Margaret of Mar, 30th Countess of Mar
Encyclopedia
Margaret of Mar, 31st Countess of Mar and 24th Lady Garioch, (born 19 September 1940) is a crossbench member of the House of Lords
, an elected hereditary peer
, the holder of the original Earldom of Mar
, the oldest peerage title in the United Kingdom
and a farmer and specialist cheesemaker
in Worcestershire
. She is the only suo jure
Countess in the House of Lords.
Margaret had two younger siblings: David of Mar, Master of Mar, and Lady Janet of Mar
. In 1959, her father was officially recognized in the style of Mar and from that year his three children were also styled of Mar, the name Lane being abandoned.
, Lady Mar was elected to serve as one of the ninety-two hereditary peers retained in the House, where she sits as a cross-bencher
, meaning she is not aligned with any particular political party.
As Countess of Mar she is also Titular 11th Duchess of Mar
in the Jacobite Peerage
(in which Peerage she is numbered as 32nd Countess of Mar, as the attainder of 1716-1824 is not recognised by the Jacobites
).
Note: Owing to a nineteenth-century dispute and mistake, there is also another Earl of Mar, James Erskine, 14th Earl of Mar
and 16th Earl of Kellie, a kinsman of Margaret's. Margaret, however, is the undisputed holder of the ancient earldom. The 1565 earldom, which was created retrospectively in the 1870s, is held by the Erskine side of this ancient Scottish family.
Lady Mar has held a number of positions within the House of Lords:
Lady Mar is currently a member of the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments
, a member of the Lords Refreshment Committee, and a member of the panel of Deputy Chairmen of Committees.
Lady Mar is also secretary of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Pesticides and Organophoshates.
Lady Mar has also held a variety of non-political offices:
through a tank of organophosphorous chemicals, Lady Mar was subjected to a splash of chemicals on her foot, and three weeks later developed headaches and muscular pains. She was eventually diagnosed with Chronic fatigue syndrome
.
Since then Lady Mar has used her seat in the House of Lords
almost exclusively to press the government to provide suitable care and support for patients with similar long-term and poorly understood medical conditions, and to better regulate the use of organophosphates. This also led to her membership on the EU sub-committees listed above.
As a consequence of her illness, Lady Mar founded the organisation Forward-ME to co-ordinate the activities of a fairly broad spectrum of charities and voluntary organisations working with patients with chronic fatigue syndrome, which is also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME).
(born 1963), the heiress presumptive to her mother's peerage. Lady Susan is married to Bruce Alexander Wyllie, and has two daughters, Isabel and Frances.
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....
, an elected hereditary peer
Hereditary peer
Hereditary peers form part of the Peerage in the United Kingdom. There are over seven hundred peers who hold titles that may be inherited. Formerly, most of them were entitled to sit in the House of Lords, but since the House of Lords Act 1999 only ninety-two are permitted to do so...
, the holder of the original Earldom of Mar
Earl of Mar
The Mormaer or Earl of Mar is a title that has been created seven times, all in the Peerage of Scotland. The first creation of the earldom was originally the provincial ruler of the province of Mar in north-eastern Scotland...
, the oldest peerage title in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and a farmer and specialist cheesemaker
Cheesemaker
A cheesemaker is a person who makes cheese.The craft of making cheese dates back at least 4,000 years. Archaeological evidence exists of cheesemaking by the ancient Egyptian civilizations....
in Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
. She is the only suo jure
Suo jure
Suo jure is a Latin phrase meaning "in her [or his] own right".It is commonly encountered in the context of titles of nobility, especially in cases where a wife may hold a title in her own right rather than through her marriage....
Countess in the House of Lords.
Early life
She was born Margaret Alison Lane, the daughter of Millicent Mary Salton and James Clifton Lane later James of Mar, 30th Earl of Mar the Heir Presumptive of Lionel Erskine-Young, 29th Earl of Mar, his first cousin once removed (both were descended from a sister of John Goodeve-Erskine, 27th Earl of Mar).Margaret had two younger siblings: David of Mar, Master of Mar, and Lady Janet of Mar
Lady Janet of Mar
Lady Janet Helen of Mar , Lady Janet Helen of Mar (born 31 January 1946), Lady Janet Helen of Mar (born 31 January 1946), (née Lane, is the sister of Margaret of Mar, 31st Countess of Mar.Lady Janet was born Janet Helen Lane in Kenya, the younger daughter of James Clifton Lane (later Master of Mar...
. In 1959, her father was officially recognized in the style of Mar and from that year his three children were also styled of Mar, the name Lane being abandoned.
Mistress of Mar
When Margaret's father succeeded as 30th Earl of Mar in 1965 she became Lady Margaret of Mar, and her brother became The Master of Mar, Lord Garioch. When Lord Garioch died in 1967, Margaret became The Mistress of Mar as the elder heir-portioner presumptive in general of her father.Countess of Mar
When in 1975 her father the 30th Earl died, Lady Margaret became the 31st holder of the Mar earldom, the Premier Earldom of Scotland, and entered the House of Lords, making her maiden speech in April 1976. After the passing of House of Lords Act 1999House of Lords Act 1999
The House of Lords Act 1999 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. The Act reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. For centuries, the House of Lords had included several hundred members who inherited their seats;...
, Lady Mar was elected to serve as one of the ninety-two hereditary peers retained in the House, where she sits as a cross-bencher
Cross-bencher
A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and Australian Senate. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and opposition benches, where crossbenchers sit in the chamber; compare...
, meaning she is not aligned with any particular political party.
As Countess of Mar she is also Titular 11th Duchess of Mar
Duke of Mar
The Jacobite title of Duke of Mar was conferred on John Erskine, 6th/23rd Earl of Mar by the Jacobite pretender James III and VIII. He was created Duke of Mar, Marquess Erskine or Marquess of Stirling, Earl of Kildrummie, Viscount of Garioch and Lord Alloa, Ferriton and Forrest in the notional...
in the Jacobite Peerage
Jacobite peerage
After the deposition by the English parliament in February 1689 of King James II and VII from the thrones of England and Ireland , he and his successors continued to create peers and baronets, which they believed was their right...
(in which Peerage she is numbered as 32nd Countess of Mar, as the attainder of 1716-1824 is not recognised by the Jacobites
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
).
Note: Owing to a nineteenth-century dispute and mistake, there is also another Earl of Mar, James Erskine, 14th Earl of Mar
James Erskine, 14th Earl of Mar
James Thorne Erskine, 14th Earl of Mar and 16th Earl of Kellie, DL is a British peer and Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords....
and 16th Earl of Kellie, a kinsman of Margaret's. Margaret, however, is the undisputed holder of the ancient earldom. The 1565 earldom, which was created retrospectively in the 1870s, is held by the Erskine side of this ancient Scottish family.
Lady Mar has held a number of positions within the House of Lords:
- Deputy Chair of Committees 1997–2007
- Select Committee on European Communities Sub-Committee C (Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection) 1997–1999
- Deputy Speaker 1999–2007
- Select Committee on European Union Sub-Committee D (Environment, Agriculture, Public Health and Consumer Protection / Environment and Agriculture) 2001–2005
Lady Mar is currently a member of the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments
Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments
The Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments is a select committee of both the House of Commons and House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to scrutinise all statutory instruments made in exercise of powers granted by Act of Parliament...
, a member of the Lords Refreshment Committee, and a member of the panel of Deputy Chairmen of Committees.
Lady Mar is also secretary of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Pesticides and Organophoshates.
Lady Mar has also held a variety of non-political offices:
- Member of the Immigration Appeal Tribunal 1985-2006
- Chairman, Honest Food 2000-2005
- Chairman, Environmental Medicine Foundation 1997-2003
- President, Guild of Agricultural Journalists 2007-
- Patron, Dispensing Doctors' Association 1985-1986
- Patron, Worcestor Mobile Disabled Group 1991-2003
- Patron, Gulf Veterans' Association
- President, Elderly Accommodation Counsel, 1994-
- Honorary Associate of the Royal College of Veterinary SurgeonsRoyal College of Veterinary SurgeonsThe Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons is the regulatory body for veterinary surgeons in the United Kingdom. Established in 1844 by Royal Charter, its statutory duties are laid out in the 1966 Veterinary Surgeons Act.-Role:...
2006- - Honorary Associate of the British Veterinary AssociationBritish Veterinary AssociationThe British Veterinary Association is the national body for veterinary surgeons in the United Kingdom and is a not-for-profit organisation. Its purpose is that of knowledge dissemination, and not professional validation or academic competence...
2007-
Illness
In the summer of 1989, while dipping her sheepSheep dip
Sheep dip is a liquid formulation of insecticide and fungicide which shepherds and farmers may use to protect their sheep from infestation against external parasites such as itch mite , blow-fly, ticks and lice...
through a tank of organophosphorous chemicals, Lady Mar was subjected to a splash of chemicals on her foot, and three weeks later developed headaches and muscular pains. She was eventually diagnosed with Chronic fatigue syndrome
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Chronic fatigue syndrome is the most common name used to designate a significantly debilitating medical disorder or group of disorders generally defined by persistent fatigue accompanied by other specific symptoms for a minimum of six months, not due to ongoing exertion, not substantially...
.
Since then Lady Mar has used her seat 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....
almost exclusively to press the government to provide suitable care and support for patients with similar long-term and poorly understood medical conditions, and to better regulate the use of organophosphates. This also led to her membership on the EU sub-committees listed above.
As a consequence of her illness, Lady Mar founded the organisation Forward-ME to co-ordinate the activities of a fairly broad spectrum of charities and voluntary organisations working with patients with chronic fatigue syndrome, which is also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME).
Family
Lady Mar has married three times: first to Edwin Noel Artiss, then to John Salton, and finally to John Jenkin. From the first marriage she had a daughter: Susan Helen of Mar, Mistress of MarSusan of Mar, Mistress of Mar
Susan Helen of Mar, Mistress of Mar is the only child and heir presumptive of Margaret of Mar, 31st Countess of Mar. She married Bruce Alexander Wyllie on 10 June 1989 and has two daughters:* Isabel Alice of Mar...
(born 1963), the heiress presumptive to her mother's peerage. Lady Susan is married to Bruce Alexander Wyllie, and has two daughters, Isabel and Frances.
Titles and styles
- 1940-1959: Margaret Alison Lane
- 1959-1965: Margaret of Mar
- 1965-1967: The Lady Margaret of Mar
- 1967-1975: The Mistress of Mar
- 1975—present: The Rt Hon The Countess of Mar and Lady Garioch