Earl Fife

Earl Fife was a title in the Peerage of Ireland created by letters patent dated 26 April 1759 for William Duff, 1st Baron Braco, after asserting (but not proving) his descent from Macduff, the medieval Earl of Fife. Though in the Irish peerage, the title's name refers to Fife in Scotland.

Earl Fife
1st and 4th: Or, a lion, rampant, gules (Macduff) 2nd and 3rd: vert, a fesse dancettee, ermine between a hart's head, cabossed, in chief, and two escallops in base or (Duff)[1]
Creation date	26 April 1759
Created by	King George II
Peerage	Peerage of Ireland
First holder	William Duff, 1st Baron Braco
Last holder	Alexander Duff, 6th Earl Fife
Remainder to	1st Earl's heirs male of the body
Subsidiary titles	Viscount Macduff Baron Braco Baron Skene[2]
Extinction date	29 January 1912
Former seat(s)	Duff House Balvenie Castle Innes House Mar Lodge Skene House Delgatie Castle[3]
Motto	Deo juvante (Latin for 'With God's help')

History

William Duff, 1st Earl Fife, had previously been created Baron Braco, of Kilbryde in the County of Cavan, in 1735, and he was created Viscount Macduff at the same time that he was raised to the earldom. Both of these junior titles were in the Peerage of Ireland, although they referred to places in Scotland – namely Braco and Macduff in Banffshire.

Between 1790 and 1885, the Earls Fife received several additional titles in the Peerage of Great Britain and of the United Kingdom, respectively, which allowed them to sit and vote in the House of Lords. In 1790, the 2nd Earl was created Baron Fife, of the County of Fife, in the Peerage of Great Britain, but this title became extinct on his death in 1809. The 4th Earl was also created Baron Fife, of the County of Fife, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, in 1827, but this title became extinct on his death in 1857. Later that year, the 5th Earl was created Baron Skene, of Skene in the County of Aberdeen, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. In 1885, the 6th Earl was created Earl of Fife in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.

In 1889, the 6th Earl Fife was further created Duke of Fife, in Scotland, and Marquess of Macduff, in the County of Banff, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, two days after his marriage to Princess Louise of Wales, the eldest daughter of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII). When it became clear that he would have no sons, he was further created Duke of Fife and Earl of Macduff, in the County of Banff, also in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, with a special remainder to his daughters and their heirs male.

When the 1st Duke died in 1912 without male issue, the earldom of 1759 became extinct, along with the first Dukedom of Fife, the Marquessate of Macduff, the 1885 Earldom of Fife, the Viscountcy of Macduff and the Baronies of Braco and Skene. The second Dukedom of Fife and the Earldom of Macduff passed by their special remainders to his daughters and their heirs male. Princess Alexandra of Fife thus succeeded to the second Dukedom of Fife. (See Duke of Fife for the succession to those titles.)

Barons Braco (1735)

• William Duff, 1st Baron Braco (c. 1696–1763), created Earl Fife in 1759

Earls Fife (1759)

• William Duff, 1st Earl Fife (c. 1696–1763)^[4]
• James Duff, 2nd Earl Fife (1729–1809)^[4]
• Alexander Duff, 3rd Earl Fife (1731–1811)^[4]
• James Duff, 4th Earl Fife (1776–1857)^[4]
• James Duff, 5th Earl Fife (1814–1879)^[4]
• Alexander William George Duff, 6th Earl Fife (1849–1912), created Earl of Fife in 1885 and Duke of Fife in 1889

Family tree

v t e Family tree: Earls of Fife, Dukes of Fife, Earls of Southesk and Earls of Northesk

(Mormaers) Earls of Fife (Scot) Donnchad (Duncan) I 1113–1154 Earl of Fife Donnchad (Duncan/Dunecan) II d. 1204 Earl of Fife Máel Coluim (Maol Choluim, Malcolm) I 1204–1228 Earl of Fife Donnchadh Máel Coluim (Malcolm) II (c. Early 13th century–1266) Earl of Fife Colban c. 1247–1253–1270/1272 Earl of Fife Donnchadh (Duncan) III (1270/1272–1288) Earl of Fife Robert II of Scotland 1316–1390 King of Scotland Donnchadh (Duncan) IV 1289–1353 Earl of Fife Robert III of Scotland c. 1337–1406 King of Scotland m1. Walter Stewart c. 1338–1362 Earl of Fife jure uxoris Isabella MacDuff c. 1320–1389 Countess of Fife suo jure Robert Stewart c. 1340–1420 Duke of Albany, Earl of Fife, Earl of Menteith, Earl of Buchan, Earl of Atholl m2. Thomas Bisset d. 1366 Earl of Fife jure uxoris m3. John Dunbar (d. before 1371) Earl of Fife jure uxoris Murdoch Stewart 1362–1425 Earl of Fife Duke of Albany David Carnegie of Colluthie 1559–1598 Earl of Southesk, 1633 David Carnegie 1575–1658 1st Earl of Southesk Earl of Northesk, 1662 John Carnegie 1611–1667 1st Earl of Northesk James Carnegie (before 1583–1669) 2nd Earl of Southesk Alexander Carnegie (d. 1681/82) David Carnegie d. 1669 2nd Earl of Northesk Robert Carnegie (before 1649–1688) 3rd Earl of Southesk David Carnegie d. 1708 1st Baronet David Carnegie 1643–1688 3rd Earl of Northesk Patrick Carnegie of Lour (after 1643–1743) Charles Carnegie 1661–1699 4th Earl of Southesk James Carnegie 1673–1729 2nd Baronet David Carnegie 1675–1729 4th Earl of Northesk Patrick Carnegie of Lour 1684–1729 Viscount Macduff and Baron Braco, 1735 Earl Fife, 1759 William Duff 1697–1763 1st Earl Fife, Viscount Macduff, and Baron Braco James Carnegie 1692–1730 5th Earl of Southesk James Carnegie 1716–1765 de jure 6th Earl of Southesk David Carnegie 1701–1741 5th Earl of Northesk George Carnegie 1716–1792 6th Earl of Northesk Patrick Carnegie of Lour 1720–1799 Earldom of Southesk attainted, 1716 Baron Fife (GB), 1790 James Duff 1729–1809 2nd Earl Fife, Viscount Macduff, Baron Braco, and Baron Fife (GB) Alexander Duff 1731–1811 3rd Earl Fife, Viscount Macduff, and Baron Braco David Carnegie 1753–1805 de jure 7th Earl of Southesk William Carnegie 1756–1831 7th Earl of Northesk Patrick Carnegie of Lour 1757–1819 Baron Fife (GB) extinct, 1809 Baron Fife (UK), 1827 James Duff 1776–1857 4th Earl Fife, Viscount Macduff, and Baron Braco Baron Fife (UK) Alexander Duff 1777–1851 James Carnegie 1799–1849 de jure 8th Earl of Southesk William Hopetoun Carnegie 1794–1878 8th Earl of Northesk Alexander Carnegie 1793–1862 Baron Fife (UK) extinct, 1809 Baron Skene, 1857 Southesk attainder reversed, 1855 Queen Victoria 1819–1901 James Duff 1814–1879 5th Earl Fife and Viscount Macduff, and Baron Braco, 1st Baron Skene James Carnegie 1827–1905 9th Earl of Southesk Alexander Carnegie 1829–1900 King Edward VII 1841–1910 Prince Arthur 1850–1942 Duke of Connaught and Strathearn Charles Noel Carnegie 1854–1941 10th Earl of Southesk George John Carnegie 1843–1891 9th Earl of Northesk Earl of Fife, 1885 Duke of Fife (Scotland), 1889 Duke of Fife (UK) and Earl of Macduff, 1900 King George V 1865–1936 Louise, Princess Royal 1867–1931 Duchess of Fife Alexander William George Duff 1849–1912 1st Duke of Fife (Scot), Duke of Fife (UK), Earl of Macduff, Earl of Fife (1885), Marquess of Macduff, 6th Earl Fife, Viscount Macduff, and Baron Braco, 2nd Baron Skene Dukedom of Fife (Scot), Marquessate of Fife, Earldom Fife (1759), Earldom of Fife (1885), Viscountcy of Macduff, and Baronies of Braco and Skene extinct, 1912 David John Carnegie 1865–1921 10th Earl of Northesk Douglas George Carnegie 1870–1937 Charles Carnegie 1864–1928 Prince Arthur of Connaught 1883–1938 Princess Alexandra 1891–1959 2nd Duchess of Fife (UK) and Countess of Macduff suo jure Maud Carnegie 1893–1945 Countess of Southesk Charles Alexander Bannerman Carnegie 1893–1992 11th Earl of Southesk David Ludovic George Hopetoun Carnegie 1901–1963 11th Earl of Northesk John Douglas Carnegie 1895–1975 12th Earl of Northesk Patrick Carnegy 1893–1969 Prince Alastair Arthur (later Alistair Windsor) 1914–1943 Duke of Connaught and Strathearn James George Alexander Bannerman Carnegie 1929–2015 3rd Duke of Fife and Earl of Macduff, 12th Earl of Southesk Robert Andrew Carnegie 1926–1994 13th Earl of Northesk Patrick Charles Carnegy b. 1940 15th Earl of Northesk Colin Carnegy b. 1942 Heir presumptive to the Earldom of Northesk David Charles Carnegie b. 1961 4th Duke of Fife and Earl of Macduff, 13th Earl of Southesk David John MacRae Carnegie 1954–2010 14th Earl of Northesk Charles Carnegie b. 1989 styled Earl of Southesk Lord George Carnegie b. 1991 Lord Hugh Carnegie b. 1993 Heir apparent

Notes

References

1. Berry, William; Glover, Robert (1828). Encyclopædia Heraldica: Or, Complete Dictionary of Heraldry. Published by the author. p. 477. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
2. Lodge, Edmund; Innes, Anne; Innes, Eliza; Innes, Maria (1860). The Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire as at Present Existing. Hurst and Blackett. p. 244. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
3. The Peerage, Baronetage, And Knightage, Of Great Britain And Ireland For ... Including All the Titled Classes. Whittaker And Company. 1854. p. PA243. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
4. Tayler, Alistair; Tayler, Henrietta (2001). Lord Fife and His Factor Being the Correspondence of James Second Lord Fife, 1729 - 1809. The Minerva Group, Inc. p. 5. ISBN 9780898755718. Retrieved 21 June 2017.