Montague Charles Eliot, 8th Earl of St Germans was born on May 13 1870 in Pimlico, Middlesex to Charles George Cornwallis Eliot (October 16 1839 - May 22 1901) and his wife Constance Rhiannon Guest (November 1844 - 1916).
Montague was educated at Castleden Hall School (Farnborough, Hampshire), Charterhouse and Exeter College, Oxford, taking a BA in 1893. By 1895, he was a Barrister-in-law at the Inner Temple.
From 1901-1906, he was appointed a Gentleman Usher to King Edward VII, and from 1908-1910 a Groom-in-Waiting . From 1910-1936, he was a Gentleman Usher to King George V. During the First World War, Montague was a Lieutenant-Commander with the RNVR . He was awarded an OBE in 1919, and became Groom of the Robes from 1920 - 1936.
In 1923, he was awarded the MVO, and from 1924 - 1936 he became Extra Groom-in-Waiting to King George V. He was awarded CVO in 1928; KCVO in 1934. In 1936 he became Extra Groom-in-Waiting to King Edward VIII, and, from 1937 to 1952, Extra Groom-in-Waiting to King George VI. From 1952 - 1960, he was Extra Groom-in-Waiting to Queen Elizabeth II He had been awarded Officer, Order of Leopold of Belgium .
On November 22 1942, Montague succeeded his older brother to become the 8th Earl of St Germans
He married on June 22 1910 to Helen Agnes Post (d. September 1 1962) and they had a daughter and two sons:
Montague died on September 19 1960 and his titles passed to his elder son, Nicholas Richard Michael Eliot
Last updated: 06-03-2005 18:35:23
