Lord Glasgow, Patrick Boyle, and his son, Viscount David Boyle, have recently returned from the holiday of a lifetime, which could have been the premise for the tv series ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ Both headed on a recent three week trip to New Zealand to follow in the footsteps of Lord Glasgow’s great-grandfather, who was governer of the country in the late 19th century. And like the recent Royals visit, when Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge headed down under, the father and son managed to experience the culture and beauty spots of the spectacular country.

Patrick’s great grandfather, David, was governor in 1892-97, during a controversial reign, before New Zealand had gained independence, when it was a British colony.

It is the first time that the current Lord Glasgow has ever ventured to this part of the world. They flew with British Airways and Quantas as they briefly headed to another former colony in Hong Kong, and Sydney in Australia, but stayed for the main part in New Zealand.

Taking in the main cities of Wellington, Auckland, and Christchurch during their stay, both Patrick and David, also took in the opportunity to visit Kelburn - a small district of Wellington, and the village of Fairlie, which is based on the South Island.

During their visit, the Boyles were guests of the current Governor General of New Zealand, Lt Gen The Rt Hon Sir Jerry Matepara, at Government House in Wellington.

Lord Glasgow said: “My great grandfather was something of a maverick during his time - he interfered with local politics. He was a naval officer and not a politician, but when he went down there, he started bossing everyone round! He was very interested in the Maoiris, and very had a great appreciation for what the country had to offer.

“He was meant to be represeneting the monarch, rather than be a politician, but as the governor, he had quite a lot of sway at the time, and quite often, came to loggerheads with the then Prime Minister of the period.”