Peerage of Scotland facts for kids

The Peerage of Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Moraireachd na h-Alba; Scots: Peerage o Scotland) is one of the five divisions of peerages in the United Kingdom and 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.

Scottish Peers were entitled to sit in the ancient Parliament of Scotland. After the Union, the Peers of the old Parliament of Scotland elected 16 representative peers to sit in the House of Lords at Westminster. The Peerage Act 1963 granted all Scottish Peers the right to sit in the House of Lords, but this automatic right was revoked, as for all hereditary peerages (except those of the incumbent Earl Marshal and Lord Great Chamberlain), when the House of Lords Act 1999 received the Royal Assent.

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), 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.

The ranks of the Scottish Peerage are, in ascending order: Lord of Parliament, Viscount, Earl, Marquess 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 use "of".

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. Those peers who are known by a higher title in one of the other peerages are listed in italics.

Dukes

•       Subsidiary title.
•       Holds a second dukedom in the Peerage of Scotland.

Shield	Title	Creation	Other Dukedom or higher titles	Title used in the House of Lords	Monarch
	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.		King Robert III
	The Duke of Hamilton	12 September 1643	Duke of Brandon in the Peerage of Great Britain	Duke of Brandon	King Charles I
	The Duke of Buccleuch	20 April 1663	Duke of Queensberry in the Peerage of Scotland	Earl of Doncaster	King Charles II
	The Duke of Lennox	1675	Duke of Richmond in the Peerage of England; Duke of Gordon in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
	The Duke of Queensberry	3 February 1684	Duke of Buccleuch in the Peerage of Scotland
	The Duke of Argyll	23 June 1701		Baron Sundridge Baron Hamilton Duke of Argyll (Peerage of the United Kingdom)	King William III and II
	The Duke of Atholl	1703			Queen Anne
	The Duke of Montrose	1707		Earl Graham
	The Duke of Roxburghe	1707		Earl Innes

Marquesses

Shield	Title	Creation	Other Marquessate or higher titles	Monarch
	The Marquess of Huntly	1599		King James VI and I
	The Marquess of Queensberry	1682		King Charles II
	The Marquess of Tweeddale	1694		King William III and II
	The Marquess of Lothian	1701

Earls and countesses

•       Subsidiary title.
•       Holds a second earldom in the Peerage of Scotland.

Shield	Title	Creation	Other Earldom or higher titles	Monarch
	The Earl of Sutherland	1230		King Alexander II
	The Earl of Crawford	1398	Earl of Balcarres in the Peerage of Scotland	King Robert II
	The Countess of Mar	1404		King Robert III
	The Earl of Erroll	1452		King James II
	The Earl of Caithness	1455
	The Earl of Rothes	1457
	The Earl of Morton	1458
	The Earl of Buchan	1469		King James III
	The Earl of Eglinton	1507	Earl of Winton in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.	King James IV
	The Earl of Cassilis	1509	Marquess of Ailsa in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
	The Earl of Moray	1562		Queen Mary I
	The Earl of Mar	1565	Earl of Kellie in the Peerage of Scotland
	The Earl of Home	1605		King James VI and I
	The Earl of Perth	1605
	The Earl of Abercorn	1606	Duke of Abercorn in the Peerage of Ireland
	The Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne	1606	Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
	The Earl of Haddington	1619
	The Earl of Kellie	1619	Earl of Mar (1565) in the Peerage of Scotland
	The Earl of Galloway	1623
	The Earl of Lauderdale	1624
	The Earl of Lindsay	1633		King Charles I
	The Earl of Loudoun	1633
	The Earl of Kinnoull	1633
	The Earl of Dumfries	1633	Marquess of Bute in the Peerage of Great Britain.
	The Earl of Elgin	1633	Earl of Kincardine in the Peerage of Scotland
	The Earl of Southesk	1633	Duke of Fife in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
	The Earl of Wemyss	1633	Earl of March in the Peerage of Scotland
	The Earl of Dalhousie	1633
	The Earl of Airlie	1639
	The Earl of Leven	1641	Earl of Melville in the Peerage of Scotland
	The Earl of Dysart	1643
	The Earl of Selkirk	1646	Presently disclaimed by James Douglas-Hamilton – Lord Selkirk of Douglas in the Peerage of the Life in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
	The Earl of Northesk	1647
	The Earl of Kincardine	1647	Earl of Elgin in the Peerage of Scotland
	The Earl of Balcarres	1651	Earl of Crawford in the Peerage of Scotland	King Charles II
	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
	The Earl of Aberdeen	1682	Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
	The Earl of Dunmore	1686		King James VII and II
	The Earl of Melville	1690	Earl of Leven in the Peerage of Scotland	King William II and III
	The Earl of Orkney	1696
	The Earl of March	1697	Earl of Wemyss in the Peerage of Scotland
	The Earl of Seafield	1701
	The Earl of Stair	1703		Queen Anne
	The Earl of Rosebery	1703	Earl of Midlothian in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
	The Earl of Glasgow	1703
	The Earl of Hopetoun	1703	Marquess of Linlithgow in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
	The Earl of Bute	1703	Marquess of Bute in the Peerage of Great Britain

Viscounts

•       Subsidiary title.

Shield	Title	Creation	Other Earldom or higher titles	Monarch
	The Viscount Falkland	1620		King James VI and I
	The Viscount of Stormont	1621	Earl of Mansfield in the Peerage of Great Britain
	The Viscount of Arbuthnott	1641		King Charles I
	The Viscount of Oxfuird	1651		King Charles II

Lords of Parliament

•       Subsidiary title.

Shield	Title	Creation	Other Earldom or higher titles	Monarch
	The Lord Forbes	1442		King James III
	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 United Kingdom.
	The Lord Lovat	1464	Baron Lovat in the Peerage of the United Kingdom	King James III
	The Lord Sempill	1488		King James IV
	The Lady Herries	1490
	The Lord Elphinstone	1510	Baron Elphinstone in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
	The Lord Torphichen	1564		Queen Mary I
	The Lady Kinloss	1602		King James VI and I
	The Lord Colville of Culross	1604	Viscount Colville of Culross in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
	The Lord Balfour of Burleigh	1607
	The Lord Dingwall	1609	Baron Lucas in the Peerage of England.
	The Lord Napier	1627	Baron Ettrick in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.	King Charles I
	The Lord Fairfax of Cameron	1627
	The Lord Reay	1628
	The Lord Forrester	1633	Baron Verulam in the Peerage of Great Britain; Viscount Grimston in the Peerage of Ireland; Earl of Verulam in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
	The Lord Elibank	1643
	The Lord Belhaven and Stenton	1647
	The Lord Rollo	1651	Baron Dunning in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.	King Charles II
	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		King William II and III

See also

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