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Lord Lovat

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Lord Lovat
Quarterly, 1st & 4th: Azure three fraises Argent; 2nd & 3rd: Argent three antique crowns Gules.
Creation date1458
Created byJames III
PeeragePeerage of Scotland
First holderHugh Fraser, 1st Lord Lovat
Present holderSimon Fraser, 16th Lord Lovat
Heir presumptiveHon. Jack Fraser, Master of Lovat
Subsidiary titlesBaron Lovat
Seat(s)Beaufort Lodge
Balblair House[1]
Former seat(s)Beaufort Castle
MottoJe suis prest
(I am ready)
Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat
Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat. Engraving c. 1715

Lord Lovat (Scottish Gaelic: Mac Shimidh)[2] is a title of the rank Lord of Parliament in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1458 for Hugh Fraser by summoning him to the Scottish Parliament as Lord Fraser of Lovat, although the holder is referred to simply as Lord Lovat. It was a separate title from the Scottish feudal lordship of Lovat, already held by the highland Frasers. In 1837 they were created a third title, Baron Lovat, of Lovat in the County of Inverness, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The holder is also separately and independently the Chief of highland Clan Fraser of Lovat.

The first Lord Lovat was one of the hostages for James I on his return to Scotland in 1424, and in 1431 he was appointed high sheriff of the county of Inverness. The second Lord Lovat, Thomas, held the office of justiciary of the north in the reign of James IV, and died 21 October 1524.

The title descended in a direct line for nine sequential generations from 1458 until the death of the ninth Lord in 1696. He was succeeded by his great-uncle, the tenth Lord. In 1697 the latter's son, Simon Fraser, known as Simon "the Fox", kidnapped and forcibly married the late ninth Lord's widow, the former Lady Amelia Murray, only daughter of John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl. However, Lady Lovat's powerful family, the Murrays, were angered, and prosecuted Fraser, who fled the country. Fraser was convicted in absentia, attainted, and sentenced to death. However, Fraser supported the Government against the Jacobite rising of 1715 and was rewarded by being pardoned for his crimes. In 1730, he won litigation seeking to confirm his title of Lord Lovat. In 1745, however, Lord Lovat participated in The '45 against the Crown and was therefore sentenced to death. He was beheaded on 9 April 1747, aged 80, on Tower Hill in London, becoming the last man to die in this manner. His titles, furthermore, were forfeit. (Fraser was also created Duke of Fraser, Marquess of Beaufort, Earl of Stratherrick and Upper Tarf, Viscount of the Aird and Strathglass and Lord Lovat and Beaulieu in the Jacobite Peerage of Scotland by James Francis Edward Stuart (titular King James III of England and VIII of Scotland) in 1740.)

His eldest son and namesake Simon Fraser became a General in the British Army. He obtained a full pardon but was not restored to the title. His younger brother Archibald Campbell Fraser was a Colonel in the Army and would have succeeded but for the attainder. On his death in 1815 the title was claimed by his kinsman Thomas Fraser, a descendant of Thomas Fraser, second son of the fourth Lord. In 1837 he was created Baron Lovat, of Lovat in the County of Inverness, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. However, it was not until 1854 that the attainder of the eleventh Lord was reversed, and Thomas Fraser became the twelfth Lord Lovat. He was succeeded by his son, the thirteenth Lord, who served as Lord Lieutenant of Inverness. His eldest son, the fourteenth Lord, was a soldier and politician and notably held office as Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs from 1926 to 1927. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the fifteenth Lord. He was a prominent soldier and distinguished himself during the Second World War. As of 2017 the titles are held by his grandson, the sixteenth Lord, who succeeded in 1994.

The Conservative politician Sir Hugh Fraser was the younger son of the fourteenth Lord. Another member of the family was Sir Ian Fraser, Chairman of Rolls-Royce Motors. He was the son of Hon. Alastair Thomas Joseph Fraser, younger son of the thirteenth Lord.

The family seats now are Beaufort Lodge and Balblair House, near Beauly, Inverness-shire.

Clan Fraser of Lovat

The Lordship of Lovat has for some time been linked to the Chiefship of Clan Fraser of Lovat. The former family seat was Beaufort Castle in northern Scotland. The numbering of the Scottish Lordship used by Clan Fraser of Lovat differs from the legal numbering in that it ignores the attainder of 1747–1854, with the result that the 16th Lord is termed by them "18th Lord Lovat".[3][4][5]

Fraser lands are shown in blue. Beaufort Castle and Lovat are to the left of the V/Inverness of the Fraser Lands. This map is accurate to the acts of parliament 1587 & 1594. Click to enlarge.

Lairds of Lovat

According to John Anderson and Alexander Mackenzie

19th century historians John Anderson, writing in 1825, and Alexander Mackenzie, writing in 1896, list the Lairds of Lovat as follows,[6][7] but this is different to modern research as given by the Clan Fraser of Lovat organization.[8]

According to James Balfour Paul

James Balfour Paul writing in 1908 in his The Scots Peerage gives the following Fraser Lairds of Lovat before the family succeeded as Lords Lovat:[9]

  • Hugh Fraser of Lovat and Kinnell (on record 1367-1410)
  • Alexander Fraser of Lovat (died before March 1415-16)
  • Hugh Fraser of Lovat (son of Hugh Fraser of Lovat and died before 20 July 1440)
  • Thomas Fraser of Lovat (died before 20 May 1455)

According to the modern Clan Fraser of Lovat

The modern Clan Fraser of Lovat records the Lairds of Lovat as follows:[8]

  • Sir Simon Fraser (son of Andrew Fraser and was killed at the Battle of Halidon Hill in 1333)
  • Alexander Fraser (died 1361)
  • Hugh Fraser, 1st Laird Lovat (died before 1410)
  • Hugh Fraser, Laird of Lovat (died 1440)
  • Thomas Fraser, Laird of Lovat (died by 1455)

Lords Fraser of Lovat (1458); Barons Lovat of Lovat (1837)

Mackenzie also records the names of the subsequent Lords Lovat differently,[7] when compared to the accepted modern version given below.[8] Anderson lists the same lineage as given below, but his designation of which sons actually succeeded to the title of the Lordship is different,[6] when compared to the accepted modern version given below.[8] Bernard Burke, in his 1869 A Genealogical And Heraldic Dictionary of The Peerage And Baronetage of The British Empire, lists the first two Lords as Hugh Fraser, 1st Lord Lovat and Hugh Fraser, 2nd Lord Lovat with Hugh Fraser, 3rd Lord Lovat,[10] being the same person listed as Hugh Fraser, 1st Lord Lovat in the accepted modern version given below.[8][9] The Clan Fraser of Lovat organization also recognises the two sons of the 11th Lord Lovat, Simon and Archibald, as the 12th and 14th Lords Lovat respectively, ignoring the attainder for the 11th Lord having supported the Jacobite rising of 1745 and therefore they recognize the current 16th Lord Lovat as the 18th Lord Lovat.[8] The following is also in accordance with James Balfour Paul's 1908 volume 5 of The Scots Peerage which lists the aforementioned Simon and Archibald as the "de jure" 12th and 13th Lords Lovat before reverting to Thomas Alexander Fraser, 12th Lord Lovat proper who was from the Fraser of Strichen cadet branch.[9]

The heir presumptive is the present holder's brother Hon. Jack Hugh Fraser, Master of Lovat (b. 1984)

Arms

Coat of arms of Lord Lovat
Adopted
c. 1253
Crest
Issuant from a ducal coronet Or, a stag's head erased;
Torse
Mantling gules and ermine, for a peer of the UK
Helm
Upon a coronet of a baron of the UK/Lord of Parliament of Scotland Proper, the helm of a nobleman argent with bars or.
Escutcheon
Blazon: Quarterly 1st & 4th Azure three fraises Argent 2nd & 3rd Argent three antique crowns Gules.
Supporters
two stags;
Motto
JE SUIS PREST
Badge
Clan member crest badge - Clan Fraser of lovat.svg
Symbolism

  • "Strawberry" in French is fraise (feminine), and its pronunciation is close to that of Fraser. The strawberry plant, used in the coat of arms of the Fraser Clan of the Scottish Lowlands as well as in the Frasers of Lovat in the Highlands, is called a fraisier.
  • The Fraser motto, "Je suis prest" uses an ancient spelling. In modern French spelling, the "s" has disappeared and a circumflex is on top of the "e" ("je suis prêt").


References

  1. ^ "Balblair House, Beauly". Britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  2. ^ Mac an Tàilleir, Iain. "Ainmean Pearsanta" (docx). Sabhal Mòr Ostaig. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
  3. ^ "Clan, Fraser, Frasier, Frazer, Frazier, Simpson, Simon, Inverness, Lovat, Scotland, Beauly, Highland, Tweed". Fraserclan-cal.net. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  4. ^ "LOVAT". Thefrasers.com. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  5. ^ "HISTORY OF THE FRASERS IN CANADA – Clan Fraser Society of Canada". Clanfraser.ca. 19 August 1997. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  6. ^ a b Anderson, John (1825). Historical Account of The Family of Frisel or Fraser, Particularly Fraser of Lovat. Edinburgh and Strand, London: William Blackwood and Thomas Cadell. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  7. ^ a b Mackenzie, Alexander (1896). History of the Frasers of Lovat With Genealogies of The Principal Families of The Name. Inverness: A. & W. Mackenzie. pp. Contents, 32, 33, 38, 44, 47. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  8. ^ a b c d e f "Clan Fraser in Scottish History" (PDF). clanfraser.org. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  9. ^ a b c Paul, James Balfour (1908). "Fraser, Lord Fraser of Lovat". The Scots Peerage; Founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland; Containing an Historical And Genealogical Account of The Nobility of That Kingdom. Vol. V. Edinburgh: David Douglas. pp. 518-548. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  10. ^ Burke, Bernard (1869). A Genealogical And Heraldic Dictionary of The Peerage And Baronetage of The British Empire. 59 Pall Mall, London: Harrison. p. 712. Retrieved 19 February 2022.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
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