Harry Primrose, 8th Earl of Rosebery

Last updated

The Earl of Rosebery
DL
Harry Primrose, Lord Dalmeny.jpg
Education Trinity College, Cambridge
OccupationAuctioneer
Spouse(s)
(m. 1994;div. 2014)

Harriet Clapham
(m. 2022)
Children5 (including Lady Delphi Primrose)
Parent(s) Neil Primrose, 7th Earl of Rosebery
Deidre Reid

Harry Ronald Neil Primrose, 8th Earl of Rosebery, 4th Earl of Midlothian DL , styled Lord Dalmeny between 1974 and 2024, known as Harry Dalmeny, is a British aristocrat and the Chairman of Sotheby's in the United Kingdom. A member of the British aristocracy, he is the holder of ten noble titles, including the earldoms of Rosebery and Midlothian, to the Primrose family estate Dalmeny House, and to the chiefship of Clan Primrose. [1] Dalmeny is a Deputy Lieutenant for the county of Midlothian and is a member of the Royal Company of Archers.

Contents

Early life and background

Dalmeny House in Scotland, the family seat of the earls of Rosebery Dalmeny House (geograph 4979104).jpg
Dalmeny House in Scotland, the family seat of the earls of Rosebery

Harry Primrose was born in 1967, and is the son and heir of Neil Primrose, 7th Earl of Rosebery. He is a great-grandson of Prime Minister Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, and Hannah de Rothschild, the richest woman in Britain. [2] The earls of Rosebery own Dalmeny House and also owned Mentmore Towers until 1977.

He was educated at the Dragon School, Oxford, and Eton College. [3] He then studied art history at Trinity College, Cambridge.

Career

Dalmeny joined Sotheby's in 1990 to work in the Country House sale department. In 2000, he became a director of Sotheby's and from 2003 to 2007 was chairman of Sotheby's Olympia. He also took on responsibility for the single-owner sales department in 2006 and became deputy chairman, Sotheby's UK in 2007. He became chairman of Sotheby's in 2017. [4]

As Sotheby's director of country house sales in the UK, Lord Dalmeny has been behind the rostrum and on top of the gavel for some of the most high-profile auctions in Europe, including the Duke of Devonshire's sale at Chatsworth House and the 2004 record sale at Hopetoun House of Jack Vettriano's painting The Singing Butler for £744,800. [5]

In 2013, Dalmeny rode in the Queen's carriage at Royal Ascot. [6] [7]

In 2014, the Primrose family sold the painting Rome, From Mount Aventine by J. M. W. Turner for £30.3m to fund restoration work on Dalmeny House. The painting, regarded as one of Turner's finest, had been bought by the future Prime Minister Archibald Primrose in 1878. [8] [9]

In 2019, Dalmeny presided over the auction of Claude Monet's 1890 painting Meules for US$110.7 million at Sotheby's New York, a record for an impressionist work. [10]

In 2001, Dalmeny sold his inherited Gilbert Stuart's 1796 George Washington (Landsdowne portrait) to the National Portrait Gallery at the Smithsonian Institution where it had been on indefinite loan since 1968.  To prevent his auctioning it at Sotheby's, a U.S. donor paid the US$20 million that Dalmeny had requested from the Gallery. [11] [12] [13] [14]

Personal life

In 1994, Lord Dalmeny married Caroline Daglish, a former Conservative Party researcher working for Robert Jones MP and Lord Strathclyde. She is a Patroness of the Royal Caledonian Ball. [15] They live between London and Scotland, where he has a house and farm in the Moffat Hills. They have five children. The Dalmenys were reported to be divorcing in 2014. [2] As of 2018, he was in a relationship with Norwegian shipping heiress Pontine Paus. [16]

In June 2021, Lord Dalmeny announced his engagement to art advisor Harriet Clapham. [17] They married in 2022. [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery</span> Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1894 to 1895

Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, 1st Earl of Midlothian, was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from March 1894 to June 1895. Between the death of his father, in 1851, and the death of his grandfather, the 4th Earl of Rosebery, in 1868, he was known by the courtesy title of Lord Dalmeny.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mentmore Towers</span> English country house in Buckinghamshire

Mentmore Towers, historically known simply as "Mentmore", is a 19th-century English country house built between 1852 and 1854 for the Rothschild family in the village of Mentmore in Buckinghamshire. Sir Joseph Paxton and his son-in-law, George Henry Stokes, designed the building in the 19th-century revival of late 16th and early 17th-century Elizabethan and Jacobean styles called Jacobethan. The house was designed for the banker and collector of fine art Baron Mayer de Rothschild as a country home, and as a display case for his collection of fine art. The mansion has been described as one of the greatest houses of the Victorian era. Mentmore was inherited by Hannah Primrose, Countess of Rosebery, née Rothschild, and owned by her descendants, the Earls of Rosebery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earl of Rosebery</span> Title in the Peerage of Scotland

Earl of Rosebery is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created in 1703 for Archibald Primrose, 1st Viscount of Rosebery, with remainder to his issue male and female successively. Its name comes from Roseberry Topping, a hill near Archibald's wife's estates in Yorkshire. The current earl is Harry Primrose, 8th Earl of Rosebery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dalmeny House</span> Gothic revival mansion in Scotland

Dalmeny House is a Gothic revival mansion located in an estate close to Dalmeny on the Firth of Forth, in the north-west of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was designed by William Wilkins, and completed in 1817. Dalmeny House is the home of the Earl and Countess of Rosebery. The house was the first in Scotland to be built in the Tudor Revival style. It provided more comfortable accommodation than the former ancestral residence, Barnbougle Castle, which still stands close by. Dalmeny today remains a private house, although it is open to the public during the summer months. The house is protected as a category A listed building, while the grounds are included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hannah Primrose, Countess of Rosebery</span> Countess of Rosebery (1851–1890)

Hannah Primrose, Countess of Rosebery was the daughter of Baron Mayer de Rothschild and his wife Juliana. After inheriting her father's fortune in 1874, she became the richest woman in Britain. In 1878, Hannah de Rothschild married Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, and was thereafter known as the Countess of Rosebery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Primrose, 6th Earl of Rosebery</span> British politician (1882–1974)

Albert Edward Harry Meyer Archibald Primrose, 6th Earl of Rosebery, 2nd Earl of Midlothian,, styled Lord Dalmeny until 1929, was a British liberal politician who briefly served as Secretary of State for Scotland in 1945. He was the Member of Parliament for Midlothian from 1906 to 1910. He became the Earl of Rosebery and Midlothian in 1929 and was thus a member of the House of Lords until his death.

Archibald John Primrose, 4th Earl of Rosebery,, styled Viscount Primrose until 1814, was a British politician.

Neil Archibald Primrose, 7th Earl of Rosebery, 3rd Earl of Midlothian, DL, styled Lord Primrose between 1931 and 1974, was a Scottish nobleman. He was a member of the House of Lords from 1974 to 1999. He was succeeded by his son Harry Primrose, Lord Dalmeny.

(Archibald) Ronald Primrose, Lord Dalmeny, was an English-born Scottish cricketer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neil Primrose (politician)</span> British politician

Neil James Archibald Primrose was a British Liberal politician and soldier. The second son of Prime Minister Lord Rosebery, he represented Wisbech in parliament from 1910 to 1917 and served as Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in 1915 and as joint-Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury from 1916 to 1917. He died from wounds received in action in Palestine in 1917.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lady Sybil Grant</span> British writer and artist (1879–1955)

Lady Sybil Myra Caroline Grant was a British writer and artist. She was the eldest child of Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery and his wife, Hannah de Rothschild.

Archibald Primrose, Lord Dalmeny, was a British Whig politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clan Primrose</span> Lowland Scottish clan

Clan Primrose is a Lowland Scottish clan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barnbougle Castle</span> Tower house in Dalmeny, Scotland

Barnbougle Castle is a historic tower house on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth, between Cramond and Queensferry, and within the parish of Dalmeny. It lies within the Earl of Rosebery's estate, just north-west of Dalmeny House. Although its history goes back to the 13th century, the present castle is the result of rebuilding in 1881 by the 5th Earl of Rosebery, who served as Prime Minister from 1894 to 1895.

<i>Modern Rome – Campo Vaccino</i> Landscape painting by J. M. W. Turner

Modern Rome – Campo Vaccino is a landscape by British artist Joseph Mallord William Turner completed in 1839. It is Turner's final painting of Rome and had been in the possession of the family of the 5th Earl of Rosebery since 1878, until the painting came to auction, 7 July 2010. It was bought by the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, and was subject to an export bar to allow a British gallery time to attempt to match the Getty's bid.

Caroline Julia Primrose, Lady Dalmeny is a British former defence policy analyst. Lady Dalmeny was married to Harry Primrose, Lord Dalmeny. They were reported to be divorcing in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilhelmina Powlett, Duchess of Cleveland</span> English historian and genealogist

Catherine Lucy Wilhelmina Powlett, Duchess of Cleveland, also known as Lady Dalmeny and Lady Harry Vane, was an English courtier, historian and genealogist, best known for her 1889 work The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bouverie Francis Primrose</span> British landowner and administrator

Bouverie Francis Primrose (1813–1898) was a British landowner and administrator.

Lady Delphi Primrose is a British model, TikToker, and socialite. Primrose was featured on the cover of the August issue of Tatler Magazine in 2021.

Neil Primrose, 3rd Earl of Rosebery KT was a Scottish peer and politician.

References

  1. "Harry Dalmeny news and features". Tatler. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  2. 1 2 Sanderson, David. "£30m Turner sold to 'pay for divorce of Sotheby's chief'". The Times . ISSN   0140-0460 . Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  3. Journal of St Andrews Society of Montreal Archived 7 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  4. "Artforum.com". www.artforum.com. 3 February 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  5. Lyons, William (25 March 2011). "Harry Dalmeny Trades the Gavel for a Toboggan". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  6. Ward, Victoria; Bell, Joanna (1 November 2022). "High society row as divorcee hits out at 'vipers' who made married couples priority at party". The Telegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  7. Celebs, royalty (20 June 2013). "Wild hats and royalty at Ascot". www.sfgate.com. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  8. Owen, Jonathan (3 December 2014). "Turner masterpiece sells for a record £30.3m". independent.co.uk. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  9. London, Luxury (10 March 2020). "Lord Dalmeny, Chairman of Sotheby's, opens his estate to the public for the first time". Luxury London. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  10. A Monet Sells for $110.7 Million, an Auction High for an Impressionist Work, The New York Times.
  11. Bureau, Washington (14 March 2001). "TIMELY DONATION SAVES PORTRAIT OF WASHINGTON FROM THE AUCTION BLOCK". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 29 June 2024.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  12. "George Washington (Lansdowne Portrait) [Gilbert Stuart] | Sartle - Rogue Art History". www.sartle.com. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  13. www.bizjournals.com https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2001/03/12/daily19.html . Retrieved 29 June 2024.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. "George Washington (Lansdowne Portrait)". npg.si.edu. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  15. "Patronesses". Royal Caledonian Ball. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  16. "Who has the real power?". Tatler . 29 March 2018.
  17. "Lord Dalmeny – father of Tatler's August cover star, Delphi Primrose – is engaged to art adviser Harriet Clapham". 30 June 2021.
  18. "The society weddings to look out for in 2022". Tatler . 27 April 2022.
Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by Earl of Rosebery
2024–present
Incumbent
Heir:
Albert Primrose, Lord Dalmeny
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Earl of Midlothian
2024–present
Incumbent
Heir:
Albert Primrose, Lord Dalmeny