John Mackenzie, 5th Earl of Cromartie

Early life He is the only child of Roderick Mackenzie, 4th Earl of Cromartie and his second wife, the former Olga (née Laurence) Mendoza (d. 1996). He has been a member of the Scottish Mountaineering Club and was elected as the President of the club in 2013. He also wrote the SMC climbing guidebook Selected Climbs in Skye, which was published in 1982. He has been a trustee of the Scottish Mountaineering Trust, a charity which promotes and supports health, education and recreation in the mountains of Scotland and elsewhere,

He is an enthusiastic collector of agates and specimens from his collection have been displayed at the National Museum of Scotland.

Personal life

Cromartie married firstly Helen Murray, daughter of John Murray, a steelworker at Lanarkshire, in 1973, and divorced in 1983, by whom he had an only son:

Hon. Kenneth Mackenzie (1980–1980), who died in infancy.

He married secondly Janet Clare Harley, daughter of Christopher James Harley of Strathpeffer, Ross-shire, in 1985. They have two sons:

Colin Ruaridh Mackenzie, Viscount Tarbat (b. 1987) Hon. Alasdair Kenelm Stuart Mackenzie (b. 1989)