Master (Peerage of Scotland)
Encyclopedia
The heir-apparent or heir presumptive
to a Scottish
peerage is known as a Master, or Mistress if the heir is female.
The heir's style is The Master of [Peerage] or The Mistress of [Peerage]. If the master is an heir-apparent, and the peerage has subsidiary titles that could be used as a courtesy title
, then the styling of Master is usually forgone. However, if the person is an heir-presumptive, or if the peerage has no subsidiary titles, Master/Mistress is a common styling. However, because the word Mistress is quite archaic
, many women choose not to use the style Mistress and instead use the regular styling, e.g. Lady Mary Smith or The Honourable Mary Smith.
Although regarded today as a form of courtesy title
, the Mastership is a dignity in its own right, and originally conferred rights of attendance in the Parliament of Scotland
.
People who currently hold the title Master or Mistress:
Heir Presumptive
An heir presumptive or heiress presumptive is the person provisionally scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question...
to a Scottish
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...
peerage is known as a Master, or Mistress if the heir is female.
The heir's style is The Master of [Peerage] or The Mistress of [Peerage]. If the master is an heir-apparent, and the peerage has subsidiary titles that could be used as a courtesy title
Courtesy title
A courtesy title is a form of address in systems of nobility used for children, former wives and other close relatives of a peer. These styles are used 'by courtesy' in the sense that the relatives do not themselves hold substantive titles...
, then the styling of Master is usually forgone. However, if the person is an heir-presumptive, or if the peerage has no subsidiary titles, Master/Mistress is a common styling. However, because the word Mistress is quite archaic
Archaism
In language, an archaism is the use of a form of speech or writing that is no longer current. This can either be done deliberately or as part of a specific jargon or formula...
, many women choose not to use the style Mistress and instead use the regular styling, e.g. Lady Mary Smith or The Honourable Mary Smith.
Although regarded today as a form of courtesy title
Courtesy title
A courtesy title is a form of address in systems of nobility used for children, former wives and other close relatives of a peer. These styles are used 'by courtesy' in the sense that the relatives do not themselves hold substantive titles...
, the Mastership is a dignity in its own right, and originally conferred rights of attendance in the Parliament of Scotland
Parliament of Scotland
The Parliament of Scotland, officially the Estates of Parliament, was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland. The unicameral parliament of Scotland is first found on record during the early 13th century, with the first meeting for which a primary source survives at...
.
People who currently hold the title Master or Mistress:
- Lord Alistair James Montagu Hay, Master of Tweeddale, heir-presumptive to the Marquessate of TweeddaleMarquess of TweeddaleMarquess of Tweeddale is a title of the Peerage of Scotland, created in 1694 for the 2nd Earl of Tweeddale. Lord Tweeddale holds the subsidiary titles of Earl of Tweeddale , Earl of Gifford , Viscount of Walden , Lord Hay of Yester , and Baron Tweeddale, of Yester in the County of Haddington...
- Lady Susan Helen of MarSusan of Mar, Mistress of MarSusan 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...
, Mistress of Mar, heiress-presumptive to the Earldom of MarEarl of MarThe 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... - John Andrew Douglas-Hamilton, Lord Daer and Shortcleuch, Master of Selkirk, heir-apparent to the Earldom of SelkirkEarl of SelkirkEarl of Selkirk is a title in the Peerage of Scotland.It was created on 4 August 1646 for Lord William Douglas, third son of William Douglas, 1st Marquess of Douglas, along with the title Lord Daer and Shortcleuch...
- Alexander David Erskine, Master of Mar, heir-presumptive to the Earldom of MarEarl of MarThe 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...
and KellieEarl of KellieThe title Earl of Kellie or Kelly is one of the peerage titles of in the Peerage of Scotland, created in 1619 for Sir Thomas Erskine, who was Captain of the Guard and Groom of the Stool for James VI... - Lord David Thomas Kennedy, Master of Cassilis, heir-presumptive to the Earldom of Cassilis (also UK Marquessate of AilsaMarquess of AilsaMarquess of Ailsa, of the Isle of Ailsa in the County of Ayr, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 10 September 1831 for Archibald Kennedy, 12th Earl of Cassillis. The title Earl of Cassillis had been created in 1509 for the 3rd Lord Kennedy. This title had been...
) - James Reginald Drummond, Master of Perth, heir-presumptive to the Earldom of PerthEarl of PerthThe title Earl of Perth was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1605 for James Drummond, 4th Lord Drummond.The Drummond family claim descent from Maurice, son of George, a younger son of King Andrew I of Hungary...
- Geoffrey Charles Murray, Master of Dunmore, heir-presumptive to the Earldom of DunmoreEarl of DunmoreEarl of Dunmore is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1686 for Lord Charles Murray, second son of John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl. He was made Lord Murray of Blair, Moulin and Tillimet and Viscount of Fincastle at the same time, also in the Peerage of Scotland. He was...
- Lucius Alexander Plantagenet CaryAlexander Cary, Master of FalklandLucius Alexander Plantagenet Cary is the only son and heir of Lucius Cary, the 15th Viscount Falkland, by his first wife Caroline Anne Butler. As heir to Viscount Falkland he has the courtesy title of Master of Falkland. The Master uses Alexander as first name.He married actress Linda Purl, with...
, Master of Falkland, heir-apparent to the Viscountcy of Falkland - John Keith Oxley Arbuthnott, Master of Arbuthnott, heir-apparent to the Viscountcy of Arbuthnott
- Malcom Nigel Forbes, Master of Forbes, heir-apparent to the Lordship of ForbesLord ForbesLord Forbes is the senior Lord of Parliament in the Peerage of Scotland. The title was created sometime after 1436 for Alexander de Forbes, feudal baron of Forbes. The precise date of the creation is not known, but in a Precept dated July 12, 1442, he is already styled Lord Forbes. Brown's 1834...
- Katherine Fraser, Mistress of Saltoun, heiress-presumptive to the Lordship of SaltounLord SaltounLord Saltoun, of Abernethy, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1445 for Sir Lawrence Abernethy. The title remained in the Abernethy family until the death in 1669 of his great-great-great-great-great-great-granddaughter, the tenth Lady Saltoun. She was succeeded by her cousin...
- Hugh Alastair Joseph Fraser, Master of Lovat, heir-presumptive to the Lordship of LovatLord LovatLord Lovat is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1458 for Hugh Fraser. The title descended in a direct line for nine sequential generations until the death of the ninth Lord in 1696. He was succeeded by his great-uncle, the tenth Lord...
- Francis Sempill, Master of Sempill, heir-apparent to the Lordship of SempillLord SempillLord Sempill is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in circa 1489 for Sir John Sempill, founder of the collegiate Church of Lochwinnoch. Sempill was killed at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. His grandson, the third Lord, was known as "The Great Lord Sempill"...
- Angus John Elphinstone, Master of Elphinstone, heir-presumptive to the Lordship of ElphinstoneLord ElphinstoneLord Elphinstone, of Elphinstone in the County of Stirling, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1510 for Alexander Elphinstone who was killed at the Battle of Flodden three years later. He was succeeded by his son, the second Lord, killed at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh in 1547....
- Victoria Bruce, Mistress of Burleigh, heiress-presumptive to the Lordship of Balfour of BurleighLord Balfour of BurleighLord Balfour of Burleigh, in the County of Kinross, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1607 for Sir Michael Balfour. He was succeeded by his daughter Margaret, the second holder of the title. She married Robert Arnot, who assumed the surname of Balfour in lieu of Arnot, and...
- Lewis Edward Palmer, Master of Dingwall, heir-apparent to the Lordship of DingwallLord DingwallLord Dingwall is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1609 for Sir Richard Preston, with remainder to his heirs whatsoever. In 1619 he was further honoured when he was made Baron Dunmore and Earl of Desmond in the Peerage of Ireland, with remainder to heirs male...
(also Great Britain Baron Lucas of CrudwellBaron Lucas of CrudwellThe title Baron Lucas has been created twice in the Peerage of England. The second creation is extant and is currently held with the title Lord Dingwall in the Peerage of Scotland.-Lucas of Shenfield, created 1645:...
) - Francis David Charles Napier, Master of Napier, heir-apparent to the Lordship of NapierLord NapierLord Napier, of Merchistoun, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1627 for Sir Archibald Napier, 1st Baronet. Earlier that year, he already held the Napier Baronetcy, of Merchistoun in the County of Midlothian, created in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia. The titles remained united...
- Æneas Simon Mackay, Master of Reay, heir-apparent to the Lordship of ReayLord ReayLord Reay, of Reay in the County of Caithness, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. Lord Reay is the hereditary Clan Chief of Clan Mackay, whose lands in Strathnaver and northwest Sutherland were known as the Reay Country. The land was sold to the Earls of Sutherland in the 18th century...
- Frederick Carmichael Arthur Hamilton, Master of Belhaven, heir-apparent to the Lordship of Belhaven and StentonLord Belhaven and StentonLord Belhaven and Stenton, of the County of Haddington, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1647 for Sir John Hamilton, 2nd Baronet, with remainder to his heirs male. This branch of the prominent Hamilton family descends from John Hamilton Lord Belhaven and Stenton, of the...
- James David William Rollo, Master of Rollo, heir-apparent to the Lordship of RolloLord RolloLord Rollo, of Duncrub in the County of Perth, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1651 for Sir Andrew Rollo. His great-great-grandson, the fifth Lord, was a Brigadier-General in the Army and fought in North America during the Seven Years' War. He died without surviving male...
- William Henry Hepburn-Scott, Master of Polwarth, heir-apparent to the Lordship of PolwarthLord PolwarthLord Polwarth, of Polwarth in the County of Berwick, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1690 for Sir Patrick Hume of Polwarth, 2nd Baronet, Lord Chancellor of Scotland from 1696 to 1702...