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Adrian Palmer, 4th Baron Palmer

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Lord Palmer
Official portrait, 2017
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
as a hereditary peer
26 June 1990 – 11 November 1999
Preceded byThe 3rd Baron Palmer
Succeeded bySeat abolished
as an elected hereditary peer
11 November 1999 – 10 July 2023
Preceded bySeat established
Succeeded byThe 3rd Baron Meston
Personal details
Born
Adrian Bailie Nottage Palmer

(1951-10-08)8 October 1951
Died10 July 2023(2023-07-10) (aged 71)
NationalityBritish
Political partyCrossbench
Spouses
Cornelia Wadham
(m. 1977; div. 2004)
Loraine McMurrey
(m. 2006; div. 2013)
Children3
EducationEton College
Alma materUniversity of Edinburgh (PCFP)

Adrian Bailie Nottage Palmer, 4th Baron Palmer (8 October 1951 – 10 July 2023), was a British aristocrat and landowner in Scotland.[1] Lord Palmer succeeded his uncle in the peerage in 1990, and was one of the original ninety hereditary peers elected to remain in the House of Lords after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999; he sat as a crossbencher until his death.[2][3]

Early life

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Adrian Palmer was the son of Colonel the Hon. Sir Gordon Palmer, a younger son of Cecil Palmer, 2nd Baron Palmer, by his marriage to Lorna Eveline Hope Bailie.[4]

Palmer was educated at Eton and the University of Edinburgh, where he received a Certificate in Farming Practice.[4]

Career

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Palmer was an apprentice at his family's biscuit factory, Huntley and Palmers Ltd, in Reading, and then worked as sales manager in Belgium and Luxembourg, between 1974 and 1977.

From 1977 to 1986 he was the Scottish representative to the European Landowners' Organisation (ELO). He was member of the Executive Council of the Historic Houses Association from 1981 to 1999, and of the council of the Scottish Landowners' Federation from 1986 to 1992. Between 1989 and 2005, he was also secretary of the Royal Caledonian Hunt. For the Historic Houses Association for Scotland, The Lord Palmer was vice-chairman in 1993 and 1994, and chairman between 1994 and 1999.

Palmer was also President of the Palm Tree Silk Company in St Lucia, of the British Association of Biofuels and Oils (BABFO), and of the transport division of the Renewable Energy Authority. He was a member of the National Farmers Union of Scotland and between 1994 and 2023 he was chairman of the Country Sports Defence Trust. Between 1990 and 1996, he was a member of the Royal Company of Archers.[4]

Marriages and children

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On 7 May 1977, at Haileybury, Hertfordshire, Palmer married firstly Cornelia Dorothy Katharine Wadham, daughter of R. N. Wadham, of Newmarket, Suffolk. They were divorced in 2004. Together they had three children; two sons and a daughter:[4]

Palmer married secondly in 2006 Loraine McMurrey, a Houston heiress, and divorced in 2013.

Personal life and death

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Lord Palmer lived at Manderston, Duns, Berwickshire.[5] He died from a stroke on 10 July 2023, at the age of 71.[6]

Arms

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Coat of arms of Adrian Palmer, 4th Baron Palmer
Crest
Upon a mount Vert in front of a palm tree Proper three escallops fessways Or.
Escutcheon
Per saltire Azure and Gules two palmers'staves in saltire between four escallops Or.
Supporters
On either side a palmer supporting with the exterior hand a palmer's staff Proper.[7]
Motto
Per Crucem Ad Palmam (Through The Cross To The Palm)

References

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  1. ^ Wightman, Andrew, Who Owns Scotland, Edinburgh, 1996, p. 58, ISBN 0-86241-585-3.
  2. ^ "6 of the most ridiculous lords still running the country (or claiming expenses to do so)". newstatesman.com. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  3. ^ Scott, Kirsty (11 September 2000). "Lord with too much silver: please help". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d Burke's Peerage, volume 3, 2003, p. 3051.
  5. ^ Seenan, Gerard (5 August 1999). "Stately homes feel the pinch". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  6. ^ "Lord Palmer obituary". The Times. 13 July 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  7. ^ Debrett's Peerage. 2019. p. 3924.
[edit]
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Baron Palmer
1990–2023
Member of the House of Lords
(1990–1999)
Succeeded by
Hugo Palmer
Parliament of the United Kingdom
New office
Elected hereditary peer to the House of Lords
under the House of Lords Act 1999
1999–2023
Succeeded by