Lord Lovat

Lord Lovat (Scottish Gaelic: Mac Shimidh)[2] is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1458 for Hugh Fraser. The holder is also the Chief of Clan Fraser of Lovat.

Lord Lovat
Quarterly, 1st & 4th: Azure three fraises Argent; 2nd & 3rd: Argent three antique crowns Gules.
Creation date1458
PeeragePeerage of Scotland
First holderHugh Fraser, 1st Lord Lovat
Present holderSimon Fraser, 16th Lord Lovat
Heir presumptiveHon. Jack Fraser, Master of Lovat
Subsidiary titlesBaron Lovat
Seat(s)Beaufort Lodge
Balblair House[1]
Former seat(s)Beaufort Castle
MottoJe suis prest
(I am ready)
Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat
Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat. Engraving c. 1715

The first Lord Lovat was one of the hostages for James I on his return to Scotland in 1424, and in 1431 he was appointed high sheriff of the county of Inverness. The second Lord Lovat, Thomas, held the office of justiciary of the north in the reign of James IV, and died 21 October 1524.

The title descended in a direct line for nine sequential generations from 1458 until the death of the ninth Lord in 1696. He was succeeded by his great-uncle, the tenth Lord. In 1697 the latter's son, Simon Fraser, known as Simon "the Fox", kidnapped and forcibly married the late ninth Lord's widow, the former Lady Amelia Murray, only daughter of John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl. However, Lady Lovat's powerful family, the Murrays, were angered, and prosecuted Fraser, who fled the country. Fraser was convicted in absentia, attainted, and sentenced to death. In 1715, however, Fraser supported the Government against the Jacobite uprising and was rewarded by being pardoned for his crimes. In 1730, he won litigation seeking to confirm his title of Lord Lovat. In 1745, however, Lord Lovat participated in The '45 against the Crown and was therefore sentenced to death. He was beheaded on 9 April 1747, aged 80, on Tower Hill in London, becoming the last man to die in this manner. His titles, furthermore, were forfeit. (Fraser was also created Duke of Fraser, Marquess of Beaufort, Earl of Stratherrick and Upper Tarf, Viscount of the Aird and Strathglass and Lord Lovat and Beaulieu in the Jacobite Peerage of Scotland by James Francis Edward Stuart (titular King James III of England and VIII of Scotland) in 1740.)

His eldest son and namesake Simon Fraser became a General in the British Army. He obtained a full pardon but was not restored to the title. His younger brother Archibald Campbell Fraser was a Colonel in the Army and would have succeeded but for the attainder. On his death in 1815 the title was claimed by his kinsman Thomas Fraser, a descendant of Thomas Fraser, second son of the fourth Lord. In 1837 he was created Baron Lovat, of Lovat in the County of Inverness, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. However, it was not until 1854 that the attainder of the eleventh Lord was reversed, and Thomas Fraser became the twelfth Lord Lovat. He was succeeded by his son, the thirteenth Lord, who served as Lord Lieutenant of Inverness. His eldest son, the fourteenth Baron, was a soldier and politician and notably held office as Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs from 1926 to 1927. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the fifteenth Lord. He was a prominent soldier and distinguished himself during the Second World War. As of 2017 the titles are held by his grandson, the sixteenth Lord, who succeeded in 1994.

The Conservative politician Sir Hugh Fraser was the younger son of the fourteenth Lord. Another member of the family was Sir Ian Fraser, Chairman of Rolls-Royce Motors. He was the son of Hon. Alastair Thomas Joseph Fraser, younger son of the thirteenth Lord.

The family seats now are Beaufort Lodge and Balblair House, near Beauly, Inverness-shire.

Clan Fraser

The Lordship of Lovat has for some time been linked to the Chiefship of Clan Fraser. The former family seat was Beaufort Castle in northern Scotland. The numbering of the Scottish Lordship used by Clan Fraser differs from the legal numbering in that it ignores the attainder of 1747–1854, with the result that the 16th Lord is termed by them "18th Lord Lovat".[3][4][5]

Lords Lovat (1458); Barons Lovat (1837)
Coat of Arms of the Lords Lovat

The heir presumptive is the present holder's brother the Hon. Jack Hugh Fraser, Master of Lovat (b. 1984).

References
  1. "Balblair House, Beauly". Britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  2. Mac an Tàilleir, Iain. "Ainmean Pearsanta" (docx). Sabhal Mòr Ostaig. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
  3. "Clan, Fraser, Frasier, Frazer, Frazier, Simpson, Simon, Inverness, Lovat, Scotland, Beauly, Highland, Tweed". Fraserclan-cal.net. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  4. "LOVAT". Thefrasers.com. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  5. "HISTORY OF THE FRASERS IN CANADA – Clan Fraser Society of Canada". Clanfraser.ca. 19 August 1997. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
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