William Alexander Lindsay, CVO

Royal Victorian Order

The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...

, FSA

Society of Antiquaries of London

The Society of Antiquaries of London is a learned society "charged by its Royal Charter of 1751 with 'the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries'." It is based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London , and is...

 (8 June 1846 – 13 September 1926) was a long-serving officer of arms

Officer of arms

An officer of arms is a person appointed by a sovereign or state with authority to perform one or more of the following functions:*to control and initiate armorial matters*to arrange and participate in ceremonies of state...

 at the College of Arms

College of Arms

The College of Arms, or Heralds’ College, is an office regulating heraldry and granting new armorial bearings for England, Wales and Northern Ireland...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. Lindsay was the son of Hon. Colin Lindsay and Lady Frances Howard. On 7 May 1870, he married Lady Harriet Gordon, a daughter of the 5th Earl of Aberdeen

George Hamilton-Gordon, 5th Earl of Aberdeen

George John James Hamilton-Gordon, 5th Earl of Aberdeen , styled Lord Haddo before 1860, was a British peer and Liberal Party politician....

 and Mary Baillie. His heraldic

Heraldry

Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...

 career began in 1882 when he was appointed Portcullis Pursuivant in Ordinary

Portcullis Pursuivant

Portcullis Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary is a junior officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. The office is named after the Portcullis chained Or badge of the Beauforts, which was a favourite device of King Henry VII. King Henry's mother was Lady Margaret Beaufort. The office was...

 at the College of Arms. He was promoted to the office of Windsor Herald of Arms in Ordinary

Windsor Herald

Windsor Herald of Arms in Ordinary is an officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. It has been suggested that the office was instituted specifically for the Order of the Garter in 1348, or that it predates the Order and was in use as early as 1338...

 in 1894. In 1919, he was promoted Norroy King of Arms

Norroy and Ulster King of Arms

Norroy and Ulster King of Arms is one of the senior Officers of Arms of the College of Arms, and the junior of the two provincial Kings of Arms. The current office is the combination of two former appointments...

 after Charles Athill

Charles Athill

Charles Harold Athill, MVO, FSA was a long-serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. He began his heraldic career by joining the College of Arms in 1882 as Bluemantle Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary. The position lasted until 1889, when he was appointed Richmond Herald of Arms in...

 was promoted to Clarenceux King of Arms

Clarenceux King of Arms

Clarenceux King of Arms is an officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. Clarenceux is the senior of the two provincial kings of arms and his jurisdiction is that part of England south of the River Trent. The office almost certainly existed in 1420, and there is a fair degree of...

. Three years later, Lindsay followed Athill to the role of Clarenceux on Athill's death. Lindsay held the office from 1922 until his own death in 1926.

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