How a single Scottish earldom became two through a century of legal confusion

Countries & Cities · Published 15 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: The Earldom of Mar is so ancient that its origins are lost to history, yet it remains a modern legal anomaly. After a bitter 19th-century dispute over inheritance, the British Parliament took the unprecedented step of declaring that two distinct earldoms of the same name currently exist simultaneously.

The title of Earl of Mar is rooted in an ancient Scottish province that spanned from the River Dee to the River Don. While the first named earl, Ruadrí, appears in records from 1128, the title has been created seven times throughout history. The earldom’s complex evolution involved royal seizures, forced marriages, and periods of forfeiture, particularly following Jacobite rebellions. By the mid-19th century, the title’s lineage became the subject of a fierce legal battle between John Francis Goodeve Erskine, the heir-general, and the Earl of Kellie, the heir-male.

The dispute centered on whether the earldom was a territorial title that could pass to heirs-general or a peerage title restricted to heirs-male. In 1875, the House of Lords Committee on Privileges ruled that the earldom was a new creation from 1565, favoring the Earl of Kellie. This decision caused significant public dissatisfaction, as many believed the ancient title had been wrongly redefined. The controversy was so profound that it prompted legislative intervention.

In 1885, Parliament enacted the Earldom of Mar Restitution Act. This act resolved the deadlock by declaring that the ancient earldom still existed alongside the 1565 creation. Consequently, the Earl of Kellie holds the 1565 title, while the heir-general of the original earls holds the ancient title, which is now officially recognized with a precedence date of 1404. This dual-earldom arrangement remains a unique feature of the Peerage of Scotland, illustrating how historical ambiguity can be codified into modern law.

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