Granville Leveson-Gower, 3rd Earl Granville

Granville George Leveson-Gower, 3rd Earl Granville GCMG GCVO PC (4 March 1872 – 21 July 1939) was a British diplomat from the Leveson-Gower family who was an envoy to several countries.

The Earl Granville
Born(1872-03-04)March 4, 1872
Died21 July 1939(1939-07-21) (aged 67)
NationalityUnited Kingdom
Alma materEton College
OccupationDiplomat
Years active1893–1933
SpouseNina Ayesha Baring (m. 1900)
Parent(s)Granville George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville
Castila Rosalind Campbell
RelativesWilliam Leveson-Gower, 4th Earl Granville (brother)
FamilyLeveson-Gower

Career

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The elder son of the 2nd Earl Granville, Leveson-Gower was educated at Eton College[1] and joined the Diplomatic Service in 1893 as an attaché in Berlin. He served in Cairo, Vienna, The Hague and Brussels, then was appointed back to Berlin with the rank of Counsellor in 1911. In 1913 he was appointed to Paris, again as counsellor, and moved to Bordeaux when the French government relocated there in September 1914 as the German army approached the capital before the First Battle of the Marne.

On 1 January 1917 he was appointed Diplomatic Agent to the Greek provisional government of Eleftherios Venizelos in Salonika,[2] shortly afterwards formalised as Minister Plenipotentiary.[3]

In June 1917, King Constantine abdicated, the previous British Minister to the Greek Government, Sir Francis Elliot, departed and Granville became official Minister to Greece in Athens.[4] He was Minister to Denmark 1921–26,[5] Minister to the Netherlands 1926–28[6] and Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg 1928–33.[7]

As a Privy Counsellor, Earl Granville took part in the official procedures legalising the accession of King Edward VIII[8] in 1936 and, later that year, his abdication and the accession of King George VI.[9]

Honours

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Earl Granville was appointed MVO in 1904,[10] raised to CVO in 1913 on the occasion of King George V's visit to Berlin,[11] and knighted GCVO in the King's Birthday Honours of 1914.[12] He was given the additional, senior knighthood of KCMG in the New Year Honours of 1924[13] and raised to GCMG in 1932. He was made a Privy Counsellor in 1928.[14]

Orders

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The Earl received several awards and orders from European foreign dignitaries.[1]

He had also been a Lord-in-waiting to Queen Victoria in 1895,[16] to King Edward VII from 1905–10 and to King George V from 1910–15.

Family

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On 27 September 1900, he married Nina Ayesha Baring (daughter of the diplomat Walter Baring,[1] a grandson of Sir Francis Baring, 1st Baronet) but, in 1939, died without issue and his titles passed to his brother William.

References

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  • GRANVILLE, 3rd Earl, Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007
  • Lord Granville (obituary), The Times, London, 22 July 1939, page 14
  1. ^ a b c Hesilrige 1921, p. 418.
  2. ^ "British Diplomatic Agent At Salonika – Lord Granville Appointed", The Times (London), 2 January 1917, p. 8
  3. ^ "No. 29896". The London Gazette. 9 January 1917. p. 376.
  4. ^ New Minister to Greece: Earl Granville Appointed, The Times, London, 23 August 1917, page 5
  5. ^ "No. 32540". The London Gazette. 6 December 1921. p. 9888.
  6. ^ "No. 33230". The London Gazette. 17 December 1926. p. 8268.
  7. ^ "No. 33417". The London Gazette. 31 August 1928. p. 5767.
  8. ^ "No. 34245". The London Gazette (Supplement). 21 January 1936. p. 449.
  9. ^ "No. 34350". The London Gazette. 15 December 1936. p. 8113.
  10. ^ "No. 27704". The London Gazette. 12 August 1904. p. 5192.
  11. ^ "No. 28723". The London Gazette. 30 May 1913. p. 3832.
  12. ^ "No. 28842". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 June 1914. p. 4879.
  13. ^ "No. 32893". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1924. p. 5.
  14. ^ "No. 33403". The London Gazette. 13 June 1928. p. 4721.
  15. ^ Mosley, Charles (ed.) Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 2003, vol.2, page 1639
  16. ^ "No. 26595". The London Gazette. 5 February 1895. p. 683.
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Political offices
Preceded by Lord-in-waiting
1895
Succeeded by
Preceded by Lord-in-waiting
1905–1915
Succeeded by
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to His Majesty the King of Greece
1917–1921
Succeeded by
Preceded by Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to His Majesty the King of Denmark and Iceland
1921–1926
Succeeded by
Preceded by Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands
1926–1928
Succeeded by
Preceded by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to His Majesty the King of the Belgians, and Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Her Royal Highness the Grand Duchess of Luxemburg
1928–1933
Succeeded by
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Earl Granville
2nd creation
1891–1939
Succeeded by