Upon the death of his father on 12 December 1776, he succeeded as 7th
Lord Falconer of Halkerton. In 1761, on the death of
William Keith, 4th Earl of Kintore, the earldom should have passed under the terms of the 1694 regrant to Lord Kintore's cousin
George Keith, 10th and last Earl Marischal, as heir male of
George Keith, 8th Earl Marischal (the elder brother of
John Keith, 1st Earl of Kintore); however, he had been attainted for his part in the
1715 rising and so the
earldom of Kintore remained suspended until the death of the 10th Earl Marischal on 28 May 1778, when it was inherited by Anthony, the heir general of the 4th Earl of Kintore, who changed his surname to Keith-Falconer and became the 5th Earl of Kintore. From 1794 to 1804, he served as
Lord Lieutenant of Kincardineshire, the British monarch's personal representative in the lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. ==Personal life==