The

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question. ...

to a

Scottish peerage The Peerage of Scotland ( gd, Moraireachd na h-Alba, sco, Peerage o Scotland) is one of the five divisions of peerages in the United Kingdom and for those peers created by the King of Scots before 1707. Following that year's Treaty of Union ...

is known as a Master, or a Mistress if the heir is female. The heir's style is "The Master of eerage or "The Mistress of eerage. If the master is an heir apparent, and the peerage has a

subsidiary title A subsidiary title is a title of authority or title of honour that is held by a royal or noble person but which is not regularly used to identify that person, due to the concurrent holding of a greater title. United Kingdom An example in the Unit ...

that could be used as a

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but rather is used through custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some co ...

, then the styling of Master is usually forgone. However, if the person is an heir presumptive, or if the peerage has no subsidiary title, then Master/Mistress is a common styling. However, because the word Mistress is quite archaic, many women choose not to use the style Mistress and instead use the regular styling, e.g.

Lady The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Inform ...

Mary Smith or

The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain ...

Mary Smith. Although regarded today as a form of courtesy title, the Mastership is a dignity in its own right, and originally conferred rights of attendance in the

Parliament of Scotland The Parliament of Scotland ( sco, Pairlament o Scotland; gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland from the 13th century until 1707. The parliament evolved during the early 13th century from the king's council o ...

. As noblemen, Masters were ineligible for election to the

House of Commons of Great Britain The House of Commons of Great Britain was the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. In 1707, as a result of the Acts of Union of that year, it replaced the House of Commons of England and the third estate of th ...

for Scottish constituencies. Masters whose elections were declared void on this basis included four elected in the 1708 British general election, who each briefly attended parliament: Lord Johnstone (the Master of Annandale), Lord Haddo (the Master of Aberdeen), Lord Strathnaver (the Master of Sutherland) and the John, Master of Sinclair (never recognized as Lord Sinclair). Lord Elcho was excluded from Parliament in 1787 on the grounds that he had become the Master of Wemyss, though in fact

the peerage The peerages in the United Kingdom are a legal system comprising both hereditary and lifetime titles, composed of various noble ranks, and forming a constituent part of the British honours system. The term ''peerage'' can be used both coll ...

was under forfeiture.

People who currently hold the dignity of Master or Mistress

* Lord Alistair Hay, Master of Tweeddale, heir presumptive to the Marquessate of Tweeddale * Susan of Mar, Mistress of Mar, heiress presumptive to the

Earldom of Mar There are currently two earldoms of Mar in the Peerage of Scotland, and the title has been created seven times. The first creation of the earldom is currently held by Margaret of Mar, 31st Countess of Mar, who is also clan chief of Clan Mar. Th ...

Alexander David Erskine Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

, Master of Mar and Kellie, heir presumptive to the

and Kellie *

Geoffrey Charles Murray Geoffrey, Geoffroy, Geoff, etc., may refer to: People * Geoffrey (name), including a list of people with the name * Geoffroy (surname), including a list of people with the name * Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. 1095–c. 1155), clergyman and one of the ...

, Master of Dunmore, heir presumptive to the Earldom of Dunmore * Alexander Cary, Master of Falkland, heir apparent to the Viscountcy of Falkland *

Christopher Keith Arbuthnott Christopher is the English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or '' Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Christ" or "Anointed", and φέρει� ...

, Master of Arbuthnott, heir apparent to the Viscountcy of Arbuthnott *

Neil Malcolm Ross Forbes Neil is a masculine name of Gaelic and Irish origin. The name is an anglicisation of the Irish ''Niall'' which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "honour" or "champion".. ...

, Master of Forbes, heir apparent to the Lordship of Forbes * Katharine Fraser, Mistress of Saltoun, heiress presumptive to the Lordship of Saltoun * Jack Fraser, Master of Lovat, heir presumptive to the Lordship of Lovat * Francis Sempill, Master of Sempill, heir apparent to the Lordship of Sempill * Jago Alexander Elphinstone, Master of Elphinstone, heir presumptive to the Lordship of Elphinstone * Laetitia Bruce-Winkler, Mistress of Burleigh, heiress presumptive to the Lordship of Balfour of Burleigh * Lewis Edward Palmer, Master of Dingwall, heir apparent to the Lordship of Dingwall (also Great Britain

Baron Lucas of Crudwell Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knigh ...

) *

William Alexander Hugh Napier William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Eng ...

, Master of Napier, heir apparent to the Lordship of Napier * Alexander Shimi Markus Mackay, Master of Reay, heir apparent to the Lordship of Reay * Frederick Carmichael Arthur Hamilton, Master of Belhaven, heir apparent to the Lordship of Belhaven and Stenton * James David William Rollo, Master of Rollo, heir apparent to the Lordship of Rollo * William Henry Hepburne-Scott, Master of Polwarth, heir apparent to the Lordship of Polwarth''Burke's Peerage'', 107th edition, volume 3, page 3167

References

{{reflist Peerage of Scotland Lists of Scottish people