | |
| Hereditary peerage 13 December 1975 – 11 November 1999 | |
| Preceded by | The 28th Earl of Crawford and Balcarres |
| Succeeded by | Seat abolished |
| Life peerage 24 January 1975 – 28 November 2019[1] | |
| Member of Parliament for Welwyn Hatfield | |
| In office 28 February 1974 – 20 September 1974 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Helene Hayman |
| Member of Parliament for Hertford | |
| In office 26 May 1955 – 8 February 1974 | |
| Preceded by | Sir Derek Walker-Smith |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Robert Alexander Lindsay (1927-03-05)5 March 1927 |
| Died | 18 March 2023(2023-03-18) (aged 96) Balcarres House, Fife, Scotland |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse |
Ruth Meyer-Bechtler
(m. 1949; died 2021) |
| Children | 4 |
| Parent |
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| Education | Eton College |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge |
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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 on 23 May 2020, Lindsay became the surviving former MP with the earliest date of first election, having first entered Parliament at the 1955 general election.[4]
The elder son of the 28th Earl of Crawford and 11th Earl of Balcarres, he was born on 5 March 1927,[6] and educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge.[7] 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.[8]
Balniel was elected for the Conservative Party in Hertford at the 1955 general election, aged 28, and served as parliamentary private secretarytoHenry 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.[8]
While the Conservative Party was in opposition, Balniel 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 general election, he served as minister of state for Defence, and then from 1972 was minister of state for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.[8]
Balniel switched to represent Welwyn and Hatfield at the February 1974 general election, narrowly winning the seat, but he was defeated in the general election in October. He was given a peerage under the Life Peerages Act 1958asBaron 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.[8] He retired from the House of Lords on 28 November 2019.[4]
Crawford was appointed first Crown Estate commissioner from 1980 to 1985.[9] Crawford was Lord ChamberlaintoQueen Elizabeth The Queen Mother between 1992 and her death in 2002.[10] 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.[11]
Crawford married Ruth Beatrice Meyer-Bechtler (1924–2021) on 27 December 1949. They had four children:[12]
Lord Crawford died at Balcarres House on 18 March 2023, at age 96.[13] His hereditary titles passed to his eldest son, Anthony.[4]
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| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Hertford February 1974 – 1955 |
Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament for Welwyn and Hatfield February 1974–October 1974 |
Succeeded by |
| Court offices | ||
| Preceded by | Lord Chamberlain toQueen Elizabeth The Queen Mother 1992–2002 |
Death of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother |
| Peerage of Scotland | ||
| Preceded by | Earl of Crawford 1975–2023 |
Succeeded by |
| Earl of Balcarres 1975–2023 | ||