Earls of Leven (1641)

1^st Earl of Leven, Alexander Leslie, b.c.1580, a.1641, d.1661

Alexander Leslie was an highly experienced soldier, the son of Captain George Leslie of Balgonie. He went abroad in 1605, serving initially for the Dutch against the Spanish before moving to the Swedish Army, where he distinguished himself on many occasions during the Thirty Years War in Northern Germany. He was knighted by King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, who held him in high regard, and he reached the rank of Colonel. He returned to Scotland in 1637 in order to lead the army of the Covenanters, and with dazzling success took Edinburgh Castle, and defeating the Royalists at the Battle of Newburn in the North of England, after which he took Newcastle. This forced Charles I to come to the agreement of the Treaty of Ripon, ceding to the demands of the Covenanters. In 1641, Charles made him 1^st Earl of Leven and 1^st Lord Balgonie, Captain of Edinburgh Castle, and a Privy Counsellor. In 1644, Leslie commanded the Scottish Parliamentarian Army that marched into England in support of the English Parliamentarians against the Royalists, and was present at the Battle of Marston Moor. When Charles surrendered to the Scots in 1646, he was put in Leslie’s charge until he could be handed over to the English. An old man, he was no longer in command when the English invaded after Argyll’s failed attempt to support the King against Cromwell, but was captured anyway and sent to the Tower of London, from where he was released on parole due to the intercession of Queen Christina of Sweden and retired to Scotland.

2^nd Earl of Leven, Alexander Leslie, b.c.1637, a.1661, d.1664

Grandson of the 1^st Earl and Agnes Renton (b.?, d.1651), and son of Alexander Leslie, Lord Balgonie (b.?, d.a.1642) and Lady Margaret Leslie (b.?, d.1688), daughter of John Leslie, 6^th Earl of Rothes.

Earl (Countess) of Leven, Margaret Leslie, b.?, a.1664, d.1674

Daughter of the 2^nd Earl and Margaret Howard (b.?, d.1664), a descendant of Thomas Howard, 4^th Duke of Norfolk. She married Francis Montgomerie, a son of Hugh Montgomerie, 7^th Earl of Eglinton, but had no children.

Earl (Countess) of Leven, Catherine Leslie, b.1663, a.1674, d.1676

Younger sister of the previous Countess. She also had no children. The two Countesses do not contribute towards the numerical sequence of earls.

3^rd Earl of Leven, David Melville, b.1660, a.1681, d.1728

The earldom was now claimed by John Leslie, 1^st Duke of Rothes, who was the 2^nd Earl’s uncle on his mother’s side, and David Melville, future 2^nd Earl of Melville, a grandson of the 1^st Earl, and son of that earl’s daughter Catherine Leslie and George Melville, 1^st Earl of Melville. However, the first claimant’s death in 1681 allowed David Melville to succeed to the title. He was a supporter of William of Orange and commanded a regiment during the invasion of England in 1688. He then obtained a commission to pacify the Highlands and fought at the Battle of Killiecrankie in 1689, also being made a Privy Counsellor. He was Colonel of the 25^th Foot Regiment from 1689 to 1694 and was made Constable of Edinburgh Castle. He was Governor of the Bank of Scotland from 1697 to his death. He took part in campaigns in Ireland and France, reaching the rank of Lieutenant-General in 1706. He was a Commissioner for the Union in 1707 and was an inaugural Representative Peer from 1707 to 1710. In 1707 he also succeeded to his father’s Melville titles.

4^th Earl of Leven, David Melville, b.1717, a.1728, d.1729

Grandson of the 3^rd Earl and Anne Wemyss (b.?, d.1702), daughter of Sir James Wemyss, Lord Burntisland (a life peer) and Margaret, Countess of Wemyss, and son of George Melville, Lord Balgonie (b.1695, d.1721) and Margaret Carnegie (b.1696, d.1722), daughter of David Carnegie, 4^th Earl of Northesk.

5^th Earl of Leven, Alexander Melville, b.c.1699, a.1729, d.1754

Uncle of the 4^th Earl, being a younger son of the 3^rd Earl and Anne Wemyss. He was High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland fom 1741 to 1753 and was a Representative Peer from 1747 to 1754.

6^th Earl of Leven, David Melville, b.1722, a.1754, d.1802

Son of the 5^th Earl and Mary Erskine (b.b.1706, d.1723), a grand-daughter of David Erskine, 2^nd Lord Cardross.

7^th Earl of Leven, Alexander Leslie-Melville, b.1749, a.1802, d.1820

Son of the 6^th Earl and Wilhelmina Nisbet (b.1724, d.1798). He had his name legally changed in 1805.

8^th Earl of Leven, David Leslie-Melville, b.1785, a.1820, d.1860

Son of the 7^th Earl and Jane Thornton (b.?, d.1818). He was a Representative Peer from 1831 to 1860 and reached the rank of Vice-Admiral in 1858. His two sons pre-deceased him.

9^th Earl of Leven, John Thornton Leslie-Melville, b.1786, a.1860, d.1876

Younger brother of the 8^th Earl. He was a Representative Peer from 1865 to 1876.

10^th Earl of Leven, Alexander Leslie-Melville, b.1817, a.1876, d.1889

Son of the 9^th Earl and Harriet Thornton (b.?, d.1832). He was a Representative Peer from 1880 to 1889. He did not marry.

11^th Earl of Leven, Ronald Ruthven Leslie-Melville, b.1835, a.1889, d.1906

Son of the 9^th Earl and Sophia Thornton (b.?, d.1887), his first wife’s cousin. Educated at Eton and Christ Church College Oxford, he was a Director of the Bank of England, and was a Representative Peer from 1891 until his death. He was Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland from 1900, and Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly. In 1902, he was made a Privy Counsellor and in 1905 was invested as a Knight of the Thistle.

12^th Earl of Leven, John David Melville, b.1886, a.1906, d.1913

Son of the 11^th Earl and Emma Selina Portman (b.1863, d.1941), daughter of William Henry Berkley Portman, 2^nd Viscount Portman. He was a Representative Peer from 1910 to 1913. He never married.

13^th Earl of Leven, Archibald Alexander Melville, b.1890, a.1913, d.1947

Younger brother of the 12^th Earl. He fought in the First World War and reached the rank of Captain in the Royal Scots Fusiliers. He was a Representative Peer from 1927 to 1947 and was Lord-Lieutenant of Nairnshire from 1935 to 1947. He reached the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and was invested as a Knight of the Thistle.

14^th Earl of Leven, Alexander Robert Melville, b.1924, a.1947

Son of the 13^th Earl and Lady Rosamond Sylvia Diana Mary Foljambe, daughter of Cecil George Saville Foljambe, 1^st Earl of Liverpool. Educated at Eton, he reached the rank of Captain in the Coldstream Guards. He was Aide-de-Camp to the Governor-General of New Zealand from 1951 to 1952 and Lord-Lieutenant of Nairnshire from 1969 to 1999. As well as being 14^th Earl, he is also 13^th Earl of Melville, 14^th Lord Balgonie, 16^th Lord Melville of Monymaill, 13^th Viscount of Kirkcaldy and 13^th Lord Raith, Monymaill and Balwearie.

The courtesy title for the heir is Lord Balgonie.

(Last updated: 12/08/2009)