The Peerage Of Scotland

 

The Peerage of Scotland is a faction of the peerage of Britain, which the King of England created for the peers in the Scottish Kingdom before the year 1707.

The history of Peerage in Scotland

 Subsequent to the year's Union treaty, the Kingdom of England and Scotland were united to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. As a result of this, a new peerage was formed for Great Britain, which entailed the introduction of titles.

Subsequent to the union of the two kingdoms, Scottish peers designated 16 members to represent them in the House of Lords. As per the Peerage Act passed in 1963, Scottish peers could sit in the House of Lords.

However, in 1999, the House of Lords Act was implemented, which revoked the right for all hereditary Scottish peers’ representation in the House of Lords.

Scottish titles

While most peerage titles cannot be passed down to females, several Scottish titles can be passed to female lines. So, if a certain family has daughters only, the title will pass to the eldest daughter in the family instead of being suspended.

The other point of difference between Scottish peerages and British peerages is that Scottish peerage can be passed to or through an individual who was not a legitimate offspring. However, the parents must have married at a later stage.

Ranks of Scottish Peerage

The Peers of Scotland can sit in the Scottish parliament. Following are the ranks in the Scottish peerage,

·        Duke

·        Marquess

·        Earl

·        Viscount

·        Lord baron

The ranks listed above are listed in order of seniority, and by that reference, the title of lord or baron is lower in comparison. It must be noted that Scottish lords or barons are lower in rank than the lord of parliament. The title of the lord is noble, but it is not a peerage title. It can be acquired through inheritance or purchase or sale.

To know more, see also lordship titles.