Georges de Staal

Baron Egor Egorovich Staal (; March 1822 – 22 February 1907) was a Russian diplomat who served as the ambassador to the United Kingdom from 1884 to 1902.

Early life and family

Staal was born in March 1822 at Reval, After the Crimean War, he married a daughter of Prince Michael Gortschakoff. Her son Lieutenant-Commander Serge Orloff-Davidoff served in the British Navy and was married to Hon. Elizabeth Scott-Ellis, daughter of Thomas Scott-Ellis, 8th Baron Howard de Walden.

Diplomatic service

Staal entered the Russian diplomatic service at the age of 23, when he joined the Asiatic Department. He was posted to Constantinople and was attached to Prince Michael Gortschakoff during the Crimean War. On his return to Russia, Tsar Nicholas II appointed him a member of the Council of the Russian Empire, and a Knight of the Order of St. Andrew.

He died in Paris on 22 February 1907.

Legacy At his death, the correspondent at The Times wrote "it may be said that he had a very distinguished but uneventful career, for he gained and held with distinction one of the highest posts in the Russian diplomatic service without having ever taken a decisive part in any negotiations of first-rate importance."