James Charteris, 13th Earl of Wemyss

James Donald Charteris /ˈtʃɑːrtərᵻs/, 13th Earl of Wemyss and 9th Earl of March, DL (also known as Jamie Neidpath; born 22 June 1948) is a Scottish nobleman.

Early life

Wemyss is the second son of Francis, 12th Earl of Weymss and his first wife Mavis Murray. He was educated at Eton College. While a teenager he was Page of Honour to the Queen Mother. He went to Oxford (BA 1969, MA 1974), obtaining a DPhil from St Antony's College in 1975. He obtained a diploma from the Royal Agricultural College in 1978. He is known to have undergone an operation of trepanation, the practice of drilling holes in the head, in 1996 in Cairo. He said, "It seemed to be very beneficial."

Career

He runs Alro Group, a real estate fund management group.

He became heir apparent to the Earldoms of Wemyss and March on the death of his elder brother, Iain David Charteris, Lord Elcho, in 1954. He was subsequently known as Lord Neidpath as opposed to the usual courtesy title of Lord Elcho. He was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Gloucestershire in 2005, and is a supporter of UKIP, to whom he has made at least £54,000 in donations.

Personal life

He married the Hon. Catherine Ingrid Guinness, daughter of Jonathan, 3rd Baron Moyne in July 1983. They had a son, Francis Richard, who is the heir to the earldoms, and a daughter, Lady Mary Olivia, a model. James and Catherine were divorced in 1988, and she married Robert Hesketh in 1990.

He later married Amanda Claire Marian Feilding in January 1995. Amanda founded and directs the Beckley Foundation, a charitable trust which carries out pioneering scientific research into psychoactive drugs and consciousness, and promotes evidence-based, health-oriented drug policy reform. They live at Stanway House in Gloucestershire and at Gosford House in East Lothian.