Peerage of Scotland

The Peerage of Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Moraireachd na h-Alba, Scots: Maikage o Scotland ^[1]) is the section of the Peerage of the British Isles for those peers created by the King of Scots before 1707. Following that year's Treaty of Union, the Kingdom of Scots and the Kingdom of England were combined under the name of Great Britain, and a new Peerage of Great Britain was introduced in which subsequent titles were created.

After the Union, the Peers of the ancient Parliament of Scotland elected 16 representative peers to sit in the House of Lords. The Peerage Act 1963 granted all Scottish Peers the right to sit in the House of Lords, but this automatic right was revoked, as for all hereditary peerages (except those of the incumbent Earl Marshal and Lord Great Chamberlain), when the House of Lords Act 1999 received royal assent. Had the Scottish people voted "Yes" in the Scottish independence referendum, 2014, the eligibility of Peers of Scotland to sit in the House of Lords would have been reviewed.

Unlike most peerages, many Scottish titles have been granted with remainder to pass via female offspring (thus an Italian family has succeeded to and presently holds the earldom of Newburgh^[2]), and in the case of daughters only, these titles devolve to the eldest daughter rather than falling into abeyance (as is the case with ancient English baronies by writ of summons). Unlike other British peerage titles, Scots Law permits peerages to be inherited by or through a person who was not legitimate at birth, but was subsequently legitimised by their parents marrying later.^[3][4]

The ranks of the Scottish Peerage are, in ascending order: Lord of Parliament, Viscount, Earl, Marquis and Duke. Scottish Viscounts differ from those of the other Peerages (of England, Great Britain, Ireland and the United Kingdom) by using the style of in their title, as in Viscount of Oxfuird. Though this is the theoretical form, most Viscounts drop the "of". The Viscount of Arbuthnott and to a lesser extent the Viscount of Oxfuird still actively use of. Scottish Peers were entitled to sit in the ancient Parliament of Scotland.

Scottish Barons rank below Lords of Parliament, and although considered noble, their titles are incorporeal hereditaments. At one time feudal barons did sit in parliament. However, they are considered minor barons and not peers because their titles can be hereditary, or bought and sold.

In the following table of the Peerage of Scotland as it currently stands, each peer's highest ranking title in the other peerages (if any) are also listed.

Dukes in the Peerage of Scotland

Title	Creation	Other titles
The Duke of Rothesay	1398	Since 1603, usually Prince of Wales as the heir to the throne Duke of Cornwall in the Peerage of England
The Duke of Hamilton	1643	Duke of Brandon in the Peerage of Great Britain
The Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry	1663; 1684	Earl of Doncaster in the Peerage of England
The Duke of Lennox	1675	Duke of Richmond in the Peerage of England Duke of Gordon in the Peerage of the UK
The Duke of Argyll	1701	Lord Sundridge and Hamilton in the Peerage of Great Britain Duke of Argyll in the Peerage of the UK
The Duke of Atholl	1703
The Duke of Montrose	1707	Earl Graham in the Peerage of Great Britain
The Duke of Roxburghe	1707	Earl Innes in the Peerage of the UK

Marquesses in the Peerage of Scotland

Title	Creation	Other titles
The Marquess of Huntly	1599	Lord Meldrum in the Peerage of the UK
The Marquess of Queensberry	1682
The Marquess of Tweeddale	1694	Lord Tweeddale in the Peerage of the UK
The Marquess of Lothian	1701	Lord Ker in the Peerage of the UK

Earls and Countesses in the Peerage of Scotland

Title	Creation	Other titles
The Countess of Sutherland	1230
The Earl of Crawford and Balcarres	1398; 1651	Lord Wigan in the Peerage of the UK Lord Balniel in the Peerage of the UK for life
The Countess of Mar	1114
The Earl of Erroll	1452
The Earl of Rothes	1457
The Earl of Morton	1458
The Earl of Buchan	1469	Lord Erskine in the Peerage of the UK
The Earl of Eglinton	1507	Earl of Winton in the Peerage of the UK
The Earl of Cassilis	1509	Marquess of Ailsa in the Peerage of the UK
The Earl of Caithness	1455
The Earl of Mar and Kellie	1565; 1619	Lord Erskine of Alloa Tower in the Peerage of the UK for life
The Earl of Moray	1562	Lord Stuart in the Peerage of Great Britain
The Earl of Home	1605	Lord Douglas in the Peerage of the UK
The Earl of Perth	1605
The Earl of Abercorn	1606	Duke of Abercorn in the Peerage of Ireland Marquess of Abercorn in the Peerage of Great Britain
The Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne	1606	Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne in the Peerage of the UK
The Earl of Haddington	1619
The Earl of Nithsdale	1620
The Earl of Galloway	1623
The Earl of Lauderdale	1624
The Earl of Lindsay	1633
The Earl of Loudoun	1633
The Earl of Kinnoull	1633	Lord Hay in the Peerage of Great Britain
The Earl of Dumfries and Bute	1633; 1703	Marquess of Bute in the Peerage of Great Britain
The Earl of Elgin and Kincardine	1633; 1647	Lord Elgin in the Peerage of the UK
The Earl of Southesk	1633	Duke of Fife in the Peerage of the UK
The Earl of Wemyss and March	1633; 1697	Lord Wemyss in the Peerage of the UK
The Earl of Dalhousie	1633	Lord Ramsay in the Peerage of the UK
The Earl of Airlie	1639
The Earl of Leven and Melville	1641; 1690
The Earl of Dysart	1643
The Earl of Selkirk	1646	Lord Selkirk of Douglas in the Peerage of the UK for life
The Earl of Northesk	1647
The Earl of Dundee	1660
The Earl of Newburgh	1660
The Earl of Annandale and Hartfell	1662
The Earl of Dundonald	1669
The Earl of Kintore	1677	Viscount Stonehaven in the Peerage of the UK
The Earl of Aberdeen	1682	Viscount Gordon in the Peerage of Great Britain Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair in the Peerage of the UK
The Earl of Dunmore	1686
The Earl of Orkney	1696
The Earl of Seafield	1701
The Earl of Stair	1703	Lord Oxenfoord in the Peerage of the UK
The Earl of Rosebery	1703	Earl of Midlothian in the Peerage of the UK
The Earl of Glasgow	1703	Lord Fairlie in the Peerage of the UK
The Earl of Hopetoun	1703	Marquess of Linlithgow in the Peerage of the UK

Viscounts in the Peerage of Scotland

Title	Creation	Other titles
The Viscount (of) Falkland	1620
The Viscount (of) Stormont	1621	Earl of Mansfield in the Peerage of Great Britain
The Viscount of Arbuthnott	1641
The Viscount of Oxfuird	1651
The Viscount Strathallan	1686	Lord Drummond of Cromlix

Lords of Parliament and Ladies in the Peerage of Scotland

Title	Creation	Other titles
The Lord Forbes	1442
The Lord Gray	1445
The Lady Saltoun	1445
The Lord Sinclair	1449
The Lord Borthwick	1452
The Lord Cathcart	1452	Earl Cathcart in the Peerage of the UK
The Lord Lovat	1464	Lord Lovat in the Peerage of the UK
The Lord Sempill	1488
The Lady Herries	1490
The Lord Elphinstone	1510	Lord Elphinstone in the Peerage of the UK
The Lord Torphichen	1564
The Lady Kinloss	1602
The Lord Colville of Culross	1604	Viscount Colville of Culross in the Peerage of the UK
The Lord Balfour of Burleigh	1607
The Lord Dingwall	1609	Lord Lucas in the Peerage of England
The Lord Napier	1627	Lord Ettrick in the Peerage of the UK
The Lord Fairfax of Cameron	1627
The Lord Reay	1628
The Lord Forrester	1633	Lord Verulam in the Peerage of Great Britain Viscount Grimston in the Peerage of Ireland Earl of Verulam in the Peerage of the UK
The Lord Elibank	1643
The Lord Belhaven and Stenton	1647
The Lord Rollo	1651	Lord Dunning in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
The Lord Ruthven of Freeland	1651	Earl of Carlisle in the Peerage of England
The Lord Nairne	1681	Viscount Mersey in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
The Lord Polwarth	1690

See also

• The Scots Peerage, nine-volume book series
• Barons in Scotland
• Peerage of England
• Welsh peers and baronets
• Peerage of Ireland
• History of the Peerage

References

1. www.scotslanguage.com
2. "Representative Peers of Scotland". The Scottish Review. 25: 357. 1895.
3. Earl of Dundee quoted in Hansard: LEGITIMATION (SCOTLAND) BILL [H.L.]
4. Lauderdale Peerage Claim, House of Lords, 1884–1885

External links

• BurkesPeerage.com