Titles of Royalty and Nobility within the British Monarchy: Viscount

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7th Marquess of Salisbury, British Peerage, courtesy title, House of Commons, House of Lords, King Henry VI of England, Lord of Parliament in Scotland, Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, Viscount, Viscount Cranborne

A viscount or viscountess is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status.

In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial position, and did not develop into a hereditary title until much later. In the case of French viscounts, it is customary to leave the title untranslated as vicomte

Etymology

The word viscount comes from Old French visconte (Modern French: vicomte), itself from Medieval Latin vicecomitem, accusative of vicecomes, from Late Latin vice- “deputy” + Latin comes (originally “companion”; later Roman imperial courtier or trusted appointee, ultimately count).

History

During the Carolingian Empire, the kings appointed counts to administer provinces and other smaller regions, as governors and military commanders. Viscounts were appointed to assist the counts in their running of the province, and often took on judicial responsibility. The kings strictly prevented the offices of their counts and viscounts from becoming hereditary, in order to consolidate their position and limit chance of rebellion.

The title was in use in Normandy by at least the early 11th century. Similar to the Carolingian use of the title, the Norman viscounts were local administrators, working on behalf of the Duke. Their role was to administer justice and to collect taxes and revenues, often being castellan of the local castle. Under the Normans, the position developed into a hereditary one, an example of such being the viscounts in Bessin. The viscount was eventually replaced by bailiffs, and provosts.

Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury … represented South Dorset in the House of Commons, and in the 1990s he was Leader of the House of Lords under his courtesy title of Viscount Cranborne.

As a rank in British peerage, it was first recorded in 1440, when John Beaumont was created Viscount Beaumont by King Henry VI. The word viscount corresponds in the UK to the Anglo-Saxon shire reeve (root of the non-nobiliary, royal-appointed office of sheriff).

Thus early viscounts were originally normally given their titles by the monarch, not hereditarily; but soon they too tended to establish hereditary principalities in the wider sense. They were a relatively late introduction to the British peerage, and on the evening of the Coronation of Queen Victoria in 1838, the Prime Minister Lord Melbourne explained to her why (from her journals):

“I spoke to Ld M. about the numbers of Peers present at the Coronation, & he said it was quite unprecedented. I observed that there were very few Viscounts, to which he replied “There are very few Viscounts,” that they were an old sort of title & not really English; that they came from Vice-Comites; that Dukes & Barons were the only real English titles;—that Marquises were likewise not English, & that people were mere made Marquises, when it was not wished that they should be made Dukes.”

United Kingdom

A viscount is the fourth rank in the British peerage system, standing directly below an earl and above a baron (Lord of Parliament in Scotland). There are approximately 270 viscountcies currently extant in the peerages of the British Isles, though most are secondary titles.

In British practice, the title of a viscount may be either a place name, a surname, or a combination thereof: examples include the Viscount Falmouth, the Viscount Hardinge and the Viscount Colville of Culross, respectively.

An exception exists for Viscounts in the peerage of Scotland, who were traditionally styled “The Viscount of [X]”, such as the Viscount of Arbuthnott. In practice, however, very few maintain this style, instead using the more common version “The Viscount [X]” in general parlance, for example Viscount of Falkland who is referred to as Viscount Falkland.

A British viscount is addressed in speech as Lord [X], while his wife is Lady [X], and he is formally styled “The Right Honourable The Viscount [X]”. The children of a viscount are known as The Honourable [Forename] [Surname], with the exception of a Scottish viscount, whose eldest child may be styled as “The Honourable Master of [X]”.

Ireland

The title of viscount (Irish: bíocunta) was introduced to the Peerage of Ireland in 1478 with the creation of the title of Viscount Gormanston, the premier viscountcy of Britain and Ireland, held today by Nicholas Preston, 17th Viscount Gormanston. Other early Irish viscountcies were Viscount Baltinglass (1541), Viscount Clontarf (1541), Viscount Mountgarret (1550) and Viscount Decies (1569).

Use as a courtesy title

A specifically British custom is the use of viscount as a courtesy title for the heir of an earl or marquess. The peer’s heir apparent will sometimes be referred to as a viscount, if the second most senior title held by the head of the family is a viscountcy. For example, the eldest son of the Earl Howe is Viscount Curzon, because this is the second most senior title held by the Earl.

However, the son of a marquess or an earl can be referred to as a viscount when the title of viscount is not the second most senior if those above it share their name with the substantive title. For example, the second most senior title of the Marquess of Salisbury is the Earl of Salisbury, so his heir uses the lower title of Viscount Cranborne.

Sometimes the son of a peer can be referred to as a viscount even when he could use a more senior courtesy title which differs in name from the substantive title. Family tradition plays a role in this. For example, the eldest son of the Marquess of Londonderry is Viscount Castlereagh, even though the Marquess is also the Earl Vane.

On occasion, the title of viscount may be the courtesy title used for the grandson of a duke, provided that he is the eldest son of the duke’s eldest son. This is because the eldest son of the duke will be given the second highest title of his father (marquess or earl), and so the third-highest is left for his eldest son. It is possible for the great-grandson of a duke to hold the courtesy title of viscount if the duke’s eldest son has the courtesy title marquess and his eldest son, in turn, uses the title of earl.

History of the Titles of the Prince of Wales: Part IX

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Baron of Renfrew, British Peerage, Earl of Carrick, James I of Scotland, Lords of Parliament, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Scottish Peerage

Since the history of one the titles of the Prince of Wales is rather short today I’ll include two for the price of one!

Baron of Renfrew is a title held by the heir apparent to the British throne. It was held by the Scottish heir apparent beginning in 1404 when it was bestowed on the future King James I of Scotland. It is closely associated with the title Duke of Rothesay. An act of the Scottish Parliament passed in 1469 confirmed the pattern of succession of attaching the Barony of Renfrew with the heir to the Scottish crown. Renfrew is a town near Glasgow, is sometimes called the “cradle of the royal Stewarts.”

HRH The Baron of Renfrew and Earl of Carrick.

In Scotland, the title of Baron is a feudal titles, not peerages: a Scottish Lord of Parliament equates to an English or British baron. There is a debate however if the Barony of Renfrew is actually a peerage title. Some historians claim that the Act of 1469 elevated the Barony of Renfrew to the dignity of a peerage when it officially attached the Barony to the other peerage titles connected to the heir to the Scottish Crown. Other historians suggest that the barony became a peerage upon the Union of the Crowns in 1603. Finally, some scholars argue that the uncertainty surrounding the text of the 1469 Act leaves the barony as only a feudal dignity, not a peerage dignity. The title of Lord Renfrew was used by the traveling Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII and Prince Edward, Duke of Rothesay, later King Edward VIII and Duke of Windsor, when he traveled in a private capacity or when he wished to pay visits incognito.

Earl of Carrick or Mormaer of Carrick is the title applied to the ruler of Carrick (now southern Ayrshire), subsequently part of the Peerage of Scotland. The position came to be strongly associated with the Scottish crown when Robert the Bruce, who had inherited it from his maternal kin, became King of the Scotland in the early 14th century. Since the 15th century the title of Earl of Carrick has automatically been held by the heir apparent to the throne, meaning Prince Charles is the current Earl.

The earldom emerged in 1186, out of the old Lordship of Galloway, which had previously encompassed all of what is now known as Galloway as well as the southern part of Ayrshire. Though the Lords of Galloway recognised the King of Scotland as their overlord, their lordship was effectively a separate kingdom, and had its own laws.

The first Lord of Carrick recorded is Fergus, who died in 1161 leaving two sons: Uchtred and Gille Brigte (Gilbert). As was the custom then, the two brothers shared the lordship and the lands between them. In 1174, they joined with King William I the Lion of Scotland in his invasion of Northumberland. During the invasion King William was taken prisoner by the English, the Galwegians broke into rebellion. Uchtred remained loyal to the Scottish king, while Gille Brigte took control of the entirety of Galloway. Uchtred was savagely murdered by Gille Brigte and his son Máel Coluim. In 1175, King William was restored to liberty, and he marched an army into Galloway to bring justice upon Gille Brigte. However, he seems to have contented himself with exacting a fine, leaving Gille Brigte to go unharmed.

In 1176, Gille Brigte obtained an agreement with King Henry II of England, in which he became his vassal; in exchange, he paid the English king the then enormous sum of £919 and gave his son Duncan (Donnchadh) as a hostage. Gille Brigte then spent the next decade carrying out devastating raids on King William’s territory, with the protection of the English.

Gille Brigte’s death in 1185 created general turmoil amongst the Galwegians. Roland, son of the murdered Uchtred, defeated the supporters of Gille Brigte in 1185, and planted forts across Galloway to secure his authority. This angered King Henry II and he marched a large force to Carlisle in preparation for invasion. However, war was averted at a meeting between Roland, William I of Scotland and Henry II of England, where it was agreed that Roland would rule the main part of Galloway, while Gille Brigte’s son Duncan would rule the northern section, known as Carrick. Duncan agreed to these terms, and renounced all claims to the Lordship of Galloway, becoming the first Earl of Carrick.

Duncan married Avelina, daughter of Alan, High Steward of Scotland. His son or grandson Niall’s eldest daughter Marjorie succeeded him, becoming Countess of Carrick in her own right. She married firstly Adam de Kilconquhar. In 1269, Adam journeyed to the Holy Land under the banners of King Louis IX of France, as part of the Eighth Crusade. He never returned, dying of disease at Acre in 1270. The next year, the widowed Countess happened to meet Robert de Brus hunting in her lands. According to legend, Marjorie imprisoned Robert until he agreed to marry her. They were married at Turnberry Castle, without their families’ knowledge or the requisite consent of the King. When news got out, Alexander III seized her castles and estates, but she later atoned for her foolishness with a fine, and Robert was recognised as her husband and Earl of Carrick jure uxoris.; They had five sons and five daughters: Robert, Edward, Thomas, Alexander, Nigel, Isabel, Mary, Christina, Matilda and Margaret.

Royal earls

Marjorie and Robert were succeeded by their eldest son. When the old House of Dunkeld became extinct, this Robert, known as “the Bruce”, became a principal candidate for the throne as the great-great-great-great grandson of David I. He was crowned at Scone in 1306, causing his titles (Earl of Carrick, Lord of Annandale and Baron Bruce in the Peerage of England) to merge into the Crown. It would take more creations of the title before it became associated with the heir to the Scottish throne.

Around 1313, King Robert created his younger brother Edward, the Earl of Carrick. Edward had no issue, save a natural son, Alexander, he had by Lady Isabella Strathbogie, daughter of John, Earl of Atholl. The title therefore became extinct on his death at the Battle of Faughart in 1318.

After briefly being held by Robert’s son David prior to his accession to the throne, the title was granted in 1332 to Alexander, Edward’s bastard. However, Alexander was killed the next year at the Battle of Halidon Hill and the title once again became extinct.

In 1368, King David created his great-nephew John Stewart the Earl of Carrick. David died unexpectedly in 1371. He had no children, meaning he was succeeded by his nephew Robert Stewart, John’s father. After Robert’s death in 1390, John succeeded him, taking the regnal name Robert III; thus the Earldom of Carrick again merged with the Crown.

The title was next held by Robert III’s son David, who was also created Duke of Rothesay and Earl of Atholl. David died childless in 1402, and the Earldom was regranted to his brother James; however he was generally known by the higher title Prince or Steward of Scotland. James acceded to the throne in 1406, and his titles merged with the Crown.

In 1469, the Scottish Parliament passed an Act declaring that the eldest son of the King and heir to the throne would automatically hold the Earldom of Carrick along with the Dukedom of Rothesay. After the Union of the Crowns of Scotland and England, the Dukedom and Earldom have been held by the eldest son and heir apparent of the kings and queens of Great Britain. Thus Prince Charles is the current Duke of Rothesay and Earl of Carrick.

Stewart earls (1628)

Despite the Earldom of Carrick being connected to the Duke of Rothesay and therefore the heir to the throne a separate Earldom of Carrick was created for an illegitimate scion of the House of Stuart/Stuart.

In 1628, King Charles I created John Stewart the Earl of Carrick. He had already been made Lord Kincleven in 1607, also in the Peerage of Scotland. Stewart was a younger son of Robert, Earl of Orkney, bastard son of King James V; thus he was Charles’s half-great-uncle. This title was deemed not to conflict with the Earldom of Carrick held by the heir to the throne, as it referred not to the province in Ayrshire, but to the lands of Carrick on Eday in Orkney. John married Lady Elizabeth Southwell, daughter of Charles Howard, Earl of Nottingham and widow of Sir Robert Southwell. By her he had one daughter, Margaret. He is also known to have had two natural children: a son, named Henry, and a daughter, whose name is unknown. As he had no legitimate son, his titles became extinct on his death around 1645.

The Earl of Athlone: German Ancestry, Part I.

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British Peerage, Duke of Teck, King George III of Great Britain, King George V of Great Britain, kings and queens of the United Kingdom, Princess Alice of Albany, Queen Mary, Queen Victoria, The Earl of Athlone

In my series “British or German” I discussed the Teck family and its connection to the British royal family. Today I want to again feature Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone. To be more precise, I want to focus on his German ancestry. He was born in London to the Duke and Duchess of Teck and despite his German Teck origins and the loss of that royal title in 1917, in my eyes he never ceased to be a dignified “British” Prince.

Even though any title he had prior to 1917 came from his German father, a morganatic scion of the House of Württemberg, I consider the Earl of Athlone a British Royal due to his being born in Britain and his many blood connections to both King George III and Queen Victoria and all of his many British Royal cousins via his mother. He certainly was considered a member of the British Royal Family. Despite my view that he was a British “prince” I don’t want to ignore his strong German Noble ancestors.

Before I dive into that topic I will remind my readers of some basic information about him: Major-General Alexander Augustus Frederick William Alfred George Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone (born HSH Prince Alexander of Teck; April 14, 1874 – January 16, 1957) and lived to the ripe old age of 82. He was the son of HSH Prince Francis, Duke of Teck and HRH Princess Mary-Adelaide of Cambridge. The Earl was a British military commander and major-general who served as Governor-General of the Union of South Africa, the country’s fourth, and as Governor General of Canada, the 16th since Canadian Confederation.

Here is a quick summary of his British connections: His mother was HRH Princess Mary-Adelaide of Cambridge, a first cousin to Queen Victoria and both ladies were the royal granddaughters of King George III of Great Britain. Queen Victoria was the daughter of HRH Prince Edward, Duke of Kent (4th son of King George III) and Princess Mary-Adelaide of Cambridge was the daughter of HRH Prince Adolphus Frederick, Duke of Cambridge (7th son of King George III). He was the brother of Queen Mary (Princess Mary of Teck), making him a brother-in-law of King George V.

The Earl of Athlone was married to his cousin HRH Princess Alice of Albany, daughter of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, 4th son of Queen Victoria and HRH The Prince Concort (Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha). The Earl’s wife was also a first cousin to King George V. Being a brother to Queen Mary and brother-in-law to King George V, the Earl of Athlone was therefore uncle to both King Edward VIII and King George VI, and a great-uncle to the present Queen, Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. That’s enough to make your head spin!!

The Earl’s father was HSH Prince Francis, Duke of Teck (August 28, 1837-January 21, 1900). Francis was born Franz Paul Karl Ludwig Alexander on August 28,1837 in Esseg, Slavonia (now Osijek, Croatia). Francis’ mother was Claudine Rhédey von Kis-Rhéde (1812-1841) and she was married in 1835 to Duke Alexander of Württemberg (1804–1885), the son of Duke Ludwig of Württemberg. Since Duke Alexander and Claudine were not of the same social status the marriage was morganatic, his wife would not carry any of her husband’s titles and their children had no succession rights to the Kingdom of Württemberg. Francis’ mother was created Countess of Hohenstein in her own right by Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria shortly after her marriage. Therefore from his birth until 1863 he known as Count Francis von Hohenstein, a title he derived from his mother.