Everything about Duke Of Rothesay totally explained
The title
Duke of Rothesay was the official title possessed by the
heir apparent to the throne of the
Kingdom of Scotland. A separate
Scottish throne hasn't existed since the
Treaty of Union in 1707, which saw the joining of the Kingdom of Scotland with the
Kingdom of England to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain under
Queen Anne.
The title is now held by the heir to the throne of the
United Kingdom, now the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is the title mandated for use by the heir apparent when in
Scotland, in preference to the
English titles
Duke of Cornwall (which also belongs to the eldest son of the monarch by right) and
Prince of Wales (traditionally granted to the heir apparent).
The Duke of Rothesay also holds other Scottish titles, including those of
Earl of Carrick, Baron of
Renfrew,
Lord of the Isles and
Prince and Great Steward of Scotland.
The title is named for
Rothesay on the
Isle of Bute,
Argyll and Bute, but isn't associated with any legal entity or landed property, unlike the
Duchy of Cornwall.
History
David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay, the son of
Robert III of Scotland, King of Scots, first held the dukedom from its creation in 1398. After his death, his brother
James, later King James I, received the dukedom. Thereafter, the heir-apparent to the Scottish Crown held the dukedom; an Act of the Scottish Parliament passed in 1469 confirmed this pattern of succession.
The
Earldom of Carrick existed as early as the twelfth century. In 1306, Robert the Bruce, Earl of Carrick, became King
Robert I of Scotland, with the earldom merging in the Crown. In the following years, successive Kings of Scots created several heirs-apparent Earl of Carrick. The Act of 1469 finally settled the earldom on the eldest son of the Scottish monarch.
The Barony of Renfrew, another dignity held under the 1469 Act, had first come to an heir-apparent in 1404. In Scotland, barons hold feudal titles, not
peerages: a Scottish
lord of Parliament equates to an English or British baron. Some, however, claim that the Act of 1469 effectively elevated the Barony of Renfrew to the dignity of a peerage. Others 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 a feudal dignity.
The office of the
Great Steward of Scotland (also called High Steward or Lord High Steward) dates back to its first holder,
Walter fitz Alan, in the twelfth century. The seventh Great Steward, Robert, ascended the Scots throne as
Robert II in 1371. Thereafter, only the heirs-apparent to the Crown held the office. The 1469 Act also deals with this.
Between the 1603 Union and
Prince Albert Edward's time as heir apparent, the style "Duke of Rothesay" appears to have dropped out of usage in favour of "Prince of Wales". It was
Queen Victoria who mandated the title for use to refer to the eldest son and heir apparent when in Scotland, and this usage has continued since.
Lord of the Isles
Another of the non-peerage titles belonging to the heir-apparent, that of
Lord of the Isles, merits special mention. The Lords of the Isles, of the MacDonald family, originally functioned as
vassals of the Scottish – or Norwegian – Kings who ruled the
Western Isles. The ambitious John MacDonald II, fourth Lord of the Isles, made a secret treaty in 1462 with King
Edward IV of England, by which he sought to make himself an independent ruler. In 1475,
James III discovered the Lord of the Isles' actions, and the Lordship became subject to forfeiture. MacDonald later regained his position, but
James IV again deprived him of his titles in 1493 after his nephew provoked a rebellion. In 1540
James V of Scotland granted the Lordship to the heirs-apparent to the Crown.
Legal basis
An Act of the
Parliament of Scotland passed in 1469 governs the succession to most of these titles. It provides that "the first-born Prince of the King of Scots for ever" should hold the dukedom. If the first-born Prince dies before the King, the title is
not inherited by his heir – it's
only for the first-born son, like the
Duchy of Cornwall. Though the Act specified "King," eldest sons of Queens Regnant subsequently also held the dukedom. The interpretation of the word "Prince", however, doesn't include women. The eldest son of the British Sovereign, as Duke of Rothesay, had the right to vote in elections for
representative peers from 1707. (The 1707
Acts of Union between the Parliament of Scotland and
Parliament of England formally unified both kingdoms to create the
Kingdom of Great Britain). This right continued until 1963, when the
UK Parliament abolished the election of representative peers.
Current Holder
Charles, Prince of Wales currently holds the title of Duke of Rothesay and uses it when in Scotland. He has the formal Scottish
style of
HRH The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay.
Arms
The arms of the Duke of Rothesay quarters the arms of the Great Steward and of the Lords of the Isles and places the arms of the heir apparent to the Scots throne in the centre.
Title Holders
Holders of the Dukedom of Rothesay, with the processes by which they became Dukes of Rothesay and by which they ceased to hold the title:
Further Information
Get more info on 'Duke Of Rothesay'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://duke_of_rothesay.totallyexplained.com">Duke of Rothesay Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
