Earls of Huntly (1445)
1st Earl of Huntly, Alexander Gordon, b.b.1435, a.1445, d.
1470
Alexander Gordon, originally surname Seton, was the son of Sir Alexander
Seton (b.?, d.1440-1441) and Elizabeth Gordon (b.?, d.1438-1439). His mother
was the heiress of the Gordons of Huntly, another of the great families of
Norman descent that served Scotland well during the wars with England in the
Middle Ages, and he inherited the feudal titles of Lord of Gordon and Lord of
Huntly, changing his name in the process. He divorced his first wife Egidia Hay
and married Elizabeth Crichton, daughter of Lord William Crichton, Chancellor
of Scotland at the time. He was raised to the peerage as 1st Earl of
Huntly by King James II in 1445, with a remit to smooth tensions between the
Crichtons and the Douglas clan, and in 1451 he was also made Lord of Badenoch.
One of the principal seats of the Gordon’s was Strathbogie Castle, that
formerly belonged to the forfeited Earl of Atholl, and
which had been awarded to Sir John Gordon in 1376. After the murder of William
Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas by the King
at Stirling Castle in 1452, the new Huntly was appointed Lieutenant-General. In
leading his troops to defend the King, he was met at Brechin by a force of
Lindsays led by Alexander Lindsay, 4th Earl of Crawford,
the Tiger Earl. In a pitched battle, both sides suffered heavy losses, with
Huntly losing two of his brothers, before Crawford fled the field. Huntly then
turned north to take on Archibald Douglas, de uxoris Earl of Moray.
In later life, Huntly expanded the lands under his control and by
subinfeudation built up a layer of loyal retainers.
2nd Earl of Huntly, George Gordon,
b.b.1455, a.1470, d.1501
Son of the 1st Earl and Elizabeth Crichton (b.?, d.1479). He
married Elizabeth Dunbar, Countess of Moray, daughter of James Dunbar, 4th
Earl of Moray, in 1455, after her first husband
Archibald Douglas was killed at the Battle of Arkinholm, but they were too
closely related (she was his niece) and they obtained a divorce. He then
married Annabella Stewart, daughter of King James I, but was forced to have
that marriage annulled as she was too closely related to his first wife,
although their children were later legitimised. He then married Elizabeth Hay,
daughter of William Hay, 1st Earl of Erroll.
In 1476 he was responsible for obtaining the surrender of John Macdonald, 11th
Earl of Ross, who had been conspiring with the English,
to the King. He fought for King James III at the Battle of Sauchieburn, and
although on the losing side was held in high regard by the new monarch, and was
made Lieutenant of the North in 1491. He was Lord Chancellor of Scotland
between 1498 and 1501 but resigned shortly before his death. His daughter
Catherine Gordon (b.?, d.1537) married Perkin Warbeck, who famously pretended to
be Richard, Duke of York, brother of Edward V of England, to the extent that he
persuaded James IV to invade England (though this petered out when support for
the impersonator failed to take off amongst the English people). After this
failed, Perkin travelled to Cornwall via Ireland, declaring himself Richard IV
on landing at Whitesand Bay and attacking Exeter with a small army. He was
eventually captured and executed, but Catherine was well treated and taken into
the English Court by Henry VII.
3rd Earl of Huntly, Alexander Gordon,
b.b.1464, a.1501, d.c.1524
Son of the 2nd Earl and Annabella Stewart (b.c.1432, d.1509).
He spent much of his time subduing the Highlands in the name of the King and
was responsible for capturing Donald Dubh, the self-styled Lord of the Isles,
receiving more and more lands for his faithful service over the years, and was
made Hereditary Sheriff of Inverness in 1509. He was a renowned fighter and
jointly led the left wing of the Scottish army at Flodden, being one of the few
who survived the battle. In 1517 he joined the Council of Regency and in 1518
became Lieutenant of Scotland.
4th Earl of Huntly, George Gordon,
b.c.1514, a.c.1524, d.1562
Grandson of the 3rd Earl and Lady Jean Stewart (b.?, d.1510),
daughter of John Stewart, 1st Earl of Atholl,
and son of John Gordon, Lord Gordon (b.b.1500, d.1517) and Margaret Stewart
(b.c.1497, d.?), daughter of King James IV. He was made Lieutenant of the North
in 1537 and wielded immense power there, and in 1540 was made Sheriff of
Aberdeen as well as being Hereditary Sheriff of Inverness. He commanded the
King’s Army at the Battle of Haddon Rig in 1542, and in 1544 was involved in
fierce clashes with rebellious Highland clans under Donald Dubh, who had escaped
from captivity after a long imprisonment. He was in the Council of Regency that
operated under the Earl of Arran and Cardinal Beaton,
taking over as Lord Chancellor when Beaton was murdered in 1546. He was
captured by the English at the Battle of Pinkie, but escaped in 1548 after
refusing to intrigue on England’s behalf and was given as a reward for his
loyalty the earldom of Moray and the Sheriffdom of Elgin in 1549. Ever at odds
with the wilder Highland clans, he was commissioned by the Queen Regent to
pacify the Clan Ranald in 1554 but had to retreat ignobly after some of his
allies pulled out, resulting in him being imprisoned and removed from his
position as Chancellor, only being released after paying heavy fines. This did
not deter him from supporting the Queen Regent against the Protestant Lords of
Congregation as head of the Roman Catholic faction in Scotland. Any ideas that
the return of Queen Mary from France in 1561 would improve the situation were
quickly dispelled as she fell under the influence of her half-brother, James
Stewart, one of the leaders of the Reformation, who determined to bring Huntly
down. Under pressure, the young Mary transferred the earldom of Moray from
Huntly to Stewart, and Huntly promptly withdrew to his own domains. Later in
1562 the Queen made an official progress into the north. In Aberdeen,
Elizabeth, Countess of Huntly, met her and pleaded for leniency in the
treatment of her son John Gordon (b.c.1535, d.1562), who had been escaped from
prison after being arrested for injuring his stepson James Ogilvie in a street
fight in Edinburgh. They agreed that John should surrender and live under a
ward at Stirling Castle. In a deliberate move to cause trouble, Stewart, the
new earl of Moray, agreed, but on condition that the ward would be John
Erskine, 6th Lord Erskine (for whom see the earls of Mar), who happened to be Stewart’s uncle and close ally.
John immediately refused the offer, which seemed to offend the Queen, and
following this, when Huntly invited her to Strathbogie Castle, she refused in
turn. When the Queen’s progress reached Inverness, she was denied entry to
Inverness Castle. She then captured the castle, executing the Gordon captain,
and returned to Aberdeen, where she was denied entry to John Gordon’s own
Findlater Castle. Huntly and his son were summoned to appear before her in
Aberdeen, but refused to hand themselves over to their enemies. Although he offered to surrender to
Parliament, he was outlawed and marched on Aberdeen. However, he was met by
James Stewart at the head of another force. They clashed at the Battle of
Corrichie, where Huntly was captured, dying soon afterwards of apoplexy after
falling from his horse. John Gordon and several other senior Gordons were
executed in Aberdeen and the Huntly titles were later forfeited by an Act of
Parliament, with the earl’s possessions at Strathbogie being divided between
the Queen and Moray.
5th Earl of Huntly, George Gordon,
b.b.1548, a.1562, d.1576
Son of the 4th Earl and Elizabeth Keith, daughter of Robert
Keith, Master of Marischal. Initially condemned for
treason, although he was not remotely involved, he was confined in Dunbar
Castle until 1565, when he obtained a reversal of his father’s attainder from
the Queen, who was looking for support in her decision to marry Lord Darnley
despite objections from the Protestant lords. He became a close ally of the
Queen and James Hepburn, 4th Earl of
Bothwell, his brother-in-law, and his loyalty
to Mary after Rizzio’s murder was rewarded by him being made Lord Chancellor in
place of the Regent, James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton,
who had been forced to flee the country following his part in the murder. He
was then intimately involved, along with Bothwell, Archibald Campell, 5th
Earl of Argyll and the Secretary of State John
Maitland (for whom see the earls of Lauderdale, in
the plot, hatched at Craigmillar Castle, to kill Mary’s husband Darnley, who
had become a liability to the Crown. Darnley fell ill and was taken to
Edinburgh yearly in 1567, where he was murdered in the grounds of his house
after escaping an explosion designed to kill him. Bothwell then divorced
Huntly’s sister Jean Gordon (b.c.1546, d.1629) in order to marry Mary. This
provoked the Protestant lords into action and they moved into Edinburgh, taking
over Parliament. Mary and Bothwell gathered a force at Dunbar Castle and then
marched on the capital. The two sides met at Carberry Hill, and after several
hours of posturing Mary surrendered to the Parliamentary troops without any
fighting having taken place. Huntly aided in Bothwell’s escape and met other
loyalists at Dumbarton Castle, but then managed to obtain some reconciliation
with the Reformers, carrying the sceptre at the first Parliament of the new
Regent Moray. After Mary escaped from Lochleven Castle,
he set off to support her, but was still in the north of the country when the
Battle of Langside took place. He held out until 1570, when he raised another
army in support of Mary, which was defeated at Brechin by Morton, and he was
declared forfeit. For the next few years there was civil war, with various
agreements being made and broken by both sides, the King’s party, as it was
now, taking back Dumbarton Castle, while later in 1571 Huntly, with aid from
Scott of Buccleuch and the Hamiltons, attacked Stirling and killed the new
Regent, Matthew Stuart, 4th Earl of Lennox.
Finally, in 1573, a peace deal was negotiated between the various factions,
with the new Regent Morton arranging the repeal of the attainder, allowing
Huntly to retire to his estates. He collapsed while playing football at
Strathbogie Castle and died a few hours later.
6th Earl of Huntly, George Gordon,
b.c.1563, a.1576, d.1636
Son of the 5th Earl and Lady Anne Hamilton, daughter of James
Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran. He was the
leader of Scotland’s Roman Catholics and initially conspired with the earls of Crawford and of Erroll to
overthrow the Protestant Church. In 1589 he was captured and found guilty of
treason, but being a favourite of King James VI was released to his own
estates. However, while there he engaged in feuds with local clans, and was
also responsible for the death of the young Earl of Moray, husband to the
Countess of Moray, Huntly having fabricated a story
that implicated him in an attempted kidnap of the King. This act was met with
such general outrage that the King was required to make a show of bringing him
to justice, and he was kept as a prisoner for a while in Blackness Castle until
the furore died down. In 1593 he was again involved in a conspiracy with the
earls of Angus and of Erroll, to overturn
Protestantism, and the King was forced to step in. When the conspirators
refused his summons, James led a large contingent into the north. Huntly fled
for the mountains leaving his wife to surrender Huntly Castle. The Church was
not placated by this leniency and James was forced to offer strict terms that
the conspirators embrace Protestantism. Refusing this option, Huntly was found
guilty of high treason and declared forfeit. Archibald Campbell, 7th
Earl of Argyll, was given a commission to subdue the
Gordon estates but was defeated soundly at the Battle of Glenlivet. In the face
of this insult to his authority, the King led an army northwards and Huntly was
required to flee the country. In 1597 he was allowed back after his wife, the
Countess, had interceded with the King, but only as long as he rejected
Catholicism. As a mark of royal favour, he was made Lieutenant of the North and
in 1599 he was created 1st Marquess of Huntly, 1st Earl
of Enzie and 1st Lord Gordon
of Badenoch, making this the oldest marquessate in Scotland and the
second-oldest in the British Isles (the oldest being Winchester).
Marquesses of Huntly (1599)
1st Marquess of Huntly, George Gordon,
b.c.1653, a.1599, d.1636
This promotion didn’t bring an end to his machinations and he was hauled
before the General Assembly in 1608 and in 1616, finally promising to bring his
sons up as Protestants. Needless to say, he remained right to his death a
staunch Roman Catholic. His son, John Gordon, Lord Aboyne, was killed in the
burning of Frendraught Castle in 1630, which
resulted in the ravaging of the lands of the Crichtons of Frendraught, and as a
result of complaints to the Privy Council that Huntly was imprisoned in Edinburgh,
though an old man, kept in poor conditions and without the company of his wife.
His health suffered badly as a result and he died while being transferred back
to Strathbogie.
2nd Marquess of Huntly, George Gordon,
b.c.1590, a.1636, d.1649
Son of the 1st Marquess and Lady Henrietta Stewart, daughter
of Esme Stuart, 1st Duke of Lennox. Heavily
influenced by the Court in London, he was raised as a Protestant, and was made
a Knight of the Bath in 1610 and a Privy Counsellor in 1616. On his return to
Scotland he became involved in clashes with the Mackintosh of Clan Chattan,
hereditary enemies of the family, which were settled when the chief of
Mackintosh was detained in Edinburgh Castle. He then travelled extensively in
Europe, attending at the French Court as Captain of the Scots Bodyguard and
serving in Alsace and Lorraine before being summoned back to Scotland to help
his father control disorder in the Highlands. In 1632 he was created 1st
Viscount Aboyne and soon after succeeded to his father’s titles. Although
encouraged to join the Covenanters, he eventually took the King’s Commission in
the North, but rather than fight he negotiated a relatively benign truce with Montrose, which held until his second son, James
Gordon, Viscount Aboyne (b.?, d.1648-1649) took back Aberdeen from the
Covenanters, requiring Montrose to venture back north and drive the Royalists
back into the Highlands. In 1644, when Montrose had become a Royalist and
raised the royal standard at Atholl, Huntly refused to commit the Gordon clan,
though a small body of Gordons under George Gordon, Lord Gordon (b.?, d.1645),
Huntly’s eldest son, fought at the Battle of Alford and was killed. Lord
Aboyne, mentioned above, led a detachment of the clan at the Battle of Kilsyth
but refused to follow Montrose into the Borders. After the collapse of the
royal cause, Huntly fortified his fortresses in Banff and Strathbogie, holding
out against successive attacks by John Middleton, 1st Earl of Middleton, but when Middleton was joined by General
Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven, with added
troops, their combined force was too much and Huntly was forced into the
Highlands, his Aberdeenshire strongholds taken one by one. He was eventually
run to earth by Middleton and taken to Edinburgh, imprisoned in the Tolbooth.
King Charles made requests for him to be treated leniently, but after the
King’s execution, the Committee of Estates found him guilty of treason. He was
finally beheaded as an example for those who took arms against the Kirk and the
Scottish Parliament, with his titles again subject to attainder. Lord Aboyne
took refuge in France, where he died. Huntly’s youngest son, Charles Gordon,
was made 1st Earl of Aboyne in 1660.
3rd Marquess of Huntly, Lewis Gordon,
b.b.1620, a.1649, d.1653
Third son of the 2nd Marquess and Lady Anne Campbell,
daughter of Archibald Campbell, 7th Earl of Argyll.
Born while his father was in the Scots Guards in France, he was named after
King Louis XIII. As a young man he raised a regiment of Gordon clansmen to
fight against the Covenanters and after the end of the First Bishop’s War went
to France to learn soldiering. He then went to England, where he served on both
sides during the English Civil War, and then, after succeeding his elder
brother as heir, in Scotland, where he fought against the Covenanters of
Montrose, before returning to France in exile. He was granted a remission of
attainder by Charles II at a Parliament held in Perth in 1651, during the
King’s exile in Scotland, but died soon after.
4th Marquess of Huntly, George Gordon,
b.1649, a.1653, d.1716
Son of the 3rd Marquess and Mary Grant (b.?, d.1707),
daughter of John Grant of Freuchie. He spent a great deal of his early life on
the Continent, serving in the French Army and later under the Prince of Orange,
before returning to Scotland in 1675. He was granted the title 1st
Duke of Gordon in 1684 by Charles II, in appreciation of his family’s loyalty
and despite refusing to renounce his Catholicism, and with the subsidiary
titles of 1st Marquess of Huntly, 1st Earl of Huntly and
Enzie, 1st Viscount of Inverness and 1st Lord Badenoch,
Lochaber, Strathavon, Balmore, Auchidon, Garthie and Kincardine.
Dukes of Gordon (1684)
1st Duke of Gordon, George Gordon, b.1649,
a.1684, d.1716
After the accession of the Catholic James VII, he was made a Privy Counsellor
in 1686 and was a founding Knight of the Thistle in 1687, and was installed as
Lieutenant of the North and Governor of Edinburgh Castle. At the Revolution he
remained loyal to James VII even though their relationship was never cordial,
and was required to surrender Edinburgh Castle. He held out as long as
provisions lasted and then surrendered honourably. He submitted to the new King
in London and then joined the exiled James in Flanders. James, however, had
little interest in his visitor and Gordon returned to England, where he spent
the remainder of his life in relative quiet despite his position within the
Jacobite community, though he spent a short time in Edinburgh Castle after the
failed Jacobite Uprising of 1707.
2nd Duke of Gordon, Alexander Gordon,
b.c.1678, a.1716, d.1728
Son of the 1st Duke and Lady Elizabeth Howard (b.?, d.1732),
daughter of Henry Howard, 6th Duke of Norfolk. He was a much more
active Jacobite sympathiser than his father and in 1715 raised the banner for
Prince Charles, joining the Jacobite army in Perth. He fought at Sheriffmuir,
after which he was confined in Edinburgh Castle for a time, but no further
proceedings were taken against him.
3rd Duke of Gordon, Cosmo George Gordon,
b.c.1721, a.1728, d.1752
Son of the 2nd Duke and Lady Henrietta Mordaunt (b.c.1688,
d.1760), daughter of General Sir Charles Mordaunt, 3rd Earl of
Peterborough. Named after Cosmo de Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, he was raised
as a Protestant and sided with the Government at the rebellion of 1745. He was
rewarded by being made a Knight of the Thistle in 1747. He was also a
Representative Peer from 1747 to 1752.
4th Duke of Gordon, Alexander Gordon,
b.1743, a.1752, d.1827
Son of the 3rd Duke and Lady Catherine Gordon (b.1718,
d.1779), daughter of William Gordon, 2nd Earl of Aberdeen. Educated at Eton, he was a Representative
Peer from 1767 to 1784 and was created a Knight of the Thistle in 1775. He was
Captain in the 89th Foot Regiment (which had been raised from Gordon
levies), and during the American War of Independence raised another regiment,
the Gordon Fencibles. In 1793 he raised a third regiment of Gordons, called the
Gordon Highlanders, which was disbanded in 1799. In 1784 he was created 1st
Earl of Norwich in the Peerage of Great Britain, a title that had recently
become extinct, he being a descendant of its first holder. At the same time he
was created 1st Baron Gordon of Huntley, of Huntley in county
Gloucester, also in the Peerage of Great Britain, and was Keeper of the Great
Seal of Scotland from 1794 to 1806 and from 1807 to 1827. He was Chancellor of
King’s College, Aberdeen, from 1793 to 1827 and Lord-Lieutenant of
Aberdeenshire from 1794 to 1808. In 1819 he inherited the title of 12th
Baron Mordaunt, being a great-grandson of the 5th holder of that
title, John Mordaunt, 1st Earl of Peterborough. His wife Jane
Maxwell was perhaps more celebrated during their marriage than he. She was
recognised as a great beauty and witty and intelligent and was the queen of
high society in both London and Edinburgh, welcoming Robert Burns to Gordon
Castle. In later years she became alienated from her husband, who eventually
found affection elsewhere, and they separated, bringing an end to her
involvement and influence in political and social circles.
5th Duke of Gordon, George Gordon, b.1770,
a.1827, d.1836
Son of the 4th Earl and Jane Maxwell (b.1748, d.1812),
daughter of Sir William Maxwell, 3rd Baronet Maxwell of Monreith (in
Wigtonshire). Born in Edinburgh and educated at Eton, h joined the army in 1790
and fought for the 42nd Foot Regiment and then the 3rd
Foot Guards. In 1794 he raised the Gordon Highlanders (the 92nd
Foot) and was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel. He led the regiment in several
campaigns, including Gibraltar, Corsica and the Irish Rebellion, and was
wounded in 1799 during the disastrous expedition in the Netherlands led by the
Duke of York, before rejoining the 42nd Foot in 1806, and led a division
during the Walcheren campaign in 1809. He reached the rank of General in 1819
and in 1820 was invested as a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath. From
1820 to 1834 he was Colonel of the 1st Foot. He was Lord-Lieutenant
of Aberdeenshire from 1808 to 1936. After succeeding his father he was made
Governor of Edinburgh Castle and was Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland from
1828 to 1830. He died without legitimate issue, and the dukedom and all its
subsidiary titles became extinct, as did the British peerages awarded to his
father. The Huntly estates fell to Esme Stuart, 5th Duke of Lennox, a grandson of the 4th Duke, and the
title of Duke of Gordon was re-created for the 6th Duke of Lennox.
The original Scottish titles fell to a descendant of the 2nd
Marquess of Huntly.
Marquesses of Huntly (1599, continued)
9th Marquess of Huntly, George Gordon,
b.1761, a.1836, d.1853
George Gordon was the 5th Earl of Aboyne,
a distant cousin of the 5th Duke of Gordon by way of the 2nd
Marquess of Huntly.
10th Marquess of Huntly, Charles Gordon,
b.1792, a.1853, d.1863
Son of the 9th Marquess and Catherine Cope (b.1771, d.1832),
daughter of Sir Charles Cope, 2nd Baronet Cope of Brewern,
Oxfordshire. He served as a Tory MP for East Grinstead from 1818 to 1830 and
was then elected as a Whig MP for Huntingdonshire from 1830 to 1831. He was
Lord of the Bedchamber from 1826 to 1830 and was a Lord in Waiting from 1840 to
1841. He was Lord-Lieutenant of Aberdeenshire from 1861 to 1863. He had a large
family of 14 children. Like his father he was a keen cricketer and played
first-class cricket for several counties from 1819 to 1843.
11th Marquess of Huntly, Charles Gordon,
b.1847, a.1863, d.1937
Son of the 10th Marquess and his second wife Maria Antoinetta
Pegus (b.?, d.1893). Educated at Eton and Trinity College Cambridge, he was a
Lord-in-Waiting to Queen Victoria from 1870 to 1873 in the Liberal government
of William Gladstone and then Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms (government
chief whip in the House of Lords) during Gladstone’s second term in office. He
was made a Privy Counsellor in 1881 and became Father of the House of Lords in
1930. He was also Rector of the University of Aberdeen from 1890 to 1896. He married
twice but had no children.
12th Marquess of Huntly, Douglas Charles
Lindsey Gordon, b.1908, a.1937, d.1987
Great-grandson of the 10th Marquess, grandson of Lord
Granville Armyne Gordon (1856-1907) and Charlotte D’Olier Roe (b.?, d.1900) and
son of Lieutenant-Colonel Granville Cecil Douglas Gordon (1883-1930) and Violet
Ida Streatfield (b.1886, d.1968). He reached the rank of Lieutenant in the
Gordon Highlanders Territorial Army and fought in the Second World War.
13th Marquess of Huntly, Granville Charles
Gomer Gordon, b.1944, a.1987
Son of the 12th Marquess and Mary Pamela Berry (b.1918,
d.1998), daughter of James Gomer Berry, 1st Viscount Kemsley. He was
educated at Gordonstoun. He lost his seat in the House of Lords after the 1999
Act. As well as being 13th Marquess, he is also 9th Earl
of Aboyne, 13th Earl of Enzie, 9th Lord Gordon of
Strathavon and Glenlivet, and 5th Baron Meldrum of Morven. He is
also Chief of Clan Gordon.
The courtesy title for the heir is Earl of Aboyne.
(Last updated: 01/01/2011)