Noble. The son of James, the 5th Earl of Wemyss (1699 - 1756), although the title was forfeited after his brother, David Lord Elcho (1721 - 1787), had supported the Jacobites. This proved costly for the family estates at Amisfield and Charteris took on his mother's surname rather than the family name of Wemyss.
Charteris served as Grand Master of Scottish Freemasonry (1747-48). He bought the estate of Gosford (East Lothian) in 1784 and commissioned the architect Robert Adam (1728-92) to build Gosford House, which was begun in 1790.
Charteris died at Gosford House.
