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Home , Clan Ramsay, Dalhousie Castle, Earl of Dalhousie, Marquess of Linlithgow, Nemo me impune lacessit, Order of the Thistle

THE EARLS OF DALHOUSIE WHO WERE ALSO MEMBERS OF THE MOST ANCIENT AND MOST NOBLE OF THE (from Dennis Hurt and Wayne R. Premo) In 2017, Dennis Hurt (Clan member #636) and his Susan, who are avid participants in the Colorado Scottish / Celtic Festivals each year, traveled to the as many of us have over these past decades. While visiting and particularly , they decided to “take in” St. Giles High Kirk (Kirk meaning Church; or High Kirk meaning Cathedral, in this case) which is located on High Street (The Royal Mile) in Old Town Edinburgh. St. Giles Cathedral or High Kirk of Edinburgh is THE principal place of worship of the in Edinburgh (Wikipedia online).

St. Giles High Kirk today – The Royal Mile – Edinburgh While online websites have a great deal of information with photos about St. Giles High Kirk, what is important to this narrative is the fact that the , a section therein, was dedicated in 1911 to the Most Ancient and Most Noble , Scotland’s foremost . Again from Wikipedia: “The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the Order was founded in 1687 by King James VII

1 of Scotland (James II of and ) who asserted that he was reviving an earlier Order. The Order consists of the Sovereign and sixteen and , as well as certain "extra" knights (members of the and foreign monarchs). The Sovereign alone grants membership of the Order; he or she is not advised by the Government, as occurs with most other Orders.

Inside of the Thistle Chapel at St. Giles High Kirk The Order's primary emblem is the thistle, the national flower of Scotland. The is ( for "No one provokes me with impunity"). The same motto appears on the Royal of the United Kingdom for use in Scotland and some pound coins, and is also the motto of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, , The (Royal Highland Regiment) of and Dragoon Guards. The patron saint of the Order is St Andrew. Most British orders of chivalry cover the whole United Kingdom, but the three most exalted ones each pertain to one constituent country only. The Order of the Thistle (OT), which pertains to Scotland, is the second-most senior in precedence. Its equivalent in England, The Most Noble , is the oldest documented order of chivalry in the United Kingdom, dating to the middle fourteenth century. In 1783 an Irish equivalent, The Most Illustrious Order of St Patrick, was founded, but has now fallen dormant.” This is as close as we get to the Knights of the Round Table today. ======

2 The ’s founders included eight persons inducted in 1687 – James and John Drummond, George Gordon, John Murray, James Hamilton, Kenneth MacKenzie, George Douglas, and Alexander Stuart. In 1704 eight more persons were added to the Order – John Campbell, John Murray, William Johnstone, James Scott, George Douglas-Hamilton, James Ogilvy, William Kerr, and Charles Boyle - as four of the original eight had already passed. The progression continued with a person or two being added to the Order every few years or so. Although nearly all the Order are / were of Scottish descent with notable surnames as Campbell, Douglas, Scott, Murray, Kerr, Hamilton, Stuart, and Gordon, a few others were inducted. ======As near as we can tell, there have been four Ramsay Earls of Dalhousie that were members of the Order of the Thistle: (1) The first member to the OT from the Ramsay Clan was James Andrew Broun-Ramsay (1812 - 1860), 10th . He was the third and last son of the 9th Earl of Dalhousie, George Ramsay (1770 – 1838), one of Wellington’s Generals, Governor General of Canada, Commander-in-chief in India, and his last wife, Christian Broun. At the time James Broun-Ramsay was honored by inclusion into the Order of the Thistle (1848) he had just become Governor-General of India and Governor of Bengal. He had previously been vice-President of the Board of Trade (1843) and then their President (1845). There are plenty of other we could list, but again of interest to this text is the fact that he was accused of being “an extremely hard worker, often working 16 to 18 hours a day.” Again from Wikipedia, comes the following: “In contrast to many of the past leaders of the British Empire in India, he saw himself as an Orientalist monarch and believed his rule was that of a modernizer, attempting to bring the British intellectual revolution to India. A staunch utilitarian, he sought to improve Indian society under the prevalent Benthamite ideals of the period. However, in his attempt to do so he ruled with authoritarianism, believing these means were the most likely to increase the material development and progress of India. His well-intentioned policies, especially the doctrine of lapse, contributed to a growing sense of discontent among sectors of Indian society and therefore greatly contributed to the Great Indian Uprising of 1857, which directly followed his departure from India.” Their text continues, “After 7 years of strenuous labour, Dalhousie, on 6 March 1856, set sail for England on board the Company’s Tribune to Spithead, which he reached on 11 May. His return had been eagerly looked for by statesmen who hoped that he would resume his public career, by the Company which voted him an annual pension of 5000 pounds sterling, and by the Queen who earnestly prayed for the blessing of restored health and strength; conversely, the outbreak of the “Sepoy Mutiny” led to bitter attacks on the record of his policy, and to widespread criticisms (both fair and unfair) of his political interests and career. His health deteriorated in Malta and at Malvern, Edinburgh, where he sought medical treatment. In his correspondence and public statements, he was careful not to assign blame or cause embarrassment to colleagues in government. By his last wish, his private journal, which he had maintained the entirety of his adolescent and adult life, and papers of personal interest were sealed against publication or inquiry for fully 50 years

3 after his death. On 9 Aug 1859, Dalhousie’s youngest daughter Edith was married at Dalhousie to James Fergusson, Bart. In the same castle, Dalhousie died on 19 Dec 1860; he was buried in the old churchyard of . His family consisted of but two daughters, and thus the marquessate became extinct at his passing.” How his father, the 9th Earl of Dalhousie, with all of his accolades was not a member of the Order of the Thistle is still a bit of a mystery – perhaps there is a story as to how and why he was never included.

James A. Broun-Ramsay Fox Maule-Ramsay

(2) The second member to the Order of the Thistle from was the 10th Earl’s successor, Fox Maule-Ramsay (1801 - 1874), the 2nd Panmure and later the 11th Earl of Dalhousie. The eldest son of William Maule, 1st Baron of Panmure, Fox was also a grandson of George Ramsay, 8th Earl of Dalhousie. He was a British politician and entered the House of Commons as member for Perthshire in 1835. He was then Under- Secretary of State for the Home Department under Lord Melbourne (1835 – 1841) and later Secretary of War under Lord John Russell from 1846 to 1852. This time period would be synchronous with his cousin the 10th Earl of Dalhousie’s rule in India. It was in 1853 that Fox Maule-Ramsay was included into the Order of the Thistle - five years later than cousin James. In 1855 he became Secretary of State in Lord Palmerston’s cabinet and stayed there till February 1858. He was there during the concluding period of the Crimean War and met with a good deal of criticism (sources listed online at Wikipedia). He was Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland from 1853 until his death in 1874. He was also elected the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Freemasonry in Scotland in 1867. It should also be mentioned that Fox was also among the members of the (knights of chivalry) and Her Majesty’s Most Honorable Privy Council, a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign of the UK (mostly from Wikipedia online).

4 It was also he who was principal in the financing for the building of the Maule Memorial Church and Rowan Tower – Tarfside, Angus, Scotland [Clan Ramsay Newsletter Vol. XLVIII, no. 1 (Mar 2017), pgs 6-7]. Fox had married to the Hon. Montague, daughter of George Abercromby, 2nd Baron of Abercromby in 1831, but they never had children. Upon his death, the barony of Panmure became extinct, and the earldom of Dalhousie was passed to his cousin, George Ramsay, 12th Earl of Dalhousie. (3) The next Ramsay member to the Order of the Thistle was John William Maule Ramsay (1847 – 1887, 40 years), 13th Earl of Dalhousie, and son of George Ramsay, 12th Earl of Dalhousie. John Ramsay in his short life was first a Scottish Naval commander (1861 – 1879), courtier (equerry and extra equerry to the Duke of Edinburgh from 1874 to 1880), and politician. He was elected to Parliament for Liverpool in 1880 after succeeding his father to earldom. After taking his seat in the , he was appointed a “Lord-in-Waiting” in of 1880 by William Gladstone and served there until 1885. He was honored as a member of the Order of the Thistle in 1881. He served briefly as Secretary for Scotland under the short-lived William Gladstone administration of 1886. He was sworn into the Privy Council at the same time (mostly from Wikipedia online). He died of an apoplectic fit – apparently – less than 24 hours after the death of his wife in 1887 – age 40 years. They had five sons.

John William Ramsay Simon Ramsay

(4) The fourth Ramsay member to the Order of the Thistle was Simon Ramsay, 16th Earl of Dalhousie (1914 - 1999) who was honored to the Order of the Thistle in 1971. He was styled as the Honorable Simon Ramsay (1928 – 1950) but best known as a British landowner, Scottish Unionist Party politician, and colonial governor. He was the second son of Arthur Ramsay, 14th Earl of Dalhousie and Lady Mary Heathcote-Drummond- Willoughby. Educated at Eton and Christ Church, , he served in the Black Watch during WWII, gaining the rank of Major, and was awarded the for bravery

5 during the Allied invasion of Sicily. In 1945 he was elected to the Parliament for Forfarshire and served there until 1950. He inherited the Dalhousie earldom in 1950 when his older brother John Gilbert Ramsay, the 15th Earl, died without marrying. He was appointed Governor-General of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in 1957 and served until 1963 when the federation broke up (mostly from Wikipedia online). From Wikipedia, “He refused to renew his commission with the Colonial Service after being forced to read the controversial 1963 speech from the throne prepared by Sir Roy Welensky who was highly critical of Prime Minister Harold MacMillan’s policies to gradually end White rule in the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Shortly after, he left politics altogether and retired to his estate. Ironically, he disliked politics and never made his maiden speech in the House of Lords in 1978.” He was a Lieutenant of the , the monarch’s bodyguard in Scotland and was created a Knight of the Order of the Thistle by Queen Elizabeth II in 1971. Among his other accolades, he served as Lord Chamberlain to Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Mother (1965 – 1992), Lord-Lieutenant of Angus (1967 – 1989), and Chancellor of the (1977 – 1992). Simon died in 1999, leaving the earldom to his eldest son, our present Clan Chief, James Hubert Ramsay, third child of Simon Ramsay.

It was Simon Ramsay’s placard or stall plate that Dennis Hurt found and photographed and that is distinct from any other plate affixed to the walls of the Thistle Chapel in St. Giles High Kirk in Edinburgh – and dated 1971.

Ora et Labora – Dalhousie 1971 – plate for Simon Ramsay among stall plates of Knights of the Thistle in St Giles High Kirk – Edinburgh

According to Dennis, this Dalhousie plate (Simon Ramsay – 1971) is with several others in a stall in the back left-hand corner of the chapel. The photo below shows a closer view of

6 the inside of Thistle Chapel where many stalls line the walls, each with several plates commemorating the Knight was once occupied that stall.

Of the stall that contains Simon Ramsay’s plate, there are four other plates (above photo):

1917 – Douglas Haig (1861 – 1928), later ; 1928 - Victor Alexander John Hope, 2nd (1887 – 1952) 1955 – Steven Bilsland, 1st Baron Bilsland (1892 – 1970) 2002 – Stewart Sutherland, Baron Sutherland of Houndwood (1941 – 2018)

There is no living occupant of that particular stall at this time – that we know of, anyway.

There are nineteen living knights of the Order of the Thistle that include the HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (1952); HRH Prince Charles Philip Arthur George, Prince of , Duke of Rothesay (1977); HRH Princess Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise, Princess Royal (2000); and HRH Prince William Arthur Philip Louis, Duke of Cambridge (2012).

Also embedded in the high-walls of St Giles High Kirk are spectacular stain-glass windows (see online photos), one of which celebrates Dalhousie (Dalhowsie). The and the black eagle are distinct among distinctions.

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Dennis Hurt, the Lady Susan, and Robbie

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