Archibald Primrose, 4th Earl Of Rosebery

Archibald John Primrose, 4th Earl of Rosebery, was born on October 14, 1783. He was the eldest son of Neil Primrose, 3rd Earl of Rosebery, and his second wife, Mary Vincent. His paternal grandparents were James Primrose, 2nd Earl of Rosebery, and Mary Campbell, daughter of Hon. John Campbell, a descendant of the 9th Earl of Argyll. His maternal grandparents were Sir Francis Vincent, 7th Baronet, and Mary Howard, daughter of Lt.-Gen. Hon. Thomas Howard and Mary Moreton.

Primrose was educated at Pembroke College, Cambridge, attaining his Master of Arts degree in 1804. His early political career included serving as a Member of Parliament for Helston from 1805 to 1806, and for Cashel from 1806 to 1807. In 1814, he succeeded to the earldom of Rosebery. Later, in 1828, he was created Baron Rosebery, of Rosebery in the County of Edinburgh, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. He was appointed to the Privy Council in 1831 and became a Knight of the Thistle in 1840. Additionally, he was a Fellow of the Royal Society.

In his personal life, Primrose was married twice. His first marriage was to Harriett Bouverie in 1808, daughter of Hon. Bartholomew Bouverie, and she died in 1834. Before their divorce in 1815, the couple had four children: Archibald John Primrose, Lord Dalmeny (1809–1851), who was a Member of Parliament and married Lady Catherine Stanhope; Lady Harriet Primrose (1810–1876), who married Sir John Dunlop, 1st Baronet; Lady Mary Anne Primrose (1812–1826), who died unmarried; and Hon. Bouverie Francis Primrose (1813–1898), who married Hon. Frederica Sophia Anson, daughter of Thomas Anson, 1st Viscount Anson, in 1838.

After divorcing Harriett, Lady Rosebery was involved in a societal scandal due to an affair with Sir Henry St John-Mildmay, 4th Baronet, whom she married in Stuttgart with royal permission. In 1819, Primrose married Anne Margaret Anson, daughter of Thomas Anson, 1st Viscount Anson. They had two children: Lady Anne Primrose (1820–1862), who married Henry Tufnell; and Lady Louisa Primrose (1822–1870), who died unmarried.

Lord Rosebery died on March 4, 1868. His grandson, Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, succeeded him and briefly served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1894 to 1895.