Duke of Rothesay
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Banner of the Duke of Rothesay, the quarterings represent the Great Steward of Scotland and the Lord of the Isles. The small gold shield, or inescutcheon, with the arms of the heir apparent to the King of Scotland, represents the Dukedom of Rothesay. |
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 has not existed since the
Act of Union 1707 which merged the Kingdom of Scotland and the
Kingdom of England to form the
Kingdom of Great Britain (later known as the United Kingdom after a further merger with the
Kingdom of Ireland). The title is now held by the heir to the throne of the
United Kingdom. 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 of the United Kingdom). 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 is not associated with any legal entity or landed property, unlike the
Duchy of Cornwall.
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 FitzAlan, 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.
|
HRH The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay |
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.
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 then it goes to the next Heir Apparent. Though the Act specified "King," eldest sons of Queens Regnant subsequently also held the dukedom. The interpretation of the word "Prince", however, does not include women. The eldest son of the British Sovereign, as Duke of Rothesay, had the right to vote in elections for
representative peer from
1707, when
Scotland and
England united into the
United Kingdom of Great Britain, until
1963, when the
UK Parliament abolished the election of representative peers.
HRH The 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.
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.
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:
