Sutherland was one of the original mormaerdoms of Scotland and covered huge areas of the north of the mainland. It was for many years under the Norse rule of the jarls of Orkney but was gradually won back to Scotland during the time of King David I. He backed Harald Maddadsson, son of Matad, Mormaer of Atholl, and a distant relative, against rival Norwegian claimants for the earldom of Orkney. This was enough to weaken the Viking hold over the southern extensions of their domains, c.1140-1150. When the new Scottish earldom of Sutherland was created by King Alexander II, it was handed to members of a local family with the surname de Moravia, descended from Freskin de Moravia, a Flemish nobleman who had been handed the lands of Duffus by David after helping to drive the Norsemen out of the area.

Earls of Sutherland (c.1230)

1^st Earl of Sutherland, William de Moravia, b.?, a.c.1230, d.1284

Great-grandson of Freskin de Moravia.

2^nd Earl of Sutherland, William de Moravia, b.?, a.1284, d.1307

Son of the 1^st Earl.

3^rd Earl of Sutherland, William de Moravia, b.?, a.1307, d.1330

Son of the 2^nd Earl.

4^th Earl of Sutherland, Kenneth de Moravia, b.?, a.1330, d.1333

Younger brother of the 3^rd Earl. He was killed at the Battle of Halidon Hill.

5^th Earl of Sutherland, William de Moravia, b.?, a.1333, d.1370

Son of the 4^th Earl and Mary, daughter of Donald, 7^th Earl of Mar. His first wife was Margaret Bruce, daughter of King Robert the Bruce and Elizabeth de Burgh, and at one stage their son John de Moravia (b.c.1346, d.1361) was heir to the throne. However, he died of the plague.

6^th Earl of Sutherland, Robert de Moravia, b.?, a.1370, d.?1427

Son of the 5^th Earl and Joan Menteith (b.?, d.a.1367), a grand-daughter of William Menteith, Earl of Menteith.

7^th Earl of Sutherland, John de Moravia, b.b. 1408, a.1427, d.1460

Son of the 6^th Earl and Margaret Stewart, daughter of Alexander Stewart, 1^st Earl of Buchan.

8^th Earl of Sutherland, John de Moravia, b.?, a.1460, d.1508

Son of the 7^th Earl and Margaret Baillie (b.?, d.c.1510), daughter of Sir William Baillie of Lamington.

9^th Earl of Sutherland, John de Moravia, b.?, a.1508, d.1514

Son of the 8^th Earl and Margaret Macdonald, daughter of Alexander Macdonald, 10^th Earl of Ross and Lord of the Isles.

10^th Earl (Countess) of Sutherland, Elizabeth de Moravia, b.?, a.1514, d.1535

Sister of the 9^th Earl. Her husband Adam Gordon, Lord of Aboyne, had made several attempts to have the 8^th and 9^th Earls removed from power owing to insanity, and eventually got his way when his wife succeeded to the earldom.

11^th Earl of Sutherland, John Gordon, b.c.1526, a.1535, d.1567

Grandson of the 10^th Countess and Adam Gordon (b.?, d.1537-1538), son of Sir George Gordon, 2^nd Earl of Huntly, and son of Alexander Gordon, Master of Sutherland (b.c.1501, d.1529-1530) and Lady Janet Stewart (b.1500, d.?), daughter of John Stewart, 2^nd Earl of Atholl.

12^th Earl of Sutherland, Alexander Gordon, b.c.1552, a.1567, d.1594

Son of the 11^th Earl and Lady Elizabeth Stuart (b.?, d.1564), daughter of John Stuart, 3^rd Earl of Lennox (and who had previously been married to King James V.

13^th Earl of Sutherland, John Gordon, b.1576, a.1594, d.1615

Son of the 12^th Earl and Lady Jean Gordon (b.?, d.1629), daughter of George Gordon, 4^th Earl of Huntly.

14^th Earl of Sutherland, John Gordon, b.1609, a.1615, d.1679

Son of the 13^th Earl and Agnes Elphinstone (b.?, d.1617), daughter of Alexander Elphinstone, 4^th Lord Elphinstone.

15^th Earl of Sutherland, George Gordon, b.1633, a.1679, d.1703

Son of the 14^th Earl and Lady Jean Drummond (b.1609, d.1637), daughter of James Drummond, 1^st Earl of Perth.

16^th Earl of Sutherland, John Gordon, b.1661, a.1703, d.1733

Son of the 15^th Earl and Jean Wemyss (b.?, d.1715), daughter of David Wemyss, 2^nd Earl of Wemyss. He was a Representative Peer and Lord-Lieutenant of all eight of the north Scottish counties. He changed his surname to Sutherland and was recognised as Chief of Clan Sutherland by the Lord Lyon King of Arms.

17^th Earl of Sutherland, William Sutherland, b.1708, a.1733, d.1750

Grandson of the 16^th Earl and Helen Cochrane, daughter of William Cochrane, Lord Cochrane (son of Sir William Cochrane, 1^st Earl of Dundonald), and son of William Gordon, Lord Strathnaver (b.b.1683, d.1720) and Catherine Morison (b.?, d.1765).

18th Earl of Sutherland, William Sutherland, b.1735, a.1750, d.1766

Son of the 17^th Earl and Lady Elizabeth Wemyss (b.?, d.1747), daughter of David Wemyss, 4^th Earl of Wemyss.

19^th Earl (Countess) of Sutherland, Elizabeth Sutherland, b.1765, a.1766, d.1839

Daughter of the 18^th Earl and Mary Maxwell (b.?, d.1766). On the death of the 18^th Earl, a dispute arose as to the succession, with Robert Gordon of Gordonstoun and George Sutherland of Forse challenging the Lady Elizabeth’s rights. However, the House of Lords ruled in her favour. She married George Granville Leveson-Gower, 2^nd Marquess of Stafford (b.1758, d.1833) in 1785, shortly before he succeeded his own father, and in 1833 the husband and wife were both raised to the level of duke. She is chiefly remembered as being a party to the Highland Clearances, burning out tenants from her lands.

Dukes of Sutherland (1833)

1^st Duke (Duchess) of Sutherland, Elizabeth Leveson-Gower, as above

Her husband was created 1^st Duke of Sutherland independently.

2^nd Duke of Sutherland, George Granville Sutherland Leveson-Gower, b.1786, a.1839, d.1861

Son of the 1^st Duke and Duchess. He converted Dunrobin from a castle to a large stately home. His younger brother, Francis Leveson-Gower (b.1800, d.1857), became the 1^st Earl of Ellesmere in the Peerage of the United Kingdom and changed his surname to Egerton, his mother’s maiden name. His descendants would eventually succeed to the dukedom.

3^rd Duke of Sutherland, George Granville William Sutherland Leveson-Gower, b.1828, a.1861, d.1892

Son of the 2^nd Duke and Lady Harriet Elizabeth Georgiana Howard (b.1806, d.1868), daughter of Sir George Howard, 6^th Earl of Carlisle.

4^th Duke of Sutherland, Cromartie Sutherland Leveson-Gower, b.1851, a.1892, d.1913

Oldest surviving son of the 3^rd Duke and Anne Hay-Mackenzie, Countess of Cromartie. His younger brother Francis Mackenzie Sutherland Leveson-Gower (b.1852, d.1893) succeeded to his mother’s earldom.

5^th Duke of Sutherland, George Granville Sutherland Leveson-Gower, b.1888, a.1913, d.1963

Son of the 4^th Duke and Lady Millicent Fanny St Clair-Erskine (b.1867, d.1955), daughter of Robert Francis St Clair-Erskine, 4^th Earl of Rosslyn. He married twice but had no children. The dukedom passed to the line of the earls of Ellesmere. However, the earldom, under different rules, remained with the Leveson-Gowers, as indicated below. Sutherland served as a Minister of State in several Conservative governments and was made a Knight of the Thistle in 1929 and a Privy Counsellor in 1936. He was the first Chairman of the British Film Institute from 1933 to 1936 and continued as its patron until his death.

6^th Duke of Sutherland, John Sutherland Egerton, b.1915, a.1963, d.2000

The 1^st Duke’s youngest son, Francis Leveson-Gower (b.1800, d.1857) became 1^st Earl of Ellesmere as has been mentioned, and changed his surname to Egerton. He married Harriet Catherine Greville (b.?, d.1866), who was a grand-daughter of William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, 3^rd Duke of Portland. Their son George Granville Francis Egerton, 2^nd Earl of Ellesmere (b.1823, d.1862) married Lady Mary Louisa Campbell (b.c.1825, d.1916), daughter of John Frederick Campbell, 1^st Earl Cawdor of Castlemartin. Their son Francis Charles Granville Egerton, 3^rd Earl of Ellesmere (b.1847, d.1914) married Lady Katherine Louisa Phipps (b.1850, d.1926), daughter of George Augustus Constantine Phipps, 2^nd Marquess of Normanby. Their son John Francis Granville Scrope Egerton, 4^th Earl of Ellesmere (b.1872, d.1944) married Lady Violet Lambton (b.1880, d.?), daughter of Frederick William Lambton, 4^th Earl of Durham, and their son succeeded to the dukedom. Educated at Eton and Trinity College Cambridge, he was part of the British Expeditionary Force in France in 1940 and was held as a prisoner-of-war for four years. He succeeded to his father’s earldom of Ellesmere in 1944 on his return and in 1963 became 6^th Duke of Sutherland, although the Sutherland estates and family seat of Dunrobin passed to the Countess of Sutherland. He married twice but had no children and the dukedom passed to a cousin.

7^th Duke of Sutherland, Francis Ronald Egerton, b.1940, a.2000

Great-grandson of the 3^rd Earl of Ellesmere, grandson of Major Francis William George Egerton (b.1874, d.1948) and Hilda Margaret Curteis (b.?, d.1958) and son of Cyril Reginald Egerton (b.1905, d.?) and Mary Campbell (b.?, d.1949). He is 7^th Duke of Sutherland, 8^th Marquess of Stafford and 6^th Earl of Ellesmere.

The courtesy title for the heir is Marquess of Stafford.

Earls of Sutherland (c.1230, continued)

24^th Earl (Countess) of Sutherland, Elizabeth Millicent Leveson-Gower, b.1921, a.1963

Grand-daughter of the 4^th Duke, and daughter of Alastair St Clair Leveson-Gower (b.1890, d.1921) and Elizabeth Helene Gardner Dumarest (b.1892, d.1931) of New York City. She is also 24^th Lord Strathnaver, and is Chief of Clan Sutherland.

The courtesy title for the heir is Lord Strathnaver.

(Last updated: 16/10/2009)