William Hay, 18th Earl Of Erroll

William George Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll, was born on 21 February 1801. He was a Scottish peer and politician who held various titles and positions during his lifetime. He was styled Lord Hay from 1815 until 1819, and thereafter succeeded to the earldom.

Early Life:

He was the son of William Hay, 17th Earl of Erroll, and Alice Eliot. His paternal grandfather was James Hay, 15th Earl of Erroll, who was the son of William Boyd, 4th Earl of Kilmarnock. William Boyd was attainted in 1746, and his titles were forfeited. William George Hay became the heir apparent to the earldom after the death of his elder brother, Lord Hay, in 1815 during the Waterloo Campaign. His education was at Eton College.

Career:

William George Hay succeeded his father as Earl of Erroll in 1819, at the age of 18. In 1823, he was elected as a Scottish representative peer, which allowed him to take his seat in the House of Lords. He served as Master of the Horse to Queen Adelaide from 1830 to 1834. In 1831, he was sworn into the Privy Council and was created Baron Kilmarnock, of Kilmarnock in the County of Ayr, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom—a revival of the title held by his great-grandfather.

When the Whig government under Lord Melbourne came into power in 1835, Erroll was appointed Master of the Buckhounds. In 1839, he was promoted to Lord Steward of the Household, succeeding the Duke of Argyll, a position he maintained until 1841, when the administration fell.

Apart from his political roles, Lord Erroll was Knight Marischal of Scotland from 1832 to 1846 and served as Lord-Lieutenant of Aberdeenshire from 1836 to 1846.

Personal Life:

On 4 December 1820, Lord Erroll married Lady Elizabeth FitzClarence, the illegitimate daughter of King William IV and Dorothy Jordan. Together, they had four children:

- Lady Ida Harriet Augusta Hay (1821–1867), who served as a bridesmaid at Queen Victoria's wedding and married Charles Noel, 2nd Earl of Gainsborough.

- William Harry Hay, 19th Earl of Erroll (1823–1891), who married Eliza Amelia Gore in 1848.

- Lady Agnes Georgiana Elizabeth Hay (1829–1869), who married James Duff, 5th Earl Fife, in 1846. Their son, Alexander Duff, became the 1st Duke of Fife and married Princess Louise, the daughter of King Edward VII.

- Lady Alice Mary Emily Hay (1835–1881), who married Charles Edward Louis Casimir Stuart.

William George Hay died in London on 19 April 1846, aged 45. He was succeeded by his son, William Harry Hay. His wife, the Countess of Erroll, died in January 1856 at the age of 54.

Recreation:

He was the chief organiser of the Dublin Bay regatta held in Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire) in 1828.

Ancestry:

His lineage includes Scottish and noble ancestry, notably connecting to the Earls of Kilmarnock and the royal family through his marriage.

References:

- The information includes details sourced from historical records and peerage directories, including contributions in Parliament recorded in Hansard from 1803 to 2005.

External Links:

- Contributions by the Earl of Erroll in Parliament are available through Hansard archives.