John Leslie (c. 163027 July 1681), son of John Leslie, 6th Earl of Rothes, was the 7th

Earl of Rothes Earl of Rothes (pronounced "''Roth''-is") is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1458 for George Leslie, 1st Lord Leslie. He had already been created Lord Leslie in 1445, also in the Peerage of Scotland. His grandson, the thir ...

and 1st Duke of Rothes. According to tradition, he was a descendant of Princess Beatrix, sister of King Malcolm III of Scotland. His family had intermarried with both the

Stuarts The House of Stuart, originally spelt Stewart, was a royal house of Scotland, England, Ireland and later Great Britain. The family name comes from the office of High Steward of Scotland, which had been held by the family progenitor Walter ...

and the Bruces.

Life

Leslie was born in 1630. His mother died when he was ten, and on his father's death in the following year, he succeeded to the peerage. He was placed under the care of

John Lindsay, 17th Earl of Crawford John Lindsay ( – 1679), Earl of Crawford and Earl of Lindsay, was a Scottish noble. Early life Lindsay was born . He was the eldest son of Robert Lindsay, 9th Lord Lindsay and Lady Christian Hamilton. His younger sister, Helen Lindsay, mar ...

, to whose daughter he was betrothed. On account of the wars, his education was much neglected. "He had," says Burnet, "no advantage of education, no sort of literature; nor had he travelled abroad; all in him was mere nature". He was captured at the

Battle of Worcester The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 in and around the city of Worcester, England and was the last major battle of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Parliamentarian army of around 28,000 under Oliver Cromwell d ...

in 1651, his estates were sequestrated by the parliament, and on 18 September he was committed to the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...

. On 18 July 1652, his liberty was extended to ten miles from the city of London. On 14 December 1652, he was permitted, on heavy security, to go to Scotland on business for three months; similar permission was granted in 1653 and 1654, and in 1654–5 he was permitted to stay six months at Newcastle. On 8 January 1656/57 he obtained leave, owing, it is told, to the influence of

Elizabeth Murray, countess of Dysart Elizabeth Maitland, Duchess of Lauderdale, 2nd Countess of Dysart (''née'' Murray; 28 September 1626 – 5 June 1698) was a Scottish noblewoman. In her own right she was the Countess of Dysart and from the date of her remarriage in 1672 the Du ...

, to visit Scotland again. In January 1658, he was, however, committed to the castle of Edinburgh by Cromwell, to prevent a duel between him and Viscount Morpeth, who was jealous of the attentions which Rothes paid his wife; he was released the following December. Leslie was one of the first noblemen to wait on Charles II on his arrival from Breda in 1660, and on 20 December was appointed colonel of one of the Fife regiments of horse. King Charles II made him the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland, Lord Chancellor of Scotland for life (in 1667), and President of the Privy Council of Scotland. He carried the sword of state at the

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of o ...

of Charles II. In 1663, when he succeeded his father-in-law as Lord High Treasurer, he was sworn a privy councillor of England, and was appointed Captain of the troop of lifeguards and general of the forces in Scotland. He also received a re-grant in 1663 of the earldom of Rothes, together with the title of Lord Leslie and Ballinbreich. He was considered over-zealous in his persecution of

Covenanters Covenanters ( gd, Cùmhnantaich) were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. The name is derived from '' Covena ...

and insufficiently attentive to the defence of

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by ''Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

against attack by the Dutch.Thomson, Oliver (2018), ''Zealots: How a Group of Scottish Conspirators Unleashed Half a Century of War in Britain'', Amberley, pp. 196–197 On 16 April 1667 he was deprived of all his offices, but in October was made lord chancellor for life. Through the intervention of the Duke of York, he was on 29 May 1680 created Duke of Rothes, Marquis of Balleobreich, Earl of Leslie, Viscount of Lugton, Lord Auchmutie and Caskiebery. He married Anne Crawford-Lindsay, daughter of

. He built the Palace of Leslie (also known as Leslie House), which nearly burnt completely in a fire on Christmas Day 1763. John died at

Holyrood Palace The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace or Holyroodhouse, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

on 27 July 1681. He was awarded a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of ...

. The funeral procession was more elaborate and impressive than either Wellington's or Churchill's. It stretched over seventeen miles (27 km) long. The cost of whole regiments of ceremonial guards, soldiers, banners, trumpets, heralds and coaches effectively ruined the family finances forever, and he left behind a huge debt to his daughter, Margaret Leslie.

Family

He had two daughters: * Margaret, who married Charles Hamilton, 5th Earl of Haddington * Christian (1661–1710) As he had no male issue, the Dukedom of Rothes became extinct, the Earldom only being passed to his daughter.

References

Attribution: * *

External links

Clan Leslie Trust
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rothes, John Leslie, 1st Duke Of 1681 deaths Rothes, 101 Presidents of the Privy Council of Scotland Cavaliers Year of birth uncertain Lords High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1661–1663 Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1665 Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1667 Lord High Treasurers of Scotland 17th-century Scottish politicians 17th-century Scottish people Commissioners of the Treasury of Scotland Extraordinary Lords of Session