Baronets Primrose of Carrington (1651)

1^st Baronet Primrose, Archibald Primrose, b.1616, a.1651, d.1679)

Sir Archibald Primrose of Dalmeny was a Lord of Session under the title of Lord Carrington. In 1651 he was created 1^st Baronet Primrose of Carrington in Selkirkshire in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia.

2^nd Baronet Primrose, William Primrose, b.1649, a.1679, d.1687

Son of the 1^st Baronet and Elizabeth Keith, daughter of Sir James Keith of Benholm, himself a son of George Keith, 5^th Earl Marischal.

3^rd Baronet Primrose, James Primrose, b.c.1680, a.1687, d.1706

Son of the 2^nd Baronet and Mary Scott. In 1703 he was created 1^st Viscount of Primrose and 1^st Lord Primrose and Castlefield.

Viscounts of Primrose (1703)

1^st Viscount Primrose, James Primrose, b.c.1680, a.1703, d.1706

2^nd Viscount Primrose, Archibald Primrose, b.?, a.1706, d.1716

Son of the 1^st Viscount and Eleanor Campbell (b.?, d.1759), daughter of James Campbell, 2^nd Earl of Loudoun.

3^rd Viscount Primrose, Hugh Primrose, b.c.1703, a.1716, d.1741

Younger brother of the 2^nd Viscount. When he died, his peerages became extinct but the baronetcy passed to his distant cousin, James Primrose, 2^nd Earl of Rosebery.

Earls of Rosebery (1703)

1^st Earl of Rosebery, Archibald Primrose, b.1664, a.1703, d.1723

Son of Sir Archibald Primrose, 1^st Baronet Primrose of Carrington and his second wife Agnes Gray (b.1622, d.1669), daughter of Sir William Gray of Pittendrum. He followed in his father’s footsteps as a politician and was a Commissioner to the Scottish Parliament from 1695. In 1700 he was created 1^st Lord Primrose and Dalmeny and 1^st Viscount of Rosebery, and in 1703 was created 1^st Earl of Rosebery, 1^st Lord Dalmeny and 1^st Viscount of Inverkeithing. He was a Commissioner for the Union, and served as a Representative Peer until 1713.

2^nd Earl of Rosebery, James Primrose, b.1691, a.1723, d.1765

Son of the 1^st Earl and Dorothea Cressy. In 1741 he succeeded his cousin as 5^th Baronet Primrose of Carrington.

3^rd Earl of Rosebery, Neil Primrose, b.1729, a.1765, d.1814

Son of the 2^nd Earl and Mary Campbell. He was a Representative Peer from 1768 to 1784.

4^th Earl of Rosebery, Archibald John Primrose, b.1783, a.1814, d.1854

Son of the 3^rd Earl and Mary Vincent (b.?, d.1823), daughter of Sir Francis Vincent, 7^th Baronet Vincent of d’Abernon. He was an MP, and served as Lord-Lieutenant of Linlithgowshire. In 1828 he was created 1^st Baron Rosebery in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, giving him an automatic seat in the House of Lords. He was made a Privy Counsellor in 1831 and a Knight of the Thistle in 1840, and was a Fellow of the Royal Society.

5^th Earl of Rosebery, Archibald Philip Primrose, b.1847, a.1854, d.1929

Grandson of the 4^th Earl and Harriett Bouverie (b.?, d.1834), a grand-daughter of William de Bouverie, 1^st Earl of Radnor, and son of Archibald John Primrose, Lord Dalmeny (b.1809, d.1851) and Catherine Lucy Wilhelmina Stanhope (b.1819, d.1901), daughter of Philip Henry Stanhope, 4^th Earl Stanhope. His father was a prominent politician, who had been an MP and served as First Lord of the Admiralty, though he died relatively young, leaving his son as heir to the earldom as Lord Dalmeny. Dalmeny was educated at Eton and Christ Church Oxford, and when he left education he went straight to the House of Lords. He was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1894 to 1895, and in 1911 he was created 1^st Baron Epsom of Hyde, 1^st Viscount Mentmore of Mentmore, Buckinghamshire, and 1^st Earl of Midlothian in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. His marriage to an heiress allowed him to breed horses, and he was winning owner at the Derby three times. He also patronised association football, especially in Scotland, and was Honorary President of the Scottish Football Association. The national team would sometimes play in primrose and pink rather than the normal dark blue in his honour.

6^th Earl of Rosebery, Albert Edward Harry Mayer Archibald Primrose, b.1882, a.1929, d.1974

Son of the 5^th Earl and Hannah de Rothschild (b.?, d.1890). Educated at Eton and Sandhurst, reaching the rank of Lieutenant in the Grenadier Guards, he was a keen cricketer and horseracer. He was a Liberal MP for Midlothian from 1906 to 1910, but then was not involved in politics until joining Winston Churchill’s caretaker government in 1945 as Secretary of State for Scotland. He served during the First World War and was Lord-Lieutenant of Midlothian from 1929 to 1964.

7^th Earl of Rosebery, Neil Archibald Primrose, b.1929, a.1974

Son of the 6^th Earl and Eva Isabel Marion Bruce (b.1892, d.1987), daughter of Major Henry Campbell Bruce, 2^nd Baron Aberdare of Duffryn. As well as being 7^th Earl, he is also 7^th Lord Primrose and Dalmeny, 7^th Viscount of Rosebery, 7^th Lord Dalmeny, 7^th Viscount of Inverkeithing, 4^th Baron Rosebery, 3^rd Baron Epson of Hyde, 3^rd Viscount Mentmore and 3^rd Earl of Midlothian.

The courtesy title for the heir is Lord Dalmeny.

(Last updated: 04/09/2009)