James Carnegie, 3rd Duke of Fife facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
The Duke of Fife
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Portrait by Allan Warren, 1985
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| Duke of Fife | |
| In office 26 February 1959 – 22 June 2015 |
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| Preceded by | Princess Alexandra, 2nd Duchess |
| Succeeded by | David Carnegie, 4th Duke |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
James George Alexander Bannerman Carnegie
23 September 1929 London, England |
| Died | 22 June 2015 (aged 85) Angus, Scotland |
| Spouses |
Caroline Dewar
(m. 1956; div. 1966) |
| Children |
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| Parents | |
James George Alexander Bannerman Carnegie (born September 23, 1929, died June 22, 2015) was known as the 3rd Duke of Fife. He was a British landowner and farmer. He was the grandson of Louise, Princess Royal, who was a daughter of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra.
Even though he was related to the royal family, he did not perform royal duties or receive money from the government. He was a second cousin to Queen Elizabeth II and King Harald V of Norway.
Contents
Early Life and Education
James Carnegie was the only son of the 11th Earl of Southesk and Princess Maud. Princess Maud was the younger daughter of the 1st Duke of Fife and Louise, Princess Royal.
One of his godparents was King George V, who was his mother's uncle. King George V's eldest son, the Prince of Wales, represented him at the christening.
James went to Ludgrove and Gordonstoun School. He also studied at the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester. From 1948 to 1950, he served in the Scots Guards in Malaya. He was also a vice patron for the Braemar Royal Highland Society and the British Olympic Association.
Becoming the Duke of Fife
The title of Duke of Fife was first given in 1889 to James's grandfather, the 6th Earl of Fife. This was by Queen Victoria when he married Princess Louise of Wales, who was the eldest daughter of the Prince of Wales.
In 1900, the first Duke received a new title as Duke of Fife. This time, the title could be passed down to his daughters and their male children. Since the Duke and Princess Louise only had two daughters who survived, the dukedom went to Princess Alexandra of Fife.
On February 26, 1959, James became the Duke of Fife and Earl of Macduff. He inherited the title from his aunt, Princess Arthur of Connaught, Duchess of Fife. This happened because her only son had passed away before her. Later, on February 16, 1992, James also became the Earl of Southesk and the chief of the Clan Carnegie after his father died.
He lived at Elsick House near Stonehaven in Kincardineshire. He also farmed the family land around Kinnaird Castle, Brechin. He enjoyed sports cars and even drove a Ford Zephyr 6 in the 1955 Monte Carlo Rally.
Helping Identify Tsar Nicholas II
In the 1990s, James Carnegie's mitochondrial DNA (mDNA) was used to help identify bones found in Siberia in 1979. These bones were believed to be the remains of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. The Tsar was killed in 1918 with his family by the Communists.
Queen Alexandra, James's great-grandmother on his mother's side, was the older sister of Nicholas II's mother, Dagmar. Scientists needed a female-line descendant for the test because mDNA is passed from mother to child without changes, unless there is a mutation.
In James's case, mDNA from Queen Alexandra passed to his grandmother, Louise, Princess Royal. Then it passed to his mother, Princess Maud, and then to him. James's mDNA was a 98.5% match with the bones. This small difference made scientists think there might have been a genetic change called a heteroplasmy in the Russian family line.
To confirm this, in 1994, the remains of Nicholas's younger brother, Grand Duke Georgy Alexandrovich, were examined. His mDNA also showed the heteroplasmy. This proved that the bones found in Siberia truly belonged to the last Tsar of Russia.
Marriage and Family Life
When he was younger, James Carnegie was sometimes linked to Princess Margaret, a ballerina named Mary Drage, and a sportswoman named Divina Galica.
On September 11, 1956, he married The Hon. Caroline Dewar. She was the elder daughter of the 3rd Baron Forteviot. Their wedding took place at St Ninian's Cathedral in Perth, Scotland. Guests included Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. The wedding reception was held at the Dewar family home, Dupplin Castle.
James and Caroline had three children before they divorced in 1966:
- A son who was stillborn on April 4, 1958.
- Lady Alexandra Clare Carnegie (born June 20, 1959). She married Mark Fleming Etherington in 2001. They have one daughter:
- Amelia Mary Etherington (born December 24, 2001).
- David Carnegie, 4th Duke of Fife (born March 3, 1961). He married Caroline Anne Bunting in 1987. He became the 4th Duke of Fife in 2015. They have three sons, including Charles Duff Carnegie, Earl of Southesk (born 1989), who is next in line for the dukedom.
Other Important Titles
Besides being the 3rd Duke of Fife, he also held several other important titles:
- 12th Earl of Southesk (a Scottish title)
- 3rd Earl of Macduff (a UK title)
- 12th Lord Carnegie of Kinnaird (a Scottish title)
- 12th Lord Carnegie, of Kinnaird and Leuchars (a Scottish title)
- 4th Baron Balinhard of Farnell in the County of Forfar (a UK title)
- 9th Carnegie Baronet (a Nova Scotia title)
Family Coat of Arms
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See also
In Spanish: James Carnegie para niños
- Carnegie (disambiguation)
