Robert Gordon

Sir Robert Gordon (1791 – 8 October 1847) was a British diplomat. He was the son of George Gordon, Lord Haddo, who was the eldest son of the 3rd Earl of Aberdeen. Robert Gordon had a brother who became the 4th Earl of Aberdeen.

Gordon received his education at St John's College, Cambridge. His diplomatic career included serving as Envoy Extraordinary to Brazil from 1826 to 1828. During this tenure, he negotiated the British-Brazilian Treaty of 1826. Subsequently, he served as envoy to the Ottoman Empire from 1828 to 1831. Later, he was appointed envoy to Austria, a position he held from 1841 until his death in 1847.

While posted in Vienna, Gordon took two leave periods during which others acted in his stead. John Fiennes-Twisleton-Crampton managed affairs from September to October 1842, and Arthur Magenis from 31 July 1845 to April 1846.

In 1830, Gordon acquired a long-term lease of Balmoral Castle. He died in 1847 as a result of choking on a fish bone. The estate was subsequently purchased by Prince Albert from Gordon’s trustees in 1848 as a gift for Queen Victoria.