George Gordon, 1st Duke of Gordon

Who was George Gordon, 1st Duke of Gordon?

George Gordon, 1st Duke of Gordon KT, PC, known as Marquess of Huntly from 1661 to 1684, was a Scottish peer.

George Gordon, 4th Marquess of Huntly was born in 1649, the son of Lewis Gordon, 3rd Marquess of Huntly and Mary Grant. He was originally styled the Earl of Enzie until his succession as Marquess in December 1653, when he was around four years old. The young Marquess was educated at a Catholic seminary in France, following a tradition within the Huntly family. In 1673, when he was aged 24, he entered the French Army of Louis XIV and served under the famous Marshal de Turenne before returning to Scotland sometime around 1675.

In October of the following year, 1676, he married Lady Elizabeth Howard, the second daughter of Henry Howard, 6th Duke of Norfolk. However, he was described by the historian Macky as someone "made for the company of ladies, but is covetous which extremely eclipses him." The marriage was not wholly successful and the couple parted some years before his death.

On 1 November 1684, George was advanced from Marquess of Huntly to be the first Duke of Gordon. Following the accession of the Catholic James II in 1685, the Duke was made one of the Commissioners of Supply, Constable of Edinburgh Castle, a Commissioner of the Scottish Treasury and a founding Knight of the Order of the Thistle. The Duke owed these positions to his Catholicism and, around this time, he was described as being "a libertine and a fop, he is a Roman Catholic because he was bred so, but otherwise thinks very little of revealed religion."