Flora Fraser, 21st Lady Saltoun
The Lady Saltoun | |
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![]() Coat of arms of Lady Saltoun, Chief of the Name and Arms of Fraser: Azure three fraises (cinquefoils) argent | |
Born | Marjorie Flora Fraser 18 October 1930[1] Edinburgh, Scotland |
Spouse(s) | |
Issue | Katharine Fraser, Mistress of Saltoun Hon. Alice Ramsay Hon. Elizabeth Ramsay |
Heir | Katharine Fraser |
Parents | Alexander Fraser, 20th Lord Saltoun Dorothy Geraldine Welby |
Marjorie Flora Fraser, 21st Lady Saltoun[fn 1][2] (born 18 October 1930) is a Scottish peer. Until her retirement on 12 December 2014, she was the only holder of a lordship of Parliament who had a seat in the House of Lords as an elected hereditary peer. Lady Saltoun is the Chief of the Name and Arms of Clan Fraser since 1 May 1984, by decree of the Court of the Lord Lyon. She is also the head of the Scottish lowland family the Frasers of Philorth.
Biography
Flora Fraser was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, as the daughter of Alexander Fraser and Dorothy Geraldine Welby. Her maternal grandfather was Charles Glynne Earle Welby, 5th Baronet. She had an elder brother, Alexander Simon Fraser, Master of Saltoun. In 1933, her father became the 20th Lord Saltoun and she was styled the Hon. Flora Fraser. Her brother received the Military Cross and was killed in action in March 1944 while serving with the Grenadier Guards, making Flora heir presumptive to the Lordship.[3]
In 1979, when Lord Saltoun died, Flora became the 21st Lady Saltoun, and also gained a seat in the House of Lords. In 1999, because of the House of Lords Act 1999, 662 hereditary peers were removed from the House. However, Lady Saltoun was one of the ninety hereditary peers who were elected to remain in the House.
On 6 October 1956 at Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, Lady Saltoun married Alexander Ramsay of Mar (1919–2000), a grandson of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, keeping her maiden surname after marriage.
Saltoun's children are:
- The Hon. Katharine Fraser, Mistress of Saltoun, the heir presumptive to her mother's peerage and the leadership of the Clan Fraser
- The Hon. Alice Elizabeth Margaret Ramsay (8 July 1961)
- The Hon. Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Ramsay (15 April 1963)
Titles
- 18 October 1930 – 19 June 1933: Miss Flora Fraser
- 19 June 1933 – 1944: The Honourable Flora Fraser
- 1944 – 31 August 1979: Mistress of Saltoun
- 31 August 1979 –present: The Right Honourable The Lady Saltoun
Footnotes
- ^ It has recently been determined that Margaret Abernethy succeeded her brother, Alexander Abernethy, 9th Lord Saltoun, in 1668, but only survived him by about 10 weeks and had not previously been counted in the title's numbering. This new information has resulted in the ordinals in subsequent Saltoun Lords being revised. As a result, Flora Fraser is sometimes listed as the 20th Lady Saltoun.
References
- ^ Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood (107 ed.). Burke's Peerage & Gentry. p. 3510. ISBN 0-9711966-2-1.
- ^ "History". Flora Fraser, 21st Lady Saltoun. Retrieved 10 July 2007.
- ^ Mosley 2003, p. 3514