Earl of Mar

The Earldom of Mar is one of the ancient peerage titles of in the Peerage of Scotland. The title evolved by the early twelfth century from the ancient office of mormaer, but there is no clear and definite succession to the earldom until later.

The family seat is Kildrummy Castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The title was made particularly famous by John Erskine, 22nd Earl of Mar whose involvement in Jacobitism and part in the 1715 Jacobite rising is commemorated in the Genesis song "Eleventh Earl of Mar" on their album Wind & Wuthering (1977), which depicts the innocence of the Earl's young son, and the failure of the unsuccessful campaign.

Owing to a nineteenth century dispute, there are currently two Earls of Mar, James Thorne Erskine, 14th Earl of Mar and 16th Earl of Kellie and Margaret Alison of Mar, 30th Countess of Mar.

15th Century

While the eleventh (by some counts) holder of the title, Isabel Douglas, Countess of Mar, was alone at the Kildrummy Castle, Alexander Stewart entered it and forced her to sign a charter on August 12, 1404 yielding the earldom to him and his heirs. She revoked the charter later that year, but on marrying him, she gave him the earldom for life with remainder to her heirs. The King confirmed her last action the next year.

In 1426, Stewart resigned the title so that he could be granted a new one by the King, the new title being more "legitimate". The King did so, but specified that the earldom and associated lands would revert to the Crown upon the death of the Earl. In 1435, the Earl died, and Robert, Lord Erskine claimed the title, but the King claimed its lands under the specifications of reversion made in the patent. The issue remained unresolved until 1457, when James II obtained a court order declaring the lands as crown possessions. Thereafter, he bestowed the title on his son John, who died without heirs in 1479. It was next granted to James' other son, Alexander, Duke of Albany, but the title was then declared forfeit because of Alexander's alliances with the English. James III created his son John Earl of Mar in 1486, upon whose death in 1503 the title became extinct again.

16th-18th Centuries

The title was once again created in 1562, for James, Earl of Moray, son of James V, but he, too, could not produce a qualified heir. Moray rebelled in 1565 (see Chaseabout Raid) in protest of Queen Mary's marriage to Lord Darnley, so she made (or restored) the earldom of Mar for John, Lord Erskine, heir to the Lord Erskine, heir of the ancient Earls through a cousin of Isabel, who quarreled with James II about the Earldom. John, the sixth Earl counting from 1565, was attainted for rebellion in 1716 (he was also created Duke of Mar in the Jacobite peerage), and the Earldom remained forfeit for over a century.

19th Century

In 1824, the Earldom was finally restored by Act of Parliament (5 Geo. IV c. 59) to John Francis Erskine, the heir of the attained Earl. His grandson, the ninth Earl, successfully claimed inheritance the earldom of Kellie and associated titles in 1835.

At the death of the ninth Earl of Mar and eleventh Earl of Kellie in 1866, the Earldom of Kellie and the family's estates passed to Walter Erskine, the cousin of the late Earl, and his heir-male. Meanwhile, it was assumed that the Earldom of Mar passed to John Francis Goodeve, the late Earl's nephew, and his heir-general. (An heir-male is an heir in a male line, while an heir-general is an heir in either the male or female line. The terms do not refer to the gender of the holder.) Goodeve changed his name to Goodeve Erskine; his claim was agreed upon by all. He even participated in the election of representative peers for the Peerage of Scotland. However, the Earl of Kellie submitted a petition to the House of Lords asking that the Earldom of Mar be declared his, dying before it could be considered. His son, the thirteenth Earl of Kellie, renewed the petition, and the Lords referred it to their Committee on Privileges. The petition made a number of claims:

• The original Earldom of Mar was a territorial title rather than a title of peerage and was therefore "indivisible." (In other words, the territory could not be separated from the title.)
• Alexander Stewart obtained a new Royal charter for the Earldom, rather than receiving it in right of his wife Isabel.
• After the death of Alexander Stewart, his lands were passed to the Sovereign in accordance with the charter, and thereafter were disposed of by the Crown.
• As the territorial Earldom was "indivisible," upon the termination of the territory, the earldom must have ended also.
• Therefore, since the territorial Earldom had already become non-existent, Queen Mary's 1565 grant was not a revival of that title. Rather, it was a totally new creation, this time in the form of a peerage title.
• Since the instrument of Queen Mary's 1565 grant cannot be found, the presumption ought to be that the Earldom passes to heirs-male, and not to heirs-general. Thus, the Earl of Kellie is entitled to the Earldom of Mar as he is the late Earl of Mar's heir male, while John Goodeve Erskine was an heir-general.

Goodeve Erskine had different ideas, however. He portrayed the Crown's takeover of the territorial Earldom not as pursuant to a charter, but rather as an act of tyranny. He argued:

• James I, in a tyrannical act, seized the lands of Alexander Stewart, when these should have passed to Robert, Lord Erskine.
• The "true" Earls never agreed to terminate their claim to the Earldom.
• Queen Mary's 1565 grant was a restitution of the old territorial Earldom rather than a new creation.
• Because the title is a restoration of a territorial Earldom, and because the territorial Earldom could pass to heirs-general, John Goodeve Erskine was the rightful heir, being the late Earl of Mar's heir-general.

The House of Lords Committee on Privileges ruled in 1875, to the dissatisfaction of many, that the Earldom of Mar was newly created in 1565, passed only to heirs-male, and therefore belonged to the Earl of Kellie, and not to Goodeve Erskine. The Lord Chancellor, Roundell Palmer, 1st Baron Selborne, declared it to be "final, right or wrong, and not to be questioned".

However, there was a sentiment that the Lords had decided wrongly. A bill was brought to Parliament, to allow Goodeve Erskine to assume the title, and was passed without dissent. The Earldom of Mar Restitution Act declared that because of the doubts relating to the 1565 creation, it would be assumed that there are two Earldoms of Mar. The Earldom created in 1565 would be held by the Earl of Kellie. The ancient Earldom, however, was declared to be still in existence, and was given to John Goodeve Erskine. For the purposes of precedence, it is assumed that the Earldom held by Goodeve Erskine's heirs was created in 1404.

Mormaers of Mar / early Earls

• Cainnech, Earl of Mar (d. 1014 (Clontarf))
• —
• Ruadrí, Earl of Mar (fl. 1130s)
• Gille Chlerig, Earl of Mar (fl. 1140s)
• Morggán, Earl of Mar (d. before 1183)
• Gille Críst, Earl of Mar (d. c. 1203)
• Donnchadh, Earl of Mar (d. c. 1244)
• Uilleam, Earl of Mar (d. c. 1276)
• Domhnall I, Earl of Mar (d. c. 1301)
• Gartnait, Earl of Mar (d. c. 1305)
• Domhnall II, Earl of Mar (d. 1332)
• Thomas, Earl of Mar (d. 1374)
  • Margaret, Countess of Mar (d. c. 1391)
  • Isabel Douglas, Countess of Mar (c. 1360-1408)

Earls of Mar, first Creation

• Robert Erskine, 1st Lord Erskine, de jure 12th Earl of Mar (died 1453)
• Thomas Erskine, 2nd Lord Erskine, de jure 13th Earl of Mar (died 1494)
• Alexander Erskine, 3rd Lord Erskine, de jure 14th Earl of Mar (died 1510)
• Robert Erskine, 4th Lord Erskine, de jure 15th Earl of Mar (died 1513)
• John Erskine, 5th Lord Erskine, de jure 16th Earl of Mar (died 1552)
• John Erskine, 6th Lord Erskine, de jure later de facto 17th Earl of Mar, de jure 1st Earl of Mar (died 1572) (restored to Earldom of Mar, later deemed also to have been created Earl of Mar)
• John Erskine, 18th Earl of Mar, de jure 2nd Earl of Mar (c. 1558-1634)
• John Erskine, 19th Earl of Mar, de jure 3rd Earl of Mar (c. 1585-1654)
• John Erskine, 20th Earl of Mar, de jure 4th Earl of Mar (died 1668)
• John Erskine, 21st Earl of Mar, de jure 5th Earl of Mar (1650-1689)
• John Erskine, 22nd Earl of Mar, de jure 6th Earl of Mar (1675-1732) (attainted 1716)
• John Francis Erskine, 23rd Earl of Mar, de jure 7th Earl of Mar (1741-1825) (restored 1824)
• John Thomas Erskine, 24th Earl of Mar, de jure 8th Earl of Mar (1772-1828)
• John Francis Miller Erskine, 25th Earl of Mar, 11th Earl of Kellie, de jure 9th Earl of Mar (1795-1866) (succeeded to Earldom of Kellie 1829, confirmed 1835)
• John Francis Erskine Goodeve-Erskine, de jure later de facto 26th Earl of Mar (1836-1930) (confirmed 1885)
• John Francis Hamilton Sinclair Cunliffe Brooks Forbes Goodeve-Erskine, 27th Earl of Mar (1868-1932)
• Lionel Walter Erskine-Young, 28th Earl of Mar (1891-1965)
• James Clifton of Mar, 29th Earl of Mar (1914-1975)
• Margaret Alison of Mar, 30th Countess of Mar (born 1940)

Heir Presumptive: Susan Helen of Mar, Mistress of Mar (born 1963)

Lady Susan's Heir Presumptive: Isabel Alice of Mar (born 1991)

Earls of Mar, second Creation (1426)

• Alexander Stewart, 1st Earl of Mar (d. 1435)

Earls of Mar and Garioch, third Creation (1459)

• John Stewart, 1st Earl of Mar and Garioch (d. 1479)
• Robert Cochrane, Earl of Mar (d. 1482)

Earls of Mar and Garioch, fourth Creation (1483)

• Alexander Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany (c. 1454-1485) (forfeit 1483)

Earls of Mar and Garioch, fifth Creation (1486)

• John Stewart, 1st Earl of Mar and Garioch (d. 1503)

Earls of Mar, sixth Creation (1562)

• James Stewart, Earl of Moray and Mar (d. 1569)

Earls of Mar, seventh Creation (1565) (as so deemed by the House of Lords in 1875)

• John Erskine, 6th Lord Erskine, de jure later de facto 17th Earl of Mar, de jure 1st Earl of Mar (died 1572) (restored to Earldom of Mar, later deemed also to have been created Earl of Mar)
• John Erskine, 18th Earl of Mar, de jure 2nd Earl of Mar (c. 1558-1634)
• John Erskine, 19th Earl of Mar, de jure 3rd Earl of Mar (c. 1585-1654)
• John Erskine, 20th Earl of Mar, de jure 4th Earl of Mar (died 1668)
• John Erskine, 21st Earl of Mar, de jure 5th Earl of Mar (1650-1689)
• John Erskine, 22nd Earl of Mar, de jure 6th Earl of Mar (1675-1732) (attainted 1716)
• John Francis Erskine, 23rd Earl of Mar, de jure 7th Earl of Mar (1741-1825) (restored 1824)
• John Thomas Erskine, 24th Earl of Mar, de jure 8th Earl of Mar (1772-1828)
• John Francis Miller Erskine, 25th Earl of Mar, 11th Earl of Kellie, de jure 9th Earl of Mar (1795-1866) (succeeded to Earldom of Kellie 1829, confirmed 1835)
• Walter Coningsby Erskine, 12th Earl of Kellie, de jure 10th Earl of Mar (1810-1872)
• Walter Henry Erskine, 13th Earl of Kellie, de jure later de facto 11th Earl of Mar (1839-1888) (recognised 1875)
• Walter John Francis Erskine, 12th Earl of Mar and 14th Earl of Kellie (1865-1955)
• John Francis Hervey Erskine, 13th Earl of Mar and 15th Earl of Kellie (1921-1993)
• James Thorne Erskine, 14th Earl of Mar and 16th Earl of Kellie (born 1949)
• Heir Presumptive: The Hon. Alexander David Erskine (brother of the current Earl)