James Graham was born on 6 April 1935 in Southern Rhodesia, where his father—the then Marquess of Graham—was establishing a farm.

[1] He was appointed Officer, Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (OStJ) in 1978.

[3] On 31 January 1970, the Marquess of Graham married Catherine Elizabeth MacDonell Young (d. 29 October 2014[4]), daughter of Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders officer Capt.

They have three children: Montrose considers himself a Conservative and took his seat in the House of Lords on his father's death in 1992.

He has also spent some time in China promoting renewable energy and environmental measures, and he is a fluent speaker of Mandarin.