The title
Duke of Buccleuch /bəˈkluː/, formerly also spelt Duke of Buccleugh, is a title
in the Peerage of Scotland created twice on 20 April 1663, first for James
Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth and second suo jure for his wife Anne Scott, 4th
Countess of Buccleuch. Monmouth, the eldest illegitimate son of Charles II was
attainted after his 1685 rebellion, but his wife's title was unaffected and
passed on to their descendants, who have successively borne the surnames Scott,
Montagu-Scott, Montagu Douglas Scott and Scott again. In 1810, the 3rd Duke of
Buccleuch inherited the Dukedom of Queensberry, also in the Peerage of
Scotland, thus separating that title from the Marquessate of Queensberry.
The
substantial origin of the ducal house of the Scotts of Buccleuch dates back to
the large grants of lands in Scotland to Sir Walter Scott of Kirkurd and
Buccleuch, a border chief, by James II, in consequence of the fall of William
Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas (1452), but the family traced their descent back
to a Sir Richard le Scott (1240–1285). Sir Walter Scott of Branxholme and
Buccleuch (died 1552) distinguished himself at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh
(1547). His great-grandson Sir Walter was created Lord Scott of Buccleuch in
1606.
Other
subsidiary titles associated with the Dukedom of Buccleuch are: Earl of
Buccleuch (1619), Earl of Dalkeith (1663) and Lord Scott of Whitchester and
Eskdaill (1619) (all in the Peerage of Scotland). The Duke also holds the two
subsidiary titles of the attainted Dukedom of Monmouth, namely Earl of
Doncaster (1663) and Baron Scott of Tindale (1663) (both in the Peerage of
England), and several subsidiary titles associated with the Dukedom of
Queensberry, namely Marquess of Dumfriesshire (1683), Earl of Drumlanrig and
Sanquhar (1682), Viscount of Nith, Tortholwald and Ross (1682) and Lord Douglas
of Kilmount, Middlebie and Dornock (1682) (all in the Peerage of Scotland). The
Earldom of Doncaster and Barony of Scott of Tindale had been forfeit at the
time of the first Duke's attainder, but the titles were restored to the 2nd
Duke of Buccleuch in 1742. Until 1835, the Dukes also held lands in the West
Riding of Yorkshire and the ancient title of Lord of Bowland. The Duke of
Buccleuch is the hereditary chief of Clan Scott. The holder is one of only five
people in the UK to hold two or more different dukedoms, the others being the
Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay, the Duke of Hamilton and Brandon, the Duke of
Argyll (who holds two dukedoms named Argyll), and the Duke of Richmond, Lennox
and Gordon.
The
courtesy title used by the Duke's eldest son and heir is Earl of Dalkeith; and
that of Lord Dalkeith's eldest son and heir is Lord Eskdaill.
The
novelist Sir Walter Scott, Bart., was directly descended of the Lords of
Buccleuch. His family history, fancifully interpreted, is the main subject of
much of The Lay of the Last Minstrel.
The current
Duke of Buccleuch, Richard Scott, the 10th Duke, is the largest private
landowner in Scotland with some 280,000 acres (1,100 km2) and chairman of the
Buccleuch Group, a holding company with interests in commercial property, rural
affairs, food, and beverages. The title originally comes from a holding in the
Scottish Borders, near Selkirk.
The family
seats are Bowhill House, three miles outside Selkirk, representing the Scott
line; Drumlanrig Castle in Dumfries and Galloway, representing the Douglas
line; and Boughton House in Northamptonshire, England, representing the Montagu
line. These three houses are still lived in by the family and are also open to
the public. The family also owns Dalkeith Palace in Midlothian, which is let,
and has owned several other country houses and castles in the past. Its
historic London residence was Montagu House, Whitehall, now demolished and
replaced by the Ministry of Defence.
William
Montagu Douglas Scott, The Earl of Dalkeith, who became the 7th Duke of
Buccleuch was elected President of St. Andrew's Ambulance Association in 1908.
The Presidency of the Association (now St Andrew's First Aid) has been held by
the Buccleuch family from that date.
Most of the
Dukes of Buccleuch (the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th) are buried in the Buccleuch
Memorial Chapel in St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Dalkeith, Midlothian. The 2nd
Duke (died 1751) is buried in Eton College Chapel. The most recent Dukes (the
8th and 9th) are buried among the ruins of Melrose Abbey in Melrose.
Richard
Walter John Montagu Douglas Scott, 10th Duke of Buccleuch and 12th Duke of
Queensberry, KT, KBE, CVO, DL, FSA, FRSE (born 14 February 1954), styled as
Lord Eskdaill until 1973 and as Earl of Dalkeith from 1973 until 2007, is a
Scottish landholder and peer. He is the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry, as
well as Chief of Clan Scott. He is the heir male of James, Duke of Monmouth (9
April 1649 – 15 July 1685), the eldest illegitimate son of King Charles II and
his mistress, Lucy Walter.
Scott was
once Scotland's largest private landowner, owning 217,000 acres (880 km2) of
Scottish land, but was surpassed by Anders Holch Povlsen who currently holds
221,000 acres (890 km2) in the country.
Scott was
born in 1954, the son of John Scott, 9th Duke of Buccleuch, and his wife, Jane
Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch, a daughter of John McNeill, QC. He was baptised
with Princess Margaret as one of his godparents.
He was
educated at St. Mary's School, Melrose, and Eton College, and was Page of
Honour to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother from 1967 to 1969. In 1973, his
father inherited the Dukedoms of Buccleuch and Queensberry, and Scott took the
courtesy title Earl of Dalkeith, having previously been styled Lord Eskdaill.
He graduated from the University of Oxford in 1976 as a Bachelor of Arts.
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