Arthur Gore, 9th Earl of Arran

Biography

Early life

Lord Arran is the son of Arthur Gore, 8th Earl of Arran and the former Fiona Colquhoun, first daughter of Sir Iain Colquhoun of Luss, 7th Baronet. He was educated at Eton College and Balliol College, Oxford.

Career

He served in the Grenadier Guards, gaining the rank of Second Lieutenant. He was the assistant manager of the Daily Mail, then assistant general manager of the Daily Express and the Sunday Express in the 1970s. He was a director of Waterstone's.

He succeeded as 9th Earl of Arran on 23 February 1983, upon the death of his father. In the Lords, Lord Arran has played an active role for the Conservative Party, serving in several junior ministerial roles. In June 2013, he opposed same-sex marriage, adding, "The Roman empire fell for three reasons. There was the worship of sporting heroes, widespread corruption and the decadence and flaunting of homosexuality. I fear that in this country we aren't too far from being decadent."

Marriage and progeny

On 28 September 1974 Arran married Eleanor van Cutsem, granddaughter of Hugh Fortescue, 5th Earl Fortescue, and heiress of the Fortescue seat of Castle Hill, in Devon. She was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the Queen's Birthday Honours 2008. Lord and Lady Arran run the Fortescue family's stately home, Castle Hill House and gardens in Devon, as a venue for weddings and corporate hospitality. They also let out 50 properties on the surrounding 5,000-acre Filleigh estate in Devon. He has no son, but has two daughters:

• Lady Laura Melissa Fortescue-Gore (14 June 1975) she married Major James Duckworth-Chad (maternal great-grandfather Albert Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer) on 16 October 2004. They have four children.
• Lady Lucy Katherine Fortescue-Gore (26 October 1976)

Heir presumptive

Since Lord Arran has no sons by his wife, and all other lines of descent from the 4th Earl of Arran have died out, his heir presumptive is currently his very distant cousin, William Henry Gore (born 1950), who lives in Australia, descended from the youngest brother of the 4th Earl.

Ancestry

Arms