He was the eldest son of Francis Keith Falconer, 8th Earl of Kintore and his wife Louisa Madeleine, née Hawkins.

[4] He arrived with his family in South Australia on 11 April 1889 aboard the Orient and was formally welcomed by the administrator, Chief Justice Samuel Way, who later resigned as Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of South Australia in his favour.

[5] Lord Kintore was appointed lieutenant-colonel in command of the 3rd (Militia) Battalion of the Gordon Highlanders on 17 October 1891.

[1] In 1911, Kintore was presented with a royal gift cigarette case by Prince Ferdinand of Bavaria (1884–1958).

Together, they were the parents of two sons and two daughters, including:[10] He died on 3 March 1930 aged 77 at 10 Park Place, St James Street, London, of acute bronchitis and periurethral abscess and interred on 7 March 1930 at Keith Hall, Inverurie, Aberdeen.

Kintore's daughter, Lady Ethel Sydney Keith-Falconer, wife of John Baird, 1st Viscount Stonehaven, eventually inherited the earldom.