Earl of Erroll
Encyclopedia
The Earl of Erroll is an ancient title in the Peerage of Scotland
. It was created in 1453 for Sir William Hay.
The subsidiary titles held by the Earl of Erroll are Lord Hay (created 1449) and Lord Slains (1452), both in the Peerage of Scotland. The Earls of Erroll also hold the hereditary office of Lord High Constable of Scotland
. The office was once associated with great power. The Earls of Erroll hold the hereditary title of Chief of Clan Hay
.
The Earl of Erroll is one of four peers entitled to appoint a private pursuivant
, with the title "Slains".
The current Earl of Erroll is Merlin Hay, the 24th Earl of Erroll.
Earl of Erroll is also the name of a Scottish National Dance, danced today at Highland Games around the world.
died in 1758 without issue. Mary's sister Margaret had previously died at Rome in 1723, however she had married James, 5th Earl of Linlithgow
, 4th Earl of Callendar
, and had issue, and it is from her that the present Earl of Erroll is descended.
This regrant was questioned in the House of Lords
in 1797. The then Earl of Lauderdale
had questioned George, the 16th Earl of Erroll's right to vote at an election of the peers of Scotland. One of the objections made to the title was that the title of Earl of Erroll was claimed through a nomination. It was decided in 1748 in the case of the earldom of Stair
that this power of nomination could not be validly exercised after the Union
. The House of Lords, after a full inquiry, decided in favour of the 16th Earl of Erroll's right to the title. That the Earl of Erroll holds the honours of his house undoubtedly and without dispute, is clear from the decision of the House of Lords.
His heir apparent is his son Harry Thomas William Hay, Lord Hay (b. 1984).
Peerage of Scotland
The Peerage of Scotland is the division of the British Peerage for those peers created in the Kingdom of Scotland before 1707. With that year's Act of Union, the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England were combined into the Kingdom of Great Britain, and a new Peerage of Great Britain was...
. It was created in 1453 for Sir William Hay.
The subsidiary titles held by the Earl of Erroll are Lord Hay (created 1449) and Lord Slains (1452), both in the Peerage of Scotland. The Earls of Erroll also hold the hereditary office of Lord High Constable of Scotland
Lord High Constable of Scotland
The Lord High Constable is a hereditary, now ceremonial, office of Scotland. In the order of precedence of Scotland, the office traditionally ranks above all titles except those of the Royal Family. The Lord High Constable was, after the King of Scots, the supreme officer of the Scottish army. He...
. The office was once associated with great power. The Earls of Erroll hold the hereditary title of Chief of Clan Hay
Clan Hay
Clan Hay is a Scottish clan that has played an important part in the history and politics of Scotland. Members of the clan are to be found in most parts of Scotland and in many other parts of the world. However, the North East of Scotland, i.e...
.
The Earl of Erroll is one of four peers entitled to appoint a private pursuivant
Pursuivant
A pursuivant or, more correctly, pursuivant of arms, is a junior officer of arms. Most pursuivants are attached to official heraldic authorities, such as the College of Arms in London or the Court of the Lord Lyon in Edinburgh. In the mediaeval era, many great nobles employed their own officers of...
, with the title "Slains".
The current Earl of Erroll is Merlin Hay, the 24th Earl of Erroll.
Earl of Erroll is also the name of a Scottish National Dance, danced today at Highland Games around the world.
Regrant of the Earl of Erroll
A regrant was one of the peculiarities in the Scottish law of Peerage, that a party might, by a resignation to the Crown, and a charter following upon such resignation, obtain power to nominate the heirs to succeed him in his honours and dignities. Some of the highest of the Scottish peerages are held under such nominations. The 11th Earl of Erroll, Gilbert, on the 13th November 1666, obtained a regrant of his honours. This regrant had special power to nominate his heirs. This nomination was made in 1674 with Gilbert appointing his cousin Sir John Hay of Keillour and his heir male, failing which, appointing Sir John Hay of Keillour's heir female, and failing which, appointing certain Hays of Tweeddale. The 11th Earl of Erroll having died in 1674 without issue, Sir John Hay of Keillour became 12th Earl of Erroll. On his death in 1704, his son, Charles became the 13th Earl of Erroll. Charles died unmarried in 1717, when the title devolved on his sister, Mary. The 14th Countess of ErrollMary Hay, 14th Countess of Erroll
Mary Hay, suo jure Countess of Erroll , 18th Hereditary Lord High Constable and Knight Marischal of Scotland, and 14th Countess of Erroll, was the Senior Great Officer among the Royal Officers of Scotland and Chief of the King's Household in Scotland...
died in 1758 without issue. Mary's sister Margaret had previously died at Rome in 1723, however she had married James, 5th Earl of Linlithgow
Earl of Linlithgow
The title Earl of Linlithgow was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1600 for Alexander Livingston, 7th Lord Livingston, along with the subsidiary title Lord Livingston and Callendar. In 1695 the Earldom merged with the junior Earldom of Callendar, created in 1641 for a younger son of the 1st Earl...
, 4th Earl of Callendar
Earl of Callendar
The title Earl of Callendar was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1641 for James Livingston, 1st Lord Livingston of Almond, a younger son of the 1st Earl of Linlithgow, along with the subsidiary title Lord Livingston and Almond. from his uncle, with which title the Earldom of Callendar was...
, and had issue, and it is from her that the present Earl of Erroll is descended.
This regrant was questioned in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
in 1797. The then Earl of Lauderdale
Earl of Lauderdale
Earl of Lauderdale is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1624 for John Maitland, 2nd Lord Maitland of Thirlestane, Berwickshire. The second Earl was created Duke of Lauderdale but died without male issue when the dukedom became extinct. The earldom passed to his brother Charles,...
had questioned George, the 16th Earl of Erroll's right to vote at an election of the peers of Scotland. One of the objections made to the title was that the title of Earl of Erroll was claimed through a nomination. It was decided in 1748 in the case of the earldom of Stair
Earl of Stair
Earl of Stair is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1703 for the lawyer and statesman John Dalrymple, 2nd Viscount of Stair. He actively supported William III's claim to the throne and served as Secretary of State for Scotland. However, he was forced to resign after he authorised...
that this power of nomination could not be validly exercised after the Union
Treaty of Union
The Treaty of Union is the name given to the agreement that led to the creation of the united kingdom of Great Britain, the political union of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, which took effect on 1 May 1707...
. The House of Lords, after a full inquiry, decided in favour of the 16th Earl of Erroll's right to the title. That the Earl of Erroll holds the honours of his house undoubtedly and without dispute, is clear from the decision of the House of Lords.
Earls of Erroll (1453)
- William Hay, 1st Earl of Erroll (d. c. 1462)
- Nicholas Hay, 2nd Earl of Erroll (d. 1470)
- William Hay, 3rd Earl of Erroll (d. 1507)
- William Hay, 4th Earl of Erroll (d. 1513)
- William Hay, 5th Earl of Erroll (d. 1541)
- William Hay, 6th Earl of Erroll (c. 1521–1541)
- George Hay, 7th Earl of ErrollGeorge Hay, 7th Earl of ErrollGeorge Hay, 7th Earl of Erroll was a Scottish nobleman and politician. He was a member of the Privy Council of Mary, Queen of Scots in 1561. He was also the Earl of Erroll. In April 1567, Erroll was a signatory to Ainslie's Tavern Band agreeing to the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots to the Earl...
(d. 1573) - Andrew Hay, 8th Earl of Erroll (d. 1585)
- Alexander Hay, Master of Erroll
- Francis Hay, 9th Earl of ErrollFrancis Hay, 9th Earl of ErrollFrancis Hay, 9th Earl of Erroll , Scottish nobleman, was the son of Andrew, 8th earl, and of Lady Jean Hay, daughter of William, 6th earl...
(d. 1631) - William Hay, 10th Earl of Erroll (d. 1636)
- Gilbert Hay, 11th Earl of Erroll (d. 1675)
- John Hay, 12th Earl of Erroll (d. 1704)
- Charles Hay, 13th Earl of Erroll (d. 1717)
- Mary Hay, 14th Countess of ErrollMary Hay, 14th Countess of ErrollMary Hay, suo jure Countess of Erroll , 18th Hereditary Lord High Constable and Knight Marischal of Scotland, and 14th Countess of Erroll, was the Senior Great Officer among the Royal Officers of Scotland and Chief of the King's Household in Scotland...
(d. 1758) - James Hay, 15th Earl of ErrollJames Hay, 15th Earl of ErrollJames Hay, 15th Earl of Erroll was the son of William Boyd, 4th Earl of Kilmarnock.He was born with the name of James Boyd but legally changed it to James Hay in 1758, when he succeeded his great-aunt as Earl of Erroll .In 1749, he married Rebecca Lockhart In 1762,...
(1726–1778) - George Hay, 16th Earl of Erroll (1767–1798)
- William Hay, 17th Earl of ErrollWilliam Hay, 17th Earl of ErrollWilliam Hay, 17th Earl of Erroll , known as Lord Hay until 1778, was a Scottish peer.Erroll was the son of James Hay, 15th Earl of Erroll and his second wife, Isabella Carr. He firstly married Jane Bell in 1792, and they had one child together...
(1772–1819)- James Hay, Lord HayJames Hay, Lord HayJames Hay, Lord Hay and Lord Slains was a British aristocrat and soldier.James Hay was the son of William Hay, 17th Earl of Erroll and his wife Alicia Eliot ....
(1797-1815)
- James Hay, Lord Hay
- William George Hay, 18th Earl of ErrollWilliam Hay, 18th Earl of ErrollWilliam George Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll KT, GCH, PC , styled Lord Hay between 1815 and 1819, was a Scottish peer and politician.-Background and education:...
(1801–1846) - William Harry Hay, 19th Earl of Erroll (1823–1891)
- Charles Hay, Lord Kilmarnock (1850–1850)
- Charles Gore Hay, 20th Earl of ErrollCharles Hay, 20th Earl of ErrollCharles Gore Hay, 20th Earl of Erroll and 3rd Baron Kilmarnock, KT, CB , known as Lord Hay until 1891, was a Scottish soldier and Conservative politician....
(1852–1927) - Victor Alexander Sereld Hay, 21st Earl of ErrollVictor Hay, 21st Earl of ErrollVictor Alexander Sereld Hay, 21st Earl of Erroll and 4th Baron Kilmarnock, KCMG , was a British diplomat and briefly a member of the House of Lords.-Family:...
(1876–1928) - Josslyn Victor Hay, 22nd Earl of ErrollJosslyn Hay, 22nd Earl of ErrollJosslyn Victor Hay, 22nd Earl of Erroll and 5th Baron Kilmarnock was a British peer, famed for the unsolved case surrounding his murder and the sensation it caused during wartime Britain.-Early life:Hay was the eldest son of the diplomat Victor Hay, Lord Kilmarnock and his wife...
(1901–1941) - Diana Denyse Hay, 23rd Countess of ErrollDiana Hay, 23rd Countess of ErrollDiana Denyse Hay, 23rd Countess of Erroll was a British peeress suo jure.Diana was only child of Josslyn Hay, 22nd Earl of Erroll and his first wife, Idina Sackville...
(1926–1978) - Merlin Sereld Victor Gilbert Hay, 24th Earl of Erroll (b. 1948)
His heir apparent is his son Harry Thomas William Hay, Lord Hay (b. 1984).