David Carnegie, 14th Earl of Northesk

David John MacRae Carnegie, 14th Earl of Northesk (3 November 1954 – 28 March 2010), styled Lord Rosehill between 1975 and 1994, was a British hereditary peer, landowner and member of the House of Lords.

The Earl of Northesk
Lord Northesk in parliament, 2009
Member of the House of Lords
as a hereditary peer
14 June 1994 – 11 November 1999
Preceded byThe 13th Earl of Northesk
Succeeded bySeat abolished
as an elected hereditary peer
11 November 1999 – 28 March 2010
Election1999
Preceded bySeat established
Succeeded byThe 5th Viscount Younger of Leckie
Personal details
Born
David John MacRae Carnegie

(1954-11-02)2 November 1954
Died28 March 2010(2010-03-28) (aged 55)
Political partyConservative
Parent(s)Robert Carnegie, 13th Earl of Northesk
Jean Margaret MacRae
OccupationLandowner, politician and peer

Background

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David Carnegie was the second son of Robert Carnegie, 13th Earl of Northesk, and Jean Margaret MacRae.

Political career

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Lord Northesk inherited the earldom on his father's death in 1994, his elder brother having been accidentally drowned in infancy. He thereby became a member of the House of Lords, where he sat on the Conservative benches. He was later one of the 92 peers elected to remain in the House following the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999. In the House of Lords, he spoke on topics relating to civil liberties and privacy, and spoke out against the Identity Cards Act 2006 and new online copyright laws such as those contained in the Digital Economy Act 2010.

Family

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Lord Northesk married Jacqueline Dundas Reid in 1979. They had four children:

  • Alexander Robert Macrae Carnegie, Lord Rosehill (born 16 November 1980, committed suicide 31 August 2001)
  • Lady Sarah Louise Mary Carnegie (born 29 October 1982)
  • Lady Fiona Jean Elizabeth Carnegie (born 24 March 1987)
  • Lady Sophie Margaret Jean Carnegie (born 9 January 1990)

In 2001, his eldest child and only son Lord Rosehill, a psychiatric patient, shot himself in the head with his father's gun whilst on leave from hospital at the family's farm in West Sussex. He was 20 years old.

Northesk died at the age of 55 from cancer[1] and was succeeded in the earldom by his eighth cousin once removed, Patrick Carnegy. His vacated seat in the House of Lords triggered a by-election for a Conservative hereditary peer to replace him.

Coat of arms of David Carnegie, 14th Earl of Northesk
 
 
Crest
1st, The stern of a French Man-of-War with three Lanthorns, all proper, inflamed Gules, on a Scroll the word TRAFALGAR; 2nd, Issuant from a Naval Crown Or, a Demi-Leopard proper, holding a Rose Argent, barbed and seeded proper, on a Scroll the words BRITANNIA VICTRIX.
Escutcheon
Quarterly: 1st & 4th, Or, an Eagle displayed Azure, armed, beaked and membered Sable, and charged on the breast with a Naval Crown Or (Carnegie); 2nd & 3rd, Argent, a Pale Gules (Earldom of Northesk).
Supporters
On either side a Leopard reguardant proper, gorged with Roses Argent, barbed and seeded Vert, each supporting a Banner of St George proper.

References

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  • Northesk, Who's Who 2010, A & C Black, 2010; online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2009; online edn, Nov 2009, accessed 30 March 2010.
  • David John MacRae Carnegie, 14th Earl of Northesk, biodata at The Peerage.com
  • Smith, Mark (30 March 2010). "Peer blighted by tragedy, the Earl of Northesk, dies aged 55". The Scotsman. Edinburgh: Johnston Press Digital Publishing. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
  • Earl of Northesk on the Open Rights Group wiki
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Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by Earl of Northesk
1994–2010
Member of the House of Lords
(1994–1999)
Succeeded by
Parliament of the United Kingdom
New office
Elected hereditary peer to the House of Lords
under the House of Lords Act 1999
1999–2010
Succeeded by