[1] He was born in Belgravia in London, the eldest son of Lady Violet Manners, daughter of the 8th Duke of Rutland, and Capt.

Hugo Francis Charteris, Lord Elcho, who was killed in action in 1916 in Egypt while serving in the First World War.

[3] He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1935 and transferred to the TA Reserve of Officers in 1937, and served as a Colonial Administrator in Basutoland from 1937 until 1944.

During the Second World War, he did not rejoin the Lovat Scouts but instead served as a major with Basuto troops in the African Auxiliary Pioneer Corps from 1941 to 1944 in North Africa, on account of his fluency in Sotho.

He was appointed as Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1959, 1960 and 1977.

The elder son, Iain David Charteris, Lord Elcho & Methil, was born on 20 June 1945 and died in a motor accident on 3 April 1954.