Constituency : Berwickshire 1880-94
Edward reclaimed Berwickshire from the Tories.
Edward was the son of Dudley Marjoribanks, MP for Berwick and shortly to become Baron Tweedmouth. He was educated at Harrow and Oxford and became a barrister. He did some work on the Tichborne trial. In 1873 he married a daughter of the Duke of Marlborough making him Winston Churchill's uncle by marriage. He and his father owned a ranch in Texas. He contested a seat in Kent in 1874
Edward was a keen sportsman with an interest in hunting, shooting and fishing.
Edward supported the legalisation of marriage with a deceased wife's sister.
Edward became Comptroller of the Household in 1886.
In 1892 Edward became Chief Whip until he inherited his father's title in 1894. He was a huge success as Chief Whip holding the government's slender majority together with his tact and charm. Rosebery kept him in the Cabinet as Lord Privy Seal and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
In 1905 Edward was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty by Campbell-Bannerman.
In 1908 Edward came under fire for corresponding with the German emperor on the British naval programme. Asquith said it was "a purely personal and private communication, conceived in an entirely friendly spirit". However when he became Prime Minister he removed him from the Admiralty and made him Lord President of the Council. He lasted just a few months in the post before a nervous breakdown forced his retirement from the government.
In his later years Edward suffered serious financial losses which necessitated selling some of his estates and his father's art collection.
In 1909 Edward moved to Dublin to be cared for by his sister. He died later that year aged 60.
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