John Ker, 3rd Duke of Roxburghe

John Ker, 3rd Duke of Roxburghe (1740–1804), was a Scottish nobleman, a keen bibliophile and collector whose wealth gave him every opportunity to indulge his passion.

His grace was not always possessed of this great wealth, however. At Eton, both he and the Francis Egerton, the Duke of Bridgewater, were nicknamed the 'Two Poor Dukes'. While the Duke of Bridgewater would find immense wealth by canal building, his Grace found his fortune in turnip husbandry, improving his estates and the rents so derived.

Upon completing his education, the Duke embarked on a tour of Europe, where he met Christiane Sophia Albertine, eldest daughter of the Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and a match seemed well-made. Alas, it was not to be, as Christiane's younger sister Charlotte soon became the fiance of His Highness George III, and etiquette decreed that an elder sister could not marry someone of lower rank than her younger sister's husband. The Duke and Christiana so parted ways, vowing to never marry another, and so the Duke spent the rest of his life collecting books [28].*

After he died, his title passed to his elderly cousin, William Bellenden, Lord Bellenden, who became William Bellenden-Ker, and — being elderly — died the following year.

Since both the third and fourth Dukes had now inconveniently died without issue, a number of distant relatives wishing to become the fifth Duke put forward their claims to the title. After a suitably protracted and expensive contest between the various claimants, the issue was settled in favor of James Innes, who took the name Innes-Ker and so became the Duke on May 11, 1812.

It was in settlement of these costs that a plan to dispose of the Duke's great library at auction was formed. It was the prospect of this sale which so excited the cupidity of Mr Norrell that he readily consented to the departure of his pupil, Jonathan Strange, for the wars, so that the latter might not bid against him for any of the treasures he confidently (and rightly) supposed the collection might contain [28].

For further information on His Grace, consult the article in wikipedia.

Notes

*. It can be speculated that the King greatly respected the Duke's sacrifice, as he served his Majesty as Lord of the Bedchamber and later Groom of the Stole, as well as both a Knight of the Thistle and a Knight of the Garter.