He went to Oxford (BA 1969, MA 1974), obtaining a DPhil from St Antony's College in 1975.

[2] 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.

[3] He donated £58,000 between 2001 and 2015 to the political party UKIP as Lord James D Neidpath[4] or Lord James Charteris,[5] with no further donations registered to those names or Wemyss as of 2023[update].

They have a son, Francis Richard (Dick) Charteris, Lord Elcho (b.

1984),[7] who is the heir to the earldoms, and a daughter, Lady Mary Olivia Charteris, a model and singer.