Richard Scott, 10th Duke of Buccleuch


Richard Walter John Montagu Douglas Scott, 10th Duke of Buccleuch and 12th Duke of Queensberry , styled as Lord Eskdaill until 1973 and as Earl of Dalkeith from 1973 until 2007, is a Scottish landholder and peer. He is the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry, as well as Chief of Clan Scott. He is the heir male of James, Duke of Monmouth, the eldest illegitimate son of King Charles II and his mistress, Lucy Walter.
Scott was once Scotland's largest private landowner, owning 217,000 acres of Scottish land, but was surpassed by Anders Holch Povlsen who currently holds 221,000 acres in the country.

Early life and education

Scott was born in 1954, the son of John Scott, 9th Duke of Buccleuch, and his wife, Jane Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch, a daughter of John McNeill, QC. He was baptised with Princess Margaret as one of his godparents.
He was educated at St. Mary's School, Melrose, and Eton College, and was Page of Honour to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother from 1967 to 1969. In 1973, his father inherited the Dukedoms of Buccleuch and Queensberry, and Scott took the courtesy title Earl of Dalkeith, having previously been styled Lord Eskdaill. He graduated from the University of Oxford in 1976 as a Bachelor of Arts.

Career

As Earl of Dalkeith, he had a brief term on the board of Border Television from 1989 to 1990, and in 1994 he joined the Millennium Commission as the representative for Northern England. He was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2000 New Year Honours for his services to the Millennium Celebrations, leaving the commission in 2003. He was president of the National Trust for Scotland from 2003 to 2012, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
He also served as Deputy Chairman of the Independent Television Commission, as a member of Scottish Heritage, on the board of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, and was President of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society from 1999 to 2005.
He inherited the titles of Duke of Buccleuch and Duke of Queensberry upon his father's death on 4 September 2007.
The art collection of the Dukes of Buccleuch is of great significance, and the recovery of the stolen Leonardo da Vinci painting Madonna of the Yarnwinder from the collection, valued at 30 million GBP, in a raid on the offices of a prestigious law firm captured public attention in 2007. In 2008 a painting in the family collection at Boughton House, a rare portrait of the young Queen Elizabeth I of England, was discovered.
On 1 January 2011, he was appointed Honorary Colonel of the 6th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland. His honorary colonelcy ended in 2016. In late 2011, he was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of Roxburgh, Ettrick & Lauderdale.
The Duke is a trustee of the Royal Collection Trust, President of the Georgian Group and an honorary member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
The Duke is President of St Andrew’s First Aid. The Buccleuch family has held the presidency of St Andrew’s First Aid since the early 1900s.
In October 2016, the Duke was appointed High Steward of Westminster Abbey, a position previously held by the 5th Duke in the late 19th century.
In November 2016, he was appointed as Lord Lieutenant of Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale with effect from 28 December.
In December 2017, he was appointed as Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland for the year 2018. In October 2018, he was re-appointed for the year 2019.
The Duke was appointed Knight Companion of the Order of the Thistle in the 2018 New Year Honours with the appointment dated 30 November 2017.
In 2019 the Duke retired as chairman of the Buccleuch Group with interests in estate management, wind farms, tourism and hospitality, forestry and property
Houses owned by the Duke include Boughton House, Drumlanrig Castle, Dalkeith Palace, and Bowhill House.

Marriage and family

In 1981, he married Lady Elizabeth Marian Frances Kerr, a daughter of the 12th Marquess of Lothian. They had four children:
The Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry is a patroness of the Royal Caledonian Ball.

Arms