George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 3rd Duke of Sutherland

George Granville William Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 3rd Duke of Sutherland, (19 December 1828 – 22 September 1892), styled Viscount Trentham until 1833, Earl Gower in 1833 and Marquess of Stafford between 1833 and 1861, was a British politician from the Leveson-Gower family.

Early life Sutherland was born on 19 December 1828 at Hamilton Place, London. He was the son of George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 2nd Duke of Sutherland and Lady Harriet Elizabeth Georgiana Howard.

He was educated at Eton College and King's College London.

Career Sutherland was Liberal

Military positions and honours Sutherland was Colonel of the Sutherland Regiment of Highland Volunteers from 1864 to 1882, and of the 20th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps (Railway Rifles) in 1867. He was awarded Honorary Membership of the Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland in 1859. He was made KG in 1864, and FRS in 1870. He was a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Redeemer of Greece.

Personal life He married, firstly, Anne Hay-Mackenzie (1829–1888), later created Countess of Cromartie in her own right, on 27 June 1849, at Cliveden House in Buckinghamshire. Together, they had five children:

George Granville Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Earl Gower (1850–1858), who died young. Lady Alexandra Sutherland-Leveson-Gower (1866–1891), who died unmarried. and wife of Captain Arthur Kindersley Blair of the 71st Highland Light Infantry.

In 1861 Blair resigned his commission in the Highlanders and became a land agent and business manager for Sutherland, with his wife becoming Sutherland's mistress. Although Blair's death in 1883 was officially recorded as accidental, there was considerable speculation, at the time and later, that it may have been suicide or even murder. On 4 March 1889, less than four months after Anne's death, Sutherland and Mary married, with the Bishop of Florida, Edwin Garner Weed, officiating. This caused another scandal as the conventional minimum period between the death of a spouse and remarriage was one year.

The 3rd Duke of Sutherland died, aged sixty-three, at Dunrobin Castle, and was buried on 29 September 1892 at Trentham in Staffordshire. He was succeeded in his titles by his eldest surviving son, Cromartie. Their second, Francis, had succeeded to his wife's titles as the 2nd Earl of Cromartie upon her death in 1888.

Estate He owned nearly 1,000,000 acres, with most holdings in Sutherland in addition to 17,000 acres in Salop and 12,000 in Stafford.

Shortly before his death, Sutherland effectively disinherited his natural heirs and tried to leave all his money to his second wife, who was later found guilty of destroying documents and was imprisoned for six weeks. The family later made a substantial settlement in her favour, enabling her to build Carbisdale Castle between 1906 and 1917. Prior to this, she had resided at Sutherland Grange at Dedworth adjoining Windsor in Berkshire. Sutherland's widow, known as Duchess Blair or the Dowager Duchess of Sutherland, married thirdly on 12 November 1896 (sep 1904) as his second wife Sir Albert Kaye Rollit (1842–1922), MP for Islington South. She enjoyed an income of £100,000 until her death according to one source.