William Lindesay-Bethune, 17th Earl of Lindsay (born 30 December 1990) is a British nobleman who is the 17th and current Earl of Lindsay. He is the third child and elder son of the 16th Earl of Lindsay.
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Life and family connections
The Earl of Lindsay is a member of the Lindesay-Bethune family, of Scottish descent. He is the third child and elder son of James Lindesay-Bethune, 16th Earl of Lindsay, and his wife, Diana Mary Chamberlayne-Macdonald. She is a granddaughter of Sir Alexander Somerled Angus Bosville Macdonald of Sleat, 16th Baronet.
He has four siblings, including Lady Frances (born 1986), who is married to Rostislav Gabinsky, and Lady Charlotte (born 1993), who is married to Prince Jaime, Duke of Noto, heir to the headship of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.
As his father's heir, he previously held the courtesy title of Viscount Garnock.
He is the founder of Feragaia, a non-alcoholic spirits company.
Upon the death of his father in October 2026, he inherited the title of 17th Earl of Lindsay.
Personal life
Lindsay met Lady Violet Manners, daughter of the 11th Duke of Rutland and Emma, Duchess of Rutland, in late 2023, at his family home in Scotland. They were introduced by his youngest sister and her husband, the Duke of Noto, who invited him to a New Year's party.
In July 2024, after six months of long-distance dating, Lindsay became engaged to Lady Violet. It was reported that the wedding would be held at Belvoir Castle and would be a private occasion, not open to the public.
The marriage took place on 21 June 2025 at Belvoir Castle, in the presence of numerous members of the British aristocracy. They were married at the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Bottesford. The groom wore a kilt in the Lindesay family tartan, complete with a tasselled sporran. The ceremony was officiated by Stuart, the Manners family's vicar for 20 years, and marked the union of two distinguished families with ancestral ties to the English and Scottish peerages, whose lineages date back to the Norman Conquest. The best men were Archie, Lord Cochrane, and the Hon. David Lindesay-Bethune. Guests at the wedding included Lady Tatiana Mountbatten, Sabrina Percy, and Flora Vesterberg. The honeymoon was in South Africa.
In March 2026, the couple announced that they were expecting their first child. Their son John Reggie James Lindesay-Bethune was born on 4 July 2026.