William Leveson-Gower, 4th Earl Granville

Leveson-Gower was the younger son of Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville, by his second wife Castilia Rosalind Campbell (daughter of Walter Frederick Campbell).[1]

After Wixenford School, William Leveson-Gower joined the Royal Navy in 1894.[2] He was promoted to Sub Lieutenant in 1900, and lieutenant on 26 June 1902,[3] when he was re-appointed to the torpedo cruiser HMS Scout.[4] In August 1902 he was posted to HMS Hood, serving with the Mediterranean Fleet.[5]

Promotion to commander followed in 1913.[2] Leveson-Gower served in the First World War and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in 1919.[2]

Leveson-Gower was appointed Chief of Staff to the Commander-in-Chief, The Nore in 1924, aide-de-camp to the King in 1929 and Commander-in-Chief, Coast of Scotland in 1931.[2] He was made a Companion of the Bath in 1930 and retired in 1935.[2]

Leveson-Gower became Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man in 1937.[6] He set up the War Consultative Committee in November 1939 to act as a 'war cabinet' during World War II.[7] The committee consisted of members of the House of Keys and the Legislative Council of the Isle of Man.[8]

In 1939 Leveson-Gower succeeded his elder brother in the earldom.[6] Granville was appointed a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) in 1945 and became Governor of Northern Ireland in 1945, serving until 1952.[6] He was made a Knight of the Garter that same year.[6]

In 1916, Lord Granville married Lady Rose Bowes-Lyon, the second surviving daughter of the 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, and elder sister of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. They had two children, five grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren:

• Lady Mary Cecilia Leveson-Gower (12 December 1917 – 13 February 2014), who married Sir Samuel Clayton (8 January 1918 – February 2004) on 7 July 1956. They had two children and one grandson:
  • Gilbert Falkingham Clayton (4 September 1958), who married Rosalind Mullen in 1994. They have one son:
    • Samuel Wittewronge Kit Clayton (February 2002)
  • Rose Cecilia Clayton (25 January 1960), who married William Wordie Stancer on 9 July 1993. They have one son:
    • Jamie Wordie "Jock" Stancer (4 June 2001)
• Granville James Leveson-Gower, 5th Earl Granville (6 December 1918 – 31 October 1996), who married Doon Aileen Plunket (1931–2003) on 9 October 1958. They had three children and nine grandchildren:
  • Granville George Fergus Leveson-Gower, 6th Earl Granville (10 September 1959), who married Anne Topping on 23 May 1997. They have three children:
    • Lady Rose Alice Leveson-Gower (16 April 1998)
    • George James Leveson-Gower, Lord Leveson (22 July 1999)
    • Lady Violet May Leveson-Gower (5 August 2002)
  • Lady Marcia Rose Aileen Leveson-Gower (10 February 1961 – 3 August 2005), who married Jonathan Charles Bulmer in 1986. They had four children:
    • Hesper Rose Constance Bulmer (1990)
    • James Alexander Howard Bulmer (1992)
    • Hector Charles Marcus Bulmer (1993)
    • Lara Bulmer (29 August 1995)
  • Hon. Niall James Leveson-Gower (24 August 1963), who married Amanda Blaxell in 1996. They have one set of twins:
    • Charlie Leveson-Gower (14 February 2000)
    • Honor Leveson-Gower (14 February 2000)

Lord Granville died in June 1953, aged 72. He was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium. The Countess Granville died in 1967.[6]

Flag of the governor of Northern Ireland

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Earl Granville