Fife is bounded to north and south by the Firths of Tay and Forth
respectively, and Perthshire to the west, and is approximately contiguous with
the original Pictish kingdom of Fib. It became one of
the original mormaerdoms, and the Mormaer
of Fife the highest ranking noble, with the hereditary right of crowning the
King. The mormaer was also chief of Clan MacDuff, a name meaning son of King Dubh,
this referring to the King Cinaed (or Kenneth) III,
son of Dubh. Kenneth was killed in battle against
Malcolm II in 1005, though his family retained the mormaership
of Fife, and the family name of MacDuff stemmed from
him. The Shakespearian character named MacDuff was
probably the grandson of Kenneth, and son of Giric,
but the name MacDuff was probably used as a surname
of the clan leader, whether or not he was also mormaer.
The relatively benign climate of the area, the long seaboard and the closeness
to the heart of Scotland meant that Fife from the earliest times was an
important province. This is made clear by the number of important historical
sites in the area, especially of an ecclesiastical nature.
Earls of Fife (c.1115)
1st Earl of Fife, Causantin MacDuff, b.1095, a.c.1115, d.c.1128
Causantin, anglicised as
Constantine, has a lot of historical references, and existed around the time of
King David I, to whom he appears to have been a loyal supporter, and probably
died circa 1128, when he seems to have held what would later be interpreted as
the Justiciarship of Scotland North of the Forth.
2nd Earl of Fife, Gille Micheil MacDuff, b.?, a.c.1128, d.1136
By the Celtic custom, Gille Micheil was probably a nephew of Causantin,
and the then current head of the clan.
3rd Earl of Fife, Duncan MacDuff, b.?, a.1136, d.1154
Duncan, or Donnchad, was likely to have been Causantin’s son and took over as head of the clan. His
territory was re-granted to him under feudal charter by David I.
4th Earl of Fife, Duncan II MacDuff, b.b.1154, a.1154, d.1204
The rules of feudal primogeniture now replaced the Celtic custom, and so
this Duncan is the son of the previous earl rather than Aed,
the son of Gille Micheil.
It is likely that the leadership of the clan, still operating under the old
system, would have passed to a cousin. As with previous mormaers
and earls of Fife, he was Justiciar of the North, and
he married Ada, who was a close, if illegitimate,
relative of King Malcolm IV.
5th Earl of Fife, Malcolm MacDuff, b.?, a.1204, d.1228
Son of the 4th Earl. Malcolm is the English version of Mael Choluim. Little is known about him, except for the fact
that he is credited with the founding of Culross
Abbey.
6th Earl of Fife, Malcolm II MacDuff, b.?, a.1228, d.1266
Nephew of the 5th Earl, being the son of Malcolm’s brother,
another Duncan. He was present at
the signing of the Treaty of York in 1237, which defined the boundary between
England and Scotland. This boundary remains intact to this day, excepting the
small area around Berwick. Malcolm crowned Alexander III and acted as one of
the royal guardians, although he seems to have had a close relationship to
Henry III of England.
7th Earl of Fife, Colban
MacDuff, b.?, a.1266,
d.c.1272
Son of the 6th Earl. Again, little is known about him, and he seems to have died quite
young.
8th Earl of Fife, Duncan III MacDuff, b.?, a.c.1272, d.1288
Son of the 7th Earl and Anna, daughter of Alan Durward. He succeeded
to the earldom at an early age, and the earldom was supervised by Bishop
William Wishart of St Andrews, who took the
opportunity to confiscate lands of the MacDuff.
Duncan was later made one of the Guardians of Scotland by Edward I of England
during the first Interregnum, which gave him the opportunity to take back the
lands denied his family. He was murdered by members of his own clan for reasons
unknown.
9th Earl of Fife, Duncan IV MacDuff, b.c.1285, a.1288, d.1353
Son of the 8th Earl and Johanna de Clare, daughter of Gilbert
de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester. He succeeded as a baby, and therefore could not perform at the
Coronation of John Balliol, although he did follow his father as a Guardian
until Balliol became King. He was also not available for the Coronation of
Robert Bruce, hostage in England at the time, leaving his sister Isabella to perform
that duty. In 1315, Duncan resigned his title to the King, his wife still held
captive in England, but with the stipulation that if he died childless, the
King would ensure that the earldom would be granted to a suitable non-royal
noble. In the event, having no sons, he was succeeded by his daughter. He
signed the Declaration of Arbroath and fought at the Battle of Dupplin Moor, where the Scots were defeated by the tactical
superiority of Edward Balliol, and tried to lead the remnants of the army in an
orderly retreat, though he was captured and forced to act as Coroner to
Balliol. He was captured again following the Battle of Halidon
Hill, though eventually given his freedom.
10th Earl (Countess), Isabella MacDuff, b.?, a.1353, d.1389
Daughter of the 8th Earl and Mary de Monthermer
(b.1298, d.a.1371), daughter of Ralph de Monthermer,
Earl of Gloucester. As her father had
resigned the earldom, she did not automatically inherit his titles. However in
1361 she married Walter Stewart (b.1336-1347, d.1362), a son of King Robert II,
who was made Earl of Fife de uxoris. After his death
she was recognised as the Countess of Fife properly. In 1371, having no
children from four marriages, she resigned the earldom to Robert Stewart,
another of the King’s sons, who would later also become 1st Duke of Albany.
Earls of Fife (1371)
1st Earl of Fife, Robert Stewart, b.
c.1340, a.1398, d.1420
Son of King Robert II and granted the earldom of Fife after it was resigned
by the Countess of Fife. For a more detailed account of Robert and his son,
please refer to the Albany page.
2nd Earl of Fife, Murdoch Stewart, b.1362,
a.1420, d.1425
Son of the 1st Earl and Margaret Graham, Countess of Menteith. Although all-powerful for the handful of years between his father’s
death and the return of King James I from captivity in England, he was later
executed for treason and all his titles forfeit.
Earls Fife (1759)
1st Earl Fife, William Duff, b.1697,
a.1759, d.1763
The surname Duff, from the Celtic Dubh, meaning
of dark complexion, would have been taken by many people with no connection to
the original earls of Fife. However, one Alexander Duff, a successful
businessman, took the opportunity prior to the Union, when Scotland was going
through a major economic depression, to buy estates in Banffshire and Buchan.
This practice continued with his son, also Alexander Duff, who was MP for
Banffshire, and grandson William Duff of Braco (b.?, d.1718). When this William Duff died, all the estates and
wealth passed to his uncle, also William Duff (b.?,
d.1722). This man was already a wealthy landowner in his own right, having
acquired estates in Moray including Dupple and Pluscardine, and when he died, the combined holdings were
inherited by his own son, also William Duff, who thereafter had Balvenie Castle rebuilt. He served as a Whig MP for
Banffshire from 1727 to 1734 and in 1735 was created 1st Baron Braco of Kilbride, County Cavan, in the Peerage of Ireland,
even though Braco was in Scotland. Between 1740 and
1745 he built the mansion of Duff House on the outskirts of Banff. During the Jacobite Rebellion, he pledged himself to the Government. In
1759 he was created 1st Earl Fife and 1st Viscount MacDuff, both in the Peerage of Ireland, though the titles
are Scottish in origin, after proving his descent from the original Earls of
Fife.
2nd Earl Fife, James Duff, b.1729, a.1763,
d.1809
Son of the 1st Earl and Jean Grant (b.1705, d.1788), daughter
of Sir James Grant of Grant, 6th Baronet Colquhoun of Colquhoun in
the County of Dumbarton. He served as MP for
Banffshire for 30 years beginning in 1754, and then a further six years for Elginshire. He provided the town of Macduff,
next to Banff, with its current name, it having previously been known as Doune, had the harbour built and the status of the town
elevated to a Royal burgh. In 1790 he was created 1st Baron Fife in
the Peerage of Great Britain, and held the Lord-Lieutenancy of Banffshire from
1795 until his death. He married Dorothea Sinclair, only child of Alexander
Sinclair, 9th Earl of Caithness, but his
three children by his wife’s maid were illegitimate. On his death, the GB Barony
became extinct.
3rd Earl Fife, Alexander Duff, b.1731,
a.1809, d.1811
Younger brother of the 2nd Earl.
4th Earl Fife, James Duff, b.1776, a.1811,
d.1857
Son of the 3rd Earl and Mary Skene. Educated at Westminster College and Oxford, he fought for the Spanish in
the Peninsular Wars against Napolean and was wounded
at the Battle of Talavera in 1809. He eventually
reached the rank of Major-General in the Spanish Army, and was decorated as a
Knight of the Order of San Fernando and of the Order of the Sword of Sweden. He
also held the office of Lord-Lieutenant of Banffshire for many years. Later in
his life, he served as a Tory MP for Banffshire, and was made Lord of the
Bedchamber in 1819, and again in 1827. He was invested as a Knight Grand Cross
of the Hanoverian Order in 1823 and a Knight of the Thistle in 1827. He was
made 1st Baron Fife in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, also in
1827, this expiring on his death. He married Lady Maria Caroline Manners (b.?,
d.1805), daughter of Louisa Tollemache, 7th
Countess of Dysart and John Manners (a grandson of
John Manners, 2nd Duke of Rutland) but they had no children.
5th Earl Fife, James Duff, b.1814, a.1857,
d.1879
Nephew of the 4th Earl, being son of that man’s younger
brother General Sir Alexander Duff (b.c.1778, d.1851) and Anne Stein (b.c.1789,
d.1859). He was a Liberal MP for Banffshire from 1837 to 1857, Lord-Lieutenant
of Elgin from 1851 to 1856 and Lord-Lieutenant of Banffshire from 1856 to 1879.
He was created 1st Baron Skene of Skene (an area of Aberdeenshire that had come to the family
from his grandmother) in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1857, and was
made a Knight of the Thistle in 1860.
6th Earl Fife, Alexander William George
Duff, b.1849, a.1879, d.1912
Son of the 5th Earl and Lady Agnes Georgiana Elizabeth Hay
(b.1829, d.1869), daughter of Sir William George Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll. Being descended from King William IV through his maternal grandmother, his
power and influence, already extensive as a major landowner, could only grow.
Born in Edinburgh and educated at Eton, he was Lord-Lieutenant of Elginshire from 1871 to 1902, and a Liberal MP for Elginshire and Nairnshire from 1874 to 1879. Shortly after
succeeding his father, he was made a Privy Counsellor and Captain of the Corps
of Gentlemen-at-Arms, followed closely by entry into the Order of the Thistle
in 1881. In 1885 he was created 1st Earl of Fife in the Peerage of
the United Kingdom and in 1889 created 1st Duke of Fife and 1st
Marquess of Macduff after
marrying Princess Louise of Wales, grand-daughter of Queen Victoria and
daughter of the future King Edward VII. In 1900 he obtained a re-grant as 1st
Duke of Fife, with the additional title of 1st Earl of Macduff, with special remainder to his daughters and their
male heirs.
Dukes of Fife (1900)
1st Duke of Fife, Alexander William George
Duff, b.1849, a.1900, d.1912
In 1901 he was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order.
He also served as Lord-Lieutenant of London from 1900 to 1912. In 1911 he was
made a Knight of the Garter. At the Coronations of both Edward VII and George V
he was in attendance as Lord High Constable. In December of 1911 he travelled
to Egypt with his family, but contracted pleurisy after being shipwrecked in
the Moroccan coast, and though rescued died at Aswan the following month. When
he died, all of his titles created prior to 1900 became extinct.
2nd Duke (Duchess) of Fife, Alexandra
Victoria Alberta Edwina Louise Duff, b.1891, a.1912, d.1959
Daughter of the 1st Duke and HRH Princess Louise, daughter of
King Edward VII. She was fifth in
line to the thrown when she was born. Although she was not automatically
entitled to be a Princess, when her mother was created Princess Royal by the
King, she and her younger sister Maud were created Princess of the realm with
precedence immediately following the Royal Family. This gave her the
distinction, with Maud, of being the only daughters of a Princess to be given
the title of Princess in their own right. In 1910 she became engaged to Prince
Christopher of Greece, but the engagement was ended when both sets of parents
signalled their disapproval. She was with her parents when they were
shipwrecked, and, following his death, succeeded him according to the special
remainder of the 1900 peerages In 1913 he married Major-General Arthur
Frederick Patrick Albert Windsor, Prince of Connaught,
son of Prince Arthur, 1st Duke of Connaught
and Strathearn, third son of Queen Victoria and
Prince Albert, who was her first cousin once-removed, and carried out royal
engagements with her husband. During the First World War she served as a nurse,
and in 1920 accompanied her husband when he was appointed as Governor-General
of the Union of South Africa, where she worked as a nurse in local hospitals. Her
only son, Alistair Arthur Windsor (b.1914, d.1943), who had succeeded his
paternal grandfather as 2nd Duke of Connaught
and Strathearn, died before her, and the dukedom
passed to her nephew.
3rd Duke of Fife, James George Alexander
Bannerman Carnegie, b.1929, a.1959
Nephew of the 2nd Duchess, being the son of her younger
sister, Princess Maud Alexandra Victoria Georgina Bertha Duff (b.1893, d.1945)
and Sir Charles Alexander Carnegie, 11th Earl of Southesk. A member of the
extended Royal Family, though not on the Civil List, he was educated at Gordonstoun and the Royal Agricultural College before
serving with the Scots Guards in Malaya from 1948 to 1950. As well as being 3rd
Duke, he is also 3rd Earl of Macduff, 12th
Earl of Southesk, 12th Lord Carnegie of Kinnaird, 12th Lord Carnegie of Kinnaird and Leuchars, 4th
Baron Balinhard of Farnell in
the County of Forfar and 9th Baronet Carnegie of Pitcarrow
in the County of Kincardine, and is Chief of Clan Carnegie.
The courtesy title for the heir is Earl of Southesk.
(Last updated: 08/06/2011)