AN aristocratic descendant of Robert the Bruce and Pocahontas has left an (pounds) 18m legacy to his wife and son.
Sir Houston Shaw-Stewart, a Korean war hero and close friend of the Queen Mother, died this year aged 72, leaving his entire estate to his family.
His wife, Lady Lucinda Shaw-Stewart, said last night that the ''witty and charming'' Sir Houston is greatly missed around the Ardgowan estate in Renfrewshire. The hunting enthusiast lived on the 400-acre site, owned by his family for more than 600 years.
Sir Houston was the last man to be personally awarded a Military Cross by King George VI, for his bravery while fighting in the Royal Ulster Rifles in the early 1950s.
Born in 1931, the baron was descended from Robert the Bruce on his father Guy Shaw-Stewart's side of the family. Eliza Farquhar, his great grandmother, was a direct descendant of Princess Pocahontas. The native American princess, who died in 1617, was the daughter of Powhatan, chief of the Algonquian Indians in the Tidewater region of Virginia.
The baron's estate is expected to be managed by Ludovic, his 18-year-old son.
At Ardgowan house last night, Lady Lucinda said: ''He is still greatly missed. He was such a funny character and led an incredibly interesting life. From his life in the Army to his involvement with hunting and racing, he was always very popular because of his witty and charming personality.
She added: ''This estate has been in the family for the last 600 years and we hope that this can continue in the way that he would have wanted. The estate has been passed over to me, but I am really just looking after it for our son who we are hoping will successfully manage the estate into the future.''
The Eton-educated aristocrat's will revealed that the bulk of the Shaw-Stewarts' fortune is in the Ardgowan estate, worth about (pounds) 13.5m. He also bequeathed (pounds) 3.8m worth of valuables in the stately home and around (pounds) 500,000 worth of stocks and shares.
The ruins of the original Ardgowan Castle passed down by Robert the Bruce lie next to the mansion occupied by the Shaw-Stewarts.
Sir Houston killed several Chinese soldiers in hand-to-hand combat during the Korean war in 1951, for which he was given the Military Cross. He was also joint master of the Lanark and Renfrewshire Foxhounds from 1974 to 1979.
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