View source for George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon

{{Short description|British aristocrat (1866–1923)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox noble 
|honorific_prefix = [[The Right Honourable]]
|name = The Earl of Carnarvon
|honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|DL}}
|image            = George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, reading.jpg
|image_size       = 200px
|caption          = Lord Carnarvon, who was the chief financial backer on many of [[Howard Carter]]'s Egyptian excavations.
| birth_name = George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1866|06|26|df=y}} 
| birth_place = 66 Grosvenor Street, [[Mayfair]], London, England
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1923|04|05|1866|06|26|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Cairo]], [[Kingdom of Egypt]]
| death_cause = 
| body_discovered = 
| resting_place = [[Beacon Hill, Burghclere, Hampshire]]
| resting_place_coordinates = <!-- {{coord|LAT|LONG|display=inline,title}} -->
| title = 5th [[Earl of Carnarvon]]
| tenure = 29 June 1890 – 5 April 1923
| other_titles = Lord Porchester (until 1890)
| residence = [[Highclere Castle]]
| nationality = [[United Kingdom|British]]
| locality = 
| other_names = 
| wars_and_battles = 
| offices = 
| networth = 
| known_for = [[KV62|Discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb]]
| years_active = 
| predecessor = [[Henry Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon]]
| heir = 
| successor = [[Henry Herbert, 6th Earl of Carnarvon]]
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Almina, Countess of Carnarvon|Almina Wombwell]]|1895}}
| issue = {{unbulleted list|[[Henry Herbert, 6th Earl of Carnarvon]] |[[Lady Evelyn Beauchamp]]}}
| parents = {{unbulleted list|[[Henry Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon]] |Lady Evelyn Stanhope}}
| occupation = 
| signature = 
| footnotes = 
| misc = 
}}

'''George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon''', {{post-nominals|size=100%|country=GBR|DL}} (26 June 1866 &ndash; 5 April 1923), styled '''Lord Porchester''' until 1890, was an English peer and aristocrat best known as the financial backer of the [[Discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun|search for and excavation]] of [[Tutankhamun's tomb]] in the [[Valley of the Kings]].

==Background and education==
Styled Lord Porchester from birth, he was born at 66 Grosvenor Street, [[Mayfair]], London, the only son of [[Henry Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon]], a distinguished [[Conservative Party (UK)|Tory]] statesman, by his first wife Lady Evelyn Stanhope, daughter of [[Anne Stanhope|Anne]] and [[George Stanhope, 6th Earl of Chesterfield]]. [[Aubrey Herbert]] was his half-brother.<ref name=Burke03/> He was educated at [[Eton College]] and [[Trinity College, Cambridge]].<ref>{{acad|id=HRBT886GE|name=Herbert, George Edward Stanhope Molyneux, Lord Porchester}}</ref> He inherited the [[Bretby Hall]] estate in Derbyshire from his maternal grandmother, [[Anne Stanhope|Anne Elizabeth, Dowager Countess of Chesterfield]] in 1885, and succeeded his father in the earldom in 1890.<ref name="The Curse of King Tut's Mummy">{{cite book|last=Zoehfeld|first=Kathleen Weidner|title=The Curse of King Tut's Mummy|year=2007|publisher=Random House Books for Young Readers|isbn=978-0-375-83862-0|author2=Nelson, James|chapter=3|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/curseofkingtutsm00zoeh|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/curseofkingtutsm00zoeh}}</ref>

He was [[High steward (civic)|High Steward]] of [[Newbury, Berkshire|Newbury]].<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title= Queen Victoria Memorial at Newbury|date=8 November 1902 |page=13 |issue=36920}}</ref>

==Family==
[[File:George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert00.jpg|thumb|200px|Lady and Lord Carnarvon at the races in June 1921.]]
Lord Carnarvon married [[Almina, Countess of Carnarvon|Almina Victoria Maria Alexandra Wombwell]],<ref>Barnard Burke, 1914, p. 387</ref> alleged to be the illegitimate daughter of millionaire banker [[Alfred de Rothschild]],<ref>Burke's Peerage, 107th Edition p. 835, says Rothschild was 'possibly' Almina's father; her son Henry Herbert described him as his grandfather, see ''No Regrets: Memoirs of the Earl of Carnarvon'', 1976, p. 6.</ref> of the [[Rothschild family]], at [[St Margaret's, Westminster|St Margaret's Church, Westminster]], on 26 June 1895. Rothschild provided a marriage settlement of £500,000 (equivalent to [[£]]{{Format price|{{Inflation|UK|500000|1895}}}} in {{Inflation/year|UK}}),{{Inflation-fn|UK}} and paid off all Lord Carnarvon's existing debts.<ref name=Cross>{{Cite book|author=William Cross.|title=Carnarvon, Carter and Tutankhamun Revisited: The Hidden Truths and Doomed Relationships|year=2016 |page=31 |publisher=William P. Cross |isbn=978-1905914364}}</ref> The Carnarvons had two children:<ref name=Burke03>{{cite book|editor-first=Charles|editor-last=Mosley|title=Burkes Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, vol 1|page=699|location=London|edition=107th|year=2003|isbn=0971196621}}</ref>
* [[Henry Herbert, 6th Earl of Carnarvon|Henry George Herbert, 6th Earl of Carnarvon]] (1898–1987), who married Anne Catherine Tredick Wendell (d. 1977) and had one son ([[Henry Herbert, 7th Earl of Carnarvon|the 7th Earl]]) and one daughter. They divorced in 1936, and from 1939 to 1947, he was married to actress and dancer [[Tilly Losch]].
* [[Lady Evelyn Beauchamp|Lady Evelyn Leonora Almina Herbert]] (1901–1980), who married [[Sir Brograve Beauchamp, 2nd Baronet]], and had a daughter.<ref name="Charles Mosley 2003">Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003).</ref>

==Horse racing==
Exceedingly wealthy due to his marriage settlement,<ref name=Cross/> Carnarvon was at first best known as an owner of racehorses, and in 1902 he established Highclere Stud to breed [[thoroughbred]] racehorses.<ref name="Architecture">{{cite journal |year=1994 |title=Architecture |journal=House and Garden |publisher=Condé Nast Publications, Ltd |volume=160 |issue=1–4 |page=54}}.</ref> He joined the [[Jockey Club]]<ref name=Winstone98/> and in 1905 was appointed one of the stewards at the new [[Newbury Racecourse]] and acted as a steward at other racecourses.<ref>{{cite book|first=Henry |last=Herbert |title=Ermine Tales: More memoirs of the Earl of Carnarvon|page=133|location=London|publisher=Weidenfeld and Nicolson |year=1980 |isbn=0297777637}}</ref> His family has maintained the connection ever since. His grandson, the [[Henry Herbert, 7th Earl of Carnarvon|7th Earl]], was racing manager to Queen [[Elizabeth II]] from 1969 until he died in 2001.<ref name="Mosley1">Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 1, p. 698</ref>

==Egyptology==
{{further|Discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun}}
Lord Carnarvon was a keen motor-car driver. In 1903, he suffered a serious motoring accident near [[Bad Schwalbach]] in Germany, after which he never fully recovered his health.<ref>{{cite book|author=The Countess of Carnavon|title=The Earl and the Pharaoh|pages=162–173|location=London|publisher=William Collins|date=2022|isbn=978-0-00-853173-7}}</ref> After a lengthy convalescence his doctors advised that he winter out of England and from then on he and Lady Carnarvon often spent their winters in Egypt.<ref name="The death of Lord Carnarvon"/><ref name=Winstone98>{{cite book|first=H. V. F.|last=Winstone|title=Howard Carter and the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun|pages=98–100|location=Manchester|publisher=Barzan| edition=rev.|year=2006|isbn=1905521049}}</ref> Here he became an enthusiastic amateur [[Egyptology|Egyptologist]] and also bought Egyptian antiquities for their collection in England.<ref name=Price>{{Cite book|author=Bill Price|title=Tutankhamun, Egypt's Most Famous Pharaoh|date=21 January 2009|pages=[https://archive.org/details/tutankhamunegypt0000pric/page/119 119–128. Published Pocket Essentials, Hertfordshire. 2007]|publisher=Chartwell Books |isbn=978-1842432402|url=https://archive.org/details/tutankhamunegypt0000pric/page/119}}</ref>
[[File: Howard Carter, Lord Carnarvon and Lady Evelyn Herbert at Tutankhamen's tomb.jpg|thumb|right|360px|Lord Carnarvon, his daughter, [[Lady Evelyn Beauchamp|Lady Evelyn Herbert]], and [[Howard Carter]] at the top of the steps leading to the newly discovered tomb of Tutankhamun, November 1922.<ref>Harry Burton's photos of Tutankhamun's Tomb, Griffith Institute Archive.</ref>]]
In 1907, Lord Carnarvon undertook to sponsor the [[Excavation (archaeology)|excavation]] of nobles' tombs in [[Deir el-Bahri]], near [[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes]]. He employed [[Howard Carter]] to undertake the work<ref name=Winstone98/> on the recommendation of [[Gaston Maspero]], director of the Egyptian Antiquities Department.<ref>A letter of Maspero dated 14 October 1907 in his archives in the library of the ''Institut de France'' says: ''You have been kind enough to say to me that you could find a man who knows Egyptology to survey my works. Have you thought to anybody? I will leave the question of payment in your hands but I think I would prefer a compatriot'' (Manuscripts 4009, folios 292–293). On 16 January 1909, Carter writes to Maspero: ''Just a word to tell you that Lord Carnarvon has accepted my conditions. He will be there (in Egypt) from 12 February to 20 March. I have to thank you again...'' (Manuscripts 4009, folio 527) – from Elisabeth David.</ref> In 1912 Carnarvon published ''Five Years' Exploration at Thebes'', cowritten with Carter, describing their excavations.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Earl of|last1= Carnarvon|first2=Howard|last2=Carter|title=Five Years' Exploration at Thebes |year=1912|oclc=474563606}}</ref>

In 1914, Lord Carnarvon received the concession to dig in the [[Valley of the Kings]], replacing [[Theodore M. Davis|Theodore Davis]], who had resigned. Carter again led the work, undertaking a systematic search of the Valley for any tombs missed by previous expeditions, in particular that of the Pharaoh [[Tutankhamun]]. Excavations were interrupted during the [[First World War]] but resumed in late 1917.<ref name=Price/> By 1922, little of significance had been found, and Lord Carnarvon decided this would be the final year he would fund the work.<ref>{{cite book|first=Fiona|last=Carnarvon|title=Highclere Castle|publisher=Highclere Enterprises|year=2011|page=59}}</ref> However on 4 November 1922 Carter was able to send a telegram to Lord Carnarvon in England, saying: "At last we have made wonderful discovery in Valley; a magnificent tomb with seals intact; re-covered same for your arrival; congratulations."<ref name=Price/>

Lord Carnarvon, accompanied by his daughter, [[Lady Evelyn Beauchamp|Lady Evelyn Herbert]], returned to Egypt, arriving at [[Luxor]] on 23 November 1922.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Carter|first1=Howard|last2=Mace|first2=Arthur|title=The tomb of Tut Ankh Amen, volume 1|pages=94–95|year=1923|publisher= London|oclc=471731240}}</ref> Both were present the next day when the full extent of the stairway to the [[KV62|tomb]] was cleared and a seal containing [[Tutankhamun]]'s [[cartouche]] found on the outer doorway. This door was removed and the rubble-filled corridor behind cleared, revealing the door of the tomb itself.{{sfn|Winstone|2006|pp=142–145}} Carnarvon was also present when, on 26 November, Carter made a tiny breach in the top left-hand corner of this doorway, enabling him to peer in by the light of a candle. When Carnarvon asked, "Can you see anything?" Carter replied, "Yes, wonderful things!" The tomb was then secured, to be entered in the presence of an official of the [[Supreme Council of Antiquities|Egyptian Department of Antiquities]] the next day.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Carter|first1=Howard|last2=Mace|first2=Arthur|title=The tomb of Tut Ankh Amen, volume 1|page=90|year=1923|publisher= London|oclc=471731240}}</ref> However that night Carter, his assistant [[Arthur Callender]], Carnarvon and Lady Evelyn apparently made an unauthorized visit, becoming the first people in modern times to enter the tomb.<ref>Lord Carnarvon, ''[[The Times]]'' (11 December 1922), cited in Winstone, p. 154.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Lucas |first=Alfred |year=1942 |title=Notes on some of the objects from the tomb of Tutankhamun|pages=135–147 |journal=[[Annales du Service des Antiquités de l'Égypte]]|issue=41 }}</ref><ref name=Hoving>{{cite book |last=Hoving |first=Thomas |author-link=Thomas Hoving |title=Tutankhamun: The Untold Story|publisher=Cooper Square Publishing. Chapter 9 |location= London |year= 1978|isbn=978-0815411864}}</ref> Some sources suggest that the group also entered the inner burial chamber.<ref>That the group entered the burial chamber is supported by Lucas and Hoving but dismissed by Carnarvon in ''The Times'', 11 December 1922.</ref> In this account, a small hole was found in the chamber's sealed doorway, and Carter, Carnarvon, and Lady Evelyn crawled through.<ref name=Hoving/>

The next morning, 27 November, saw an inspection of the tomb in the presence of an Egyptian official. Callender rigged up electric lighting, illuminating a vast haul of items, including gilded couches, chests, thrones, and shrines. They also saw evidence of two further chambers, including the sealed doorway to the inner burial chamber, guarded by two life-size statues of Tutankhamun.<ref>{{cite web |title=Howard Carter's diary entry for 25–27 November 1922. |url=http://www.griffith.ox.ac.uk/gri/4sea1not.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Carter|first1=Howard|last2=Mace|first2=Arthur|title=The tomb of Tut Ankh Amen, volume 1|pages=101–104|year=1923|publisher= London|oclc=471731240}}</ref> Despite evidence of break-ins in ancient times, the tomb was virtually intact and would ultimately be found to contain more than 5,000 items.

On 29 November, the tomb was officially opened in the presence of several invited dignitaries and Egyptian officials.{{sfn|Winstone|2006|p=155}}

Lord Carnarvon traveled to England in December 1922, returning in January 1923 to be present at the official opening of the inner burial chamber on 16 February.<ref>{{cite web|title=Howard Carter's diary entry for 16 February 1923|url=http://www.griffith.ox.ac.uk/gri/4sea1no2.html}}</ref> Before the opening, Carnarvon had sold the exclusive newspaper rights to report the excavation to ''[[The Times]]''. Whilst this helped finance the work, it created resentment both from other newspapers and from the Egyptian authorities, whose own press was also excluded.<ref name=Price130/>

Towards the end of February, a rift with Carter, probably caused by a disagreement on how to manage the supervising Egyptian authorities, temporarily closed the excavation. Work recommenced in early March after Carnarvon had apologized.<ref name=Price130>{{Cite book|author=Bill Price.|title=Tutankhamun, Egypt's Most Famous Pharaoh|date=2009|pages=[https://archive.org/details/tutankhamunegypt0000pric/page/130 130–132. Published Pocket Essentials, Hertfordshire. 2007]|publisher=Chartwell Books |isbn=978-1842432402|url=https://archive.org/details/tutankhamunegypt0000pric/page/130}}</ref> This was to be Lord Carnarvon's last significant involvement in the excavation project since he fell seriously ill shortly afterward.

==Death==
[[File:Beacon Hill, Burghclere, Hampshire - Tomb 5th Earl of Carnarvon - Picture 1.JPG|thumb|Lord Carnarvon's tomb on Beacon Hill]]
On 19 March 1923, Carnarvon suffered a severe [[mosquito]] bite, which became infected after a razor cut. On 5 April, he died in the Continental-Savoy Hotel in [[Cairo]] from, according to contemporary reports, [[Bacteremia|blood poisoning]] progressing to [[pneumonia]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Carnarvon Is Dead of an Insect's Bite at Pharaoh's Tomb. Blood poisoning and ensuing pneumonia conquer Tutankhamun discoverer in Egypt.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1923/04/05/archives/carnarvon-is-dead-of-an-insects-bite-at-pharaohs-tomb-blood.html|quote=The Earl of Carnarvon died peacefully at 2 o'clock this morning. He was conscious almost to the end. |work=The New York Times |date=5 April 1923 |access-date=12 August 2008 }}</ref> On 14 April, Lady Almina Carnarvon moved Lord Carnarvon's remains to England.<ref>{{cite web|title=Howard Carter's diary entry for 14 April 1923.|url=http://www.griffith.ox.ac.uk/gri/4sea1no2.html}}</ref> His tomb appropriately reflects his archaeological interest, being situated within an ancient hill fort on [[Beacon Hill, Burghclere, Hampshire|Beacon Hill]] overlooking his Highclere family seat.<ref>{{cite book|author=The Countess of Carnavon|title=The Earl and the Pharaoh|pages=342–344|location=London|publisher=William Collins|date=2022|isbn=978-0-00-853173-7}}</ref>

After Lord Carnarvon's death, Carter continued the excavation. However the Egyptian government took ownership of the contents of the tomb and in April 1930 provided a grant of £35,000 to his heirs (equivalent to [[£]]{{Format price|{{Inflation|UK|35000|1930}}}} in {{Inflation/year|UK}}).{{Inflation-fn|UK}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Egyptologist Howard Carter dies – ''The Guardian'' archive, 1939| website=[[The Guardian]]| date=5 March 2018| url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2018/mar/05/egyptologist-howard-carter-dies-archive-1939}}</ref>

===Legends and speculations===
Encouraged by newspaper speculation,<ref name=Price130/><ref>Pappas, Stephanie. [https://web.archive.org/web/20130615111538/https://www.livescience.com/28484-king-tut-curse-turns-90.html Curse of King Tut's Tomb Turns 90], [[Live Science]]. retrieved on 10 June 2020. " 'As with all celebrity deaths, the story rapidly gathered its own momentum and soon there were reports of sinister goings on,' [[Joyce Tyldesley|Tylsdesley]] said. 'At the very moment of Carnarvon's death all the lights in Cairo had been mysteriously extinguished and at his English home Carnarvon's dog, Susie, let out a great howl and died.' "</ref> the ‘Curse of Tutankhamun’, or the [[Curse of the pharaohs|Mummy's Curse]] entered into popular culture and was fuelled further by the author Sir [[Arthur Conan Doyle]]'s suggestion that Carnarvon's death had been caused by ‘[[elementals]]’ created by Tutankhamun's priests to guard the royal tomb.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=2L0mAQAAMAAJ&q=Carnarvon Hamilton-Paterson, J] ''Mummies: Death and Life in Ancient Egypt'', [[James Hamilton-Paterson]], Carol Andrews, p.&nbsp;197, Collins for [[British Museum Publications]], 1978, p. 196. {{ISBN|0001955322}}</ref> On 3 April 1923, just six weeks after Howard Carter had unsealed the burial chamber in the tomb of Tutankhamun, Conan Doyle arrived in [[New York City|New York]] to begin a four-month lecture tour on [[Spiritualism (movement)|Spiritualism]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.arthur-Conan-Doyle.com/index.php/Our_Second_American_Adventure |title=Our Second American Adventure |author= Sir Arthur Conan Doyle|website= www.arthur-conan-doyle.com}}</ref> Two days later he was asked by a reporter whether he connected the breaking news of Carnarvon’s death with the [[curse of the pharaohs]]. Conan Doyle responded to this question by drawing parallels between the death of Carnarvon and his late friend [[Bertram Fletcher Robinson]],<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110706144959/http://www.bfronline.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=69&Itemid=9 – Fletcher Robinson & the 'Mummy' (Part I) by Paul R Spiring], [https://web.archive.org/web/20110623131115/http://www.bfronline.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=68&Itemid=9 – Fletcher Robinson & the 'Mummy' (Part II) by Paul R Spiring]</ref> and his comments were reported in an article, which appeared in the ''[[Daily Express]]'' newspaper on 7 April 1923, as follows:<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hull.ac.uk/work-with-us/more/media-centre/news/2023/how-sherlock-holmes-ancient-egypt-and-a-mysterious-curse-inspired-agatha-christie |title=How Sherlock Holmes, ancient Egypt and a mysterious 'curse' inspired Agatha Christie |author= Dr Catherine Wynn|website= www.hull.ac.uk|date=11 January 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |isbn=978-0-19-969871-4|title= The Mummy's Curse: The True History of a Dark Fantasy|last1= Luckhurst |first1=Roger Professor |date=October 2012 |publisher=Oxford University Press }}</ref>

{{cquote|It is impossible to say with absolute certainty if this is true…If we had proper occult powers we could determine it, but I warned Mr Robinson against concerning himself with the mummy at the British Museum. He persisted, and his death occurred…I told him he was tempting fate by pursuing his enquiries...The immediate cause of death was typhoid fever, but that is the way in which the elementals guarding the mummy might act. They could have guided Mr Robinson into a series of such circumstances as would lead him to contract the disease, and thus cause his death - just as in Lord Carnarvon's case, human illness was the primary cause of death.}}

In 1998 it was argued in the ''[[Canadian Medical Association Journal]]'' that Conan Doyle may well have been right, owing to research (published in ''[[Proceedings of the Royal Society]]'') by Sylvain Gandon,<ref name=GandonBio2023a>{{cite web|last=|first=|title=People: Sylvain Gandon|url=https://evolepid.cefe.cnrs.fr/people.php?name=gandon|publisher=Evolutionary Ecology and Epidemiology (within Centre d’écologie fonctionnelle et évolutive (CEFE) within [[French National Centre for Scientific Research]] (CNRS))|date=|access-date=1 June 2023|quote=}}</ref> then of the Laboratoire d’Écologie in [[Paris]], on the longevity and potency of toxic spores, as well as comments by archaeologist [[Nicholas Reeves]] on "reports of a black fungus inside the tomb".<ref name=CMAJ1998a>{{cite journal |last1=Kezwer |first1=Gil|date=15 December 1998|title=King Tut's Curse due to fatal spores?|journal=[[Canadian Medical Association Journal]]|department= |volume=159 |issue=12 |pages=1451–1452 |url=https://www.cmaj.ca/content/cmaj/159/12/1451.2.full.pdf |doi=|pmid= |pmc=1229876|quote=[...] Dr Sylvain Gandon, a researcher at the Laboratoire d'Écologie in Paris, has shown that microscopic spores can become extremely potent and are capable of surviving for long periods outside a living host body. "The death of Lord Carnarvon could potentially be explained by infection with a highly virulent and very long-lived pathogen", says Gandon. His findings, which recently appeared in Proceedings of the Royal Society, support Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's conviction that Carnarvon died after breathing in germs in Tutankhamen's burial chamber. Doyle, the creator of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries, suggested that spores were deliberately placed there by priests to punish grave robbers. [...] Archeologist Nicholas Reeves, author of The Complete Tutankhamen, said there were reports of a black fungus inside the tomb. Carnarvon was already in poor physical condition when he reached Egypt and could have suffered a fatal infection as a result. "There are fungi that can survive in a peculiar environment like a tomb and could well have affected someone like him," Reeves says. [...] But how did the spores get into the tomb in the first place? "If the Egyptians were smart and really wanted to make a curse," notes Gandon, "they could have taken a pathogen well known to them and put it in the tomb." }} (If the current web address becomes out-of-date, Google Scholar versions are [https://scholar.google.com/scholar?cluster=16391999255033558737&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5 here] (and [https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?hl=en&volume=159&publication_year=1998&pages=1451-1452&journal=CMAJ&author=Kezwer+G&title=King+Tut%27s+Curse+due+to+fatal+spores%3F here]), giving alternative web addresses [https://www.proquest.com/openview/608d45a614bd1eafeac1e4affa7b4c4c/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=41339 here], [https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1229876/ here (showing PMC)], and (alternative PDF addresses:) [https://europepmc.org/backend/ptpmcrender.fcgi?accid=PMC1229876&blobtype=pdf here] and [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1229876/pdf/cmaj_159_12_1451a.pdf here])</ref> Howard Carter dismissed such speculation as '[[Wiktionary:tommyrot|tommy-rot]]', commenting that "the sentiment of the Egyptologist&nbsp;[...] is not one of fear, but of respect and awe&nbsp;[...]  entirely opposed to foolish superstitions".<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=fUs3AAAACAAJ Winstone, H.V.F.] ''Howard Carter and the Discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun'', Barzan, Manchester. 2006, p. 326. {{ISBN|1905521049}}</ref> Carter also asked a scientist he knew to test for possible pathogens on one of Tutankhamun's bandages, and the test reportedly found nothing.<ref name=Channel4-2022a/> But modern testing of Egyptian mummies has found the presence of the toxic fungus ''[[Aspergillus flavus#Possible link to deaths after tomb openings|Aspergillus flavus]]'', whose spores also reportedly killed scientists after [[Tomb of Casimir IV Jagiellon#1973 opening of the tomb|the opening of a 15th-century royal tomb in Poland in 1973]], and Carnarvon (and other alleged victims such as [[George Jay Gould]] and [[Arthur Mace]]) showed symptoms that were at least arguably consistent with poisoning by its spores. The ''Aspergillus flavus'' speculation was revived in a 2022 documentary by [[Channel 4]] that argued that its spores were a possible cause of Carnarvon's death (and possibly also of the deaths of Gould and Mace).<ref name=Channel4-2022a>{{cite web|last1=Al-Shamahi|first1=Ella|title=Tutankhamun: Secrets of the Tomb|url=https://www.channel4.com/programmes/tutankhamun-secrets-of-the-tomb/|publisher=[[Channel 4]]|date=2022|access-date=1 June 2023|quote=}}</ref>

Some of the stories were clearly fabricated, including that a curse had been found inscribed on the wall of the tomb,<ref name=Price130/><ref>Pappas, Stephanie. [https://web.archive.org/web/20130615111538/https://www.livescience.com/28484-king-tut-curse-turns-90.html Curse of King Tut's Tomb Turns 90], [[Live Science]]. retrieved on 10 June 2020. "After Carnarvon died, [[Marie Corelli|Corelli]] spread the false rumor that the phrase 'death comes on wings to he who enters the tomb of a pharaoh' was carved on King Tut's tomb."</ref> while a study showed that those involved in the tomb's discovery and clearance did not have a lower than average life expectancy.<ref>{{Cite book|author=Bill Price.|title=Tutankhamun, Egypt's Most Famous Pharaoh.|date=21 January 2009|pages=[https://archive.org/details/tutankhamunegypt0000pric/page/138 137–138. Published Pocket Essentials, Hertfordshire. 2007]|publisher=Chartwell Books |isbn=978-1842432402|url=https://archive.org/details/tutankhamunegypt0000pric/page/119}}</ref> In 2003, a letter in ''The Lancet''{{'s}} Correspondence section claimed that it was unlikely that Carnarvon's death had anything to do with Tutankhamun's tomb. The letter argues that although the earl was one of those to enter the tomb on several occasions, none of the other 25 from Europe was affected in the months after their entries. 

The cause of Carnarvon's death was reported as ‘pneumonia supervening on [facial] [[erysipelas]]' (a streptococcal infection of the skin and underlying soft tissue). Pneumonia was thought to be only one of various complications arising from the progressively invasive infection that eventually resulted in multiorgan failure." The earl had been "prone to frequent and severe lung infections" according to the letter to ''The Lancet'' and there had been a "general belief ... that one acute attack of bronchitis could have killed him. In such a debilitated state, the earl's immune system was easily overwhelmed by erysipelas."<ref name="The death of Lord Carnarvon">{{cite journal |last1=Cox |first1=Ann M. |date=7 June 2003 |title=The death of Lord Carnarvon |journal=The Lancet |department=Correspondence |publisher= Elsevier Ltd. |volume=361 |issue=9373 |page=1994 |url=https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(03)13576-3/fulltext?code=lancet-site |access-date=18 September 2021 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(03)13576-3 |pmid=12801779 |s2cid=45173628 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==In popular culture==
*Carnarvon has been portrayed several times in film, video game, and television productions, with events portrayed with varying degrees of accuracy:{{sfn|Winstone|2006|p=viii}}<ref name="imdb">{{cite web | url = https://www.imdb.com/character/ch0034197/ | title = Carnarvon (Character)| access-date = 8 May 2008 | publisher=[[IMDb]] | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20131009231515/http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0034197/| archive-date =2013-10-09| url-status = dead }}</ref>
** By [[Harry Andrews]] in the 1980 [[Columbia Pictures Television]] production ''[[The Curse of King Tut's Tomb (1980 film)|The Curse of King Tut's Tomb]]''.
** By [[Julian Curry]] in the 1998 [[IMAX]] documentary ''[[Mysteries of Egypt]]''.
** By [[Julian Wadham]] in the 2005 [[BBC]] docudrama ''[[Egypt (TV series)|Egypt]]''.
** By [[Sam Neill]] in the 2016 ITV series [[Tutankhamun (2016 miniseries)|''Tutankhamun'']].
* In the film [[The Mummy (1999 film)|''The Mummy'']] the character [[List of The Mummy characters#Evelyn "Evie" Carnahan / Nefertiri|Evelyn Carnahan]] is named in tribute to Lord Carnarvon's daughter, Lady Evelyn,<ref>{{cite web|title=Radio Times.com 23 Nov 2016 Did Howard Carter and Evelyn Carnarvon have a romantic relationship?|url= http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2016-11-23/did-tutankhamuns-howard-carter-and-evelyn-carnarvon-really-have-a-romantic-relationship/|access-date=14 January 2018}}</ref> whose father, although not named, is described as one of [[Egyptology]]'s "finest patrons".
* 'Lord Carnarvon' is the quest leader for the Archaeologist role in the classic text-based computer game ''[[NetHack]]''.
* His [[English country house|country house]], [[Highclere Castle]], serves as the exterior and upstairs filming location of the ITV/PBS television series ''[[Downton Abbey]]''. The below-stairs scenes were filmed on a set in London, since Highclere's basement is the home of Carnarvon's Egyptian collection. Highclere is owned by the [[George Herbert, 8th Earl of Carnarvon|present earl]].
*The animated TV series, [[Mummies Alive!]], features a protagonist named “Presley Carnovan” as a tribute to Lord Carnarvon.

==Works==
*{{cite book | author= Earl of Carnarvon| title=Five years' explorations at Thebes: a record of work done 1907–1911 |url=http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16028coll4/id/14818 | location=London | publisher=Henry Frowde | year=1912|display-authors=etal}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* with Howard Carter, ''Five Years' Explorations at Thebes – A Record of Work Done 1907–1911'', ed. Paul Kegan, 2004 ({{ISBN|0710308353}}).
* with Howard Carter, ''Five Years' Explorations at Thebes – A Record of Work Done 1907–1911'', [https://archive.org/details/fiveyearsexplora00carnuoft Original 1912 edition].
* Fiona Carnarvon, ''Egypt at Highclere – The discovery of Tutankhamun'', Highclere Enterprises LPP, 2009.
* Fiona Carnarvon, ''Carnarvon & Carter – the story of the two Englishmen who discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun'', Highclere Enterprises LPP, 2007.
* William Cross, '' Lordy! Tutankhamun's Patron As A Young Man '', Book Midden Publishing, 2012 ({{ISBN|978-1-905914-05-0}}).
* William Cross , '' The Life and Secrets of Almina Carnarvon : 5th Countess of Carnarvon of Tutankhamun Fame '', 3rd Ed 2011 ( {{ISBN|978-1-905914-08-1}}).
* Elisabeth David, ''Gaston Maspero 1846–1916'', Pygmalion/Gérard Watelet, 1999 ({{ISBN|2857045654}}).

==External links==
*{{gutenberg author | id=44771| name=Carnarvon}}
*{{Hansard-contribs | mr-george-herbert-2 | the Earl of Carnarvon }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20101030075203/http://www.highclerecastle.co.uk/castle/familyhistory5.html George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon Bio at Highclere Castle]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110525074913/http://www.highclerecastle.co.uk/index.html Highclere Castle, home of the 5th Earl]
* {{PM20|FID=pe/002996}}

{{S-start}}
{{s-reg|gb}}
{{S-bef | before = [[Henry Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon|Henry Herbert]]}}
{{s-ttl | title  = [[Earl of Carnarvon]]|years=1890&ndash;1923}}
{{S-aft | after  = [[Henry Herbert, 6th Earl of Carnarvon|Henry Herbert]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Tutankhamun}}

{{Use British English|date=August 2010}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carnarvon, George Herbert, 05th Earl of}}
[[Category:George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon| ]]
[[Category:1866 births]]
[[Category:1923 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century British archaeologists]]
[[Category:20th-century English non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Herbert family|George Herbert, 05th Earl of Carnarvon]]
[[Category:British racehorse owners and breeders]]
[[Category:Deaths due to insect bites and stings]]
[[Category:Earls of Carnarvon (1793 creation)|5]]
[[Category:English archaeologists]]
[[Category:English Egyptologists]]
[[Category:Infectious disease deaths in Egypt]]
[[Category:People educated at Eton College]]
[[Category:Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Tutankhamun]]
[[Category:People from Highclere]]
[[Category:Scientists from London]]
[[Category:People from Mayfair]]
[[Category:Deaths from pneumonia in Egypt]]
[[Category:Nobility from London]]