Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne

Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in 1606 and held by the Bowes-Lyon family. The title is most famously associated with Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the consort of King George VI and later Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. The family's principal seat for centuries has been the historic Glamis Castle in Angus, Scotland.

History of the title

The title's origins lie in the ancient Lordship of Glamis, held by the Lyon family since the 14th century. In 1606, Patrick Lyon was elevated by James VI and I as the first Earl of Kinghorne. The title was renamed and expanded in 1677 when Patrick Lyon, 3rd Earl of Kinghorne received a new creation as the first Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne. The family's fortunes were significantly enhanced in the 18th century through the marriage of John Lyon, 9th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne to Mary Eleanor Bowes, heiress to the vast Bowes estates in County Durham. This union led to the adoption of the hyphenated surname Bowes-Lyon and brought substantial English properties, including Streatlam Castle and Gibside.

List of titleholders

The line of succession began with Patrick Lyon, 1st Earl of Kinghorne. Notable holders include the aforementioned John Lyon, 9th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and his wife Mary Eleanor Bowes, whose tumultuous life was a national scandal. The 13th Earl, Claude Bowes-Lyon, 13th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, was the father of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. His direct descendant, Simon Bowes-Lyon, 19th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, is the current holder, with his heir using the courtesy title Lord Glamis. The title has passed directly through the male line, with several earls also serving as members of Parliament and holding positions such as Lord Lieutenant of Angus.

Family seat and estates

The ancestral and principal seat is Glamis Castle, a setting immortalized in Shakespeare's Macbeth and the childhood home of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. The castle, visited by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, remains a major tourist attraction. The family's historic English estates centered on Gibside, a Palladian mansion and landscape garden in County Durham, and Streatlam Castle. While many English properties were sold in the 19th and 20th centuries, the family retains significant landholdings in Angus and maintains a strong connection to Glamis Castle, which is owned by the Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne but managed by a separate trust.

Cadet branches

Cadet branches of the family have produced several notable figures. The most distinguished is the royal branch stemming from Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, which includes Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III. Another significant branch descends from the 13th Earl's younger son, The Honourable Sir David Bowes-Lyon, who was a close confidant of his sister. The family of the Baroness Fermoy, a close friend and lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, is also a cadet branch, and she was the grandmother of Diana, Princess of Wales.

Title in the peerage of Scotland

The earldom is part of the Peerage of Scotland, created before the Acts of Union 1707. The earl also holds the subsidiary Scottish titles of Lord Glamis (created 1445), Lord Lyon (1606), and the Barony of Bowes in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1887). The title's precedence and privileges were established under the Parliament of Scotland and continued after the union. The heir apparent uses the courtesy title Lord Glamis, derived from the senior lordship. The title's succession is governed by Letters patent specifying descent to heirs male of the body of the first earl bearing the surname Lyon.

Category:Earldoms in the Peerage of Scotland