Earl of March
Encyclopedia
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The title The Earl of March has been created several times in the Peerage of Scotland
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...
and the Peerage of England
Peerage of England
The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. In that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were replaced by one Peerage of Great Britain....
. The title derived from the "marches
Marches
A march or mark refers to a border region similar to a frontier, such as the Welsh Marches, the borderland between England and Wales. During the Frankish Carolingian Dynasty, the word spread throughout Europe....
" or boundaries between England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and either Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
(Welsh Marches
Welsh Marches
The Welsh Marches is a term which, in modern usage, denotes an imprecisely defined area along and around the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods...
) or Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
(Scottish Marches
Scottish Marches
Scottish Marches was the term used for the Anglo-Scottish border during the late medieval and early modern eras—from the late 13th century, with the creation by Edward I of England of the first Lord Warden of the Marches to the early 17th century and the creation of the Middle Shires, promulgated...
), and was held by several great feudal families which owned lands in those border districts. Later, however, the title came to be granted as an honorary dignity, and ceased to carry any associated power in the marches.
Earls of March in the Peerage of Scotland
The Earls of March on the Scottish border were descended from Gospatric, Earl of NorthumbriaGospatric, Earl of Northumbria
Gospatric or Cospatric , , was Earl of Northumbria, or of Bernicia, and later lord of sizable estates around Dunbar...
but being soon afterwards deprived of this position he fled to Scotland, where Máel Coluim III
Malcolm III of Scotland
Máel Coluim mac Donnchada , was King of Scots...
, King of Scotland, welcomed him and granted him Dunbar
Dunbar
Dunbar is a town in East Lothian on the southeast coast of Scotland, approximately 28 miles east of Edinburgh and 28 miles from the English Border at Berwick-upon-Tweed....
and the adjoining lands. His successors controlled the Marches, but Earl of March was only assumed as an alternative title to that of Earl of Dunbar by Patrick de Dunbar, 8th Earl of March. The last of his successors was George de Dunbar, 11th Earl of March & Dunbar, whose honours and lands were forfeited to the Crown. He retired into England and died in obscurity.
Following his forfeiture, the next creation of the Earldom of March was for Alexander Stuart, Duke of Albany. At the death of his successor John, the dukedom and earldom became extinct. The next creation was for Robert Stuart, but at his death the earldom again became extinct.
The most recent Scottish creation of the Earldom of March was in 1697 for the Lord William Douglas, a younger son of the first Duke of Queensberry. For more information on this creation, see the Earl of Wemyss and March.
Scottish Earls of March, first Creation
See Earl of DunbarEarl of Dunbar
The title Earl of Dunbar, also called Earl of Lothian or Earl of March, was the head of a comital lordship in south-eastern Scotland between the early 12th century and the early 15th century. The first man to use the title of Earl in this earldom was Gospatric II, Earl of Lothian, son of Gospatric,...
, for which "Earl of the March" is used as an alternate title.
Scottish Earls of March, second Creation (1455)
- Alexander Stewart, 1st Duke of AlbanyAlexander Stewart, 1st Duke of AlbanyAlexander Stewart, Duke of Albany was the second son of King James II of Scotland, and his Queen consort Mary of Gueldres, daughter of Arnold, Duke of Gelderland.-Biography:...
(c. 1455–1485) - John Stewart, 2nd Duke of AlbanyJohn Stewart, 2nd Duke of AlbanyJohn Stewart, Duke of Albany was Regent of the Kingdom of Scotland, Duke of Albany in peerage of Scotland and Count of Auvergne and Lauraguais in France.-Early life:...
(1481–1536)
Scottish Earls of March, third Creation (1581)
with subsidiary Lord (of) Dunbar (1581)- Robert Stuart, 1st Earl of March (d. 1586)
Earls of March in the Peerage of England
The Earls of March on the Welsh MarchesWelsh Marches
The Welsh Marches is a term which, in modern usage, denotes an imprecisely defined area along and around the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods...
were descended from Roger Mortimer, as there had been no single office in this region since the Earl of Mercia
Earl of Mercia
Earl of Mercia was a title in the late Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-Danish, and early Anglo-Norman period in England. During this period the earldom covered the lands of the old Kingdom of Mercia in the English Midlands....
. He forfeited his title, which was in the Peerage of England, for treason in 1330, but his descendant Roger managed to have it restored eighteen years later. With the death of the fifth Earl, however, there remained no more Mortimers who were heirs to the first Earl, and the title passed to Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York. At Richard's death, the titles passed to his son Edward, who would later become King Edward IV, causing the earldom of March to merge into the Crown.
In the Peerage of England, the next creation of the earldom came when Edward Plantagenet, Duke of Cornwall was made Earl of March in 1479. In 1483, he succeeded as King Edward V, and the earldom merged in the crown. Later that year, however, his uncle Richard of Gloucester acceded to the throne as Richard III. The fate of the young Edward and his brother, Richard has never been confirmed.
The next English creation was in favour of Esme Stewart, the third Duke of Lennox. His successors bore the earldom, until the death of the sixth Duke, when both the earldom and the dukedom became extinct. The last English creation was in favour of Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond and Lennox. His successors have borne the English earldom of March since then.
English Earls of March, first Creation (1328)
- Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March (1287–1330) (forfeit 1330)
- Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March (1328–1360) (restored 1348)
- Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March (1351–1381)
- Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March (1374–1398)
- Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March (1391–1425)
- Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of YorkRichard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of YorkRichard Plantagenêt, 3rd Duke of York, 6th Earl of March, 4th Earl of Cambridge, and 7th Earl of Ulster, conventionally called Richard of York was a leading English magnate, great-grandson of King Edward III...
(1411–1460) - Edward Plantagenet, 4th Duke of YorkEdward IV of EnglandEdward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
(1442–1483) (became King in 1461)
English Earls of March, second Creation (1479)
- Edward, Duke of CornwallEdward V of EnglandEdward V was King of England from 9 April 1483 until his deposition two months later. His reign was dominated by the influence of his uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who succeeded him as Richard III...
(1470–1483?) (became King in 1483)
English Earls of March, third Creation (1619)
- Esmé Stewart, 3rd Duke of LennoxEsmé Stewart, 3rd Duke of LennoxEsmé Stewart, 3rd Duke of Lennox KG was the son of Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox. He was a patron of the playwright Ben Jonson, who lived in his household for five years.He married Katherine Clifton, 2nd Baroness Clifton, in 1609...
(1579–1624) - James Stewart, 1st Duke of RichmondJames Stewart, 1st Duke of RichmondJames Stewart, 1st Duke of Richmond, 4th Duke of Lennox was a Scottish nobleman. He was the eldest son of Esmé Stewart, 3rd Duke of Lennox and his wife Katherine Clifton, 2nd Baroness Clifton....
(1612–1655) - Esmé Stewart, 2nd Duke of RichmondEsmé Stewart, 2nd Duke of RichmondEsmé Stuart, 2nd Duke of Richmond, 5th Duke of Lennox was the son of James Stewart, 1st Duke of Richmond and Mary Villiers, daughter of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham....
(1649–1660) - Charles Stewart, 3rd Duke of RichmondCharles Stewart, 3rd Duke of RichmondCharles Stewart, 3rd Duke of Richmond, 6th Duke of Lennox KG was the only son of George Stewart, 9th Seigneur d'Aubigny and Katherine Howard, daughter of Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk...
(1639–1672)
English Earls of March, fourth Creation (1675)
See Duke of Richmond and LennoxDuke of Richmond and Lennox
Since 1623 the same person has usually held the dukedoms of Richmond and of Lennox. Since 1734 he has held the dukedom of Aubigny. Since 1876 he has also held the dukedom of Gordon.See:*Duke of Richmond*Duke of Lennox*Duke of Aubigny*Duke of Gordon...
- The title is held substantively by Charles Gordon-Lennox, 10th Duke of RichmondCharles Gordon-Lennox, 10th Duke of RichmondCharles Henry Gordon-Lennox, 10th Duke of Richmond, 10th Duke of Lennox and 5th Duke of Gordon is a British Peer. He was styled Lord Settrington until 1935 and Earl of March and Kinrara between 1935 and 1989, and is currently styled His Grace The Duke of Richmond, Lennox and Gordon.The son of...
; his son Charles Gordon-Lennox, Earl of March and KinraraCharles Gordon-Lennox, Earl of March and KinraraCharles Henry Gordon-Lennox, Earl of March and Kinrara is the heir apparent of the 10th Duke of Richmond, 10th Duke of Lennox and 5th Duke of Gordon...
uses it as a courtesy title.
See also
- Marcher Lords English title for the Welsh MarchesWelsh MarchesThe Welsh Marches is a term which, in modern usage, denotes an imprecisely defined area along and around the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods...
- List of Marcher lordships