Baron Harris

Baron Harris, of Seringapatam and Mysore in the East Indies and of Belmont in the County of Kent,^[1] is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.

The title was created in 1815 for the military commander General Sir George Harris. He gained fame as Commander-in-Chief at the siege and capture of Seringapatam and the conquest of Mysore in India in 1799. He was also injured at the Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolutionary War. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Baron. He was a Lieutenant-General in the Army. His son, the third Baron, served as Governor of Madras and also held minor office in the second Liberal administration of Lord Palmerston. His son, the fourth Baron, was a Conservative politician and served as Under-Secretary of State for India, Under-Secretary of State for War and Governor of Bombay.^[2] Lord Harris was also a successful cricketer.

On the death of his grandson, the sixth Baron, in 1995, the line of the eldest son of the first Baron failed. The late Baron was succeeded by his fourth cousin, the seventh Baron. He was the great-great-grandson of the Hon. Michael Thomas Harris, second son of the first Baron.

He was succeeded by his son, the eighth Baron, who left no male issue. As of 2023^[update] the title is held by the latter's fourth cousin, Rear Admiral Michael Harris, the ninth Baron, a former Royal Navy officer who was the captain of HMS Cardiff during the Falklands War.^[3][4]

The family seat is Belmont House near Faversham in Kent.