Robert Murray Keith was born on 20 Sep 1730, the eldest son of Robert Murray Keith (the Elder) of the Hermitage, Edinburgh, and Margaret Cunningham, daughter of Sir William Cunningham Bt. Young Robert was educated in Edinburgh. However, his parents lived abroad, first in Vienna and then St Petersburg until 1762.
Robert was destined for a military career and was commissioned in the Scots Brigade in Dutch service from 1747 to 1752. After visiting his parents in Vienna he joined the British Army in 1757 as a captain in the 73rd Regiment. He served as ADC to Lord George Sackville at Minden. William Pitt the Elder commissioned Keith to raise Highland companies which formed the 87th Highland Volunteers. His regiment served in Germany, under Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, where they fought in several battles. In 1762 the 87th was disbanded and Colonel Keith went on half pay. He visited Paris and then settled in London.
Robert’s life changed when he became a politician and diplomat. In 1771 he was appointed to be minister in Copenhagen where Queen Caroline Matilda, sister to George III, was in danger from her insane husband, Christian VII. Keith threatened the Danes with a naval bombardment if the Queen came to harm. She was taken to Hanover and King George rewarded Keith with the Knight of the Bath (KB).
His next appointment was his father’s old job as Envoy Extraordinary to Vienna. During his time there Austria went to war against Turkey. On returning home to settle the estates of his father who died in 1774, he was persuaded to stand as MP for Peebles-shire (1775-80) but did not attend the House of Commons. He was promoted to major-general in 1777 and appointed Colonel of the 10th Regiment on 10 Oct 1781, and in 1782 was promoted to lieutenant general. Later, in 1798 he was made a Privy Councillor but he still held his position as Envoy in Vienna, attending the Congress of Sistovo to end the war against Turkey. In 1786 he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Sir Robert was married (?) and had a daughter, Amelia Gillespie Smyth who became a well-known writer. Sir Robert retired in 1792 and lived in Hammersmith where he died on 22 June 1795.
The painting of Lieutenant General Sir Robert Murray Keith is by Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland. It shows Keith in the uniform of the 87th Highland Volunteers. The jacket is scarlet with green facings and embroidered gold button-holes. Another portrait of him by Anton Graff shows the same jacket and we can see that it was worn with a kilt. He has a red silk sash to signify his award of Knight of the Bath, and the embroidered star of the Bath on his breast.
