Lord Borthwick is a title in the

Peerage of Scotland 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, ...

Alexander Nisbet Alexander Nisbet (bapt. 23 March 1657; died 7 Dec. 1725) was a Scottish lawyer and antiquarian. He is remembered for his works on the subject of heraldry, which are generally considered to be some of the most complete and authoritative ever pr ...

relates that "the first of this ancient and noble family came from

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

to Scotland, in the retinue of Queen Margaret, in the reign of

Malcolm Canmore Malcolm III ( mga, Máel Coluim mac Donnchada, label=Medieval Gaelic; gd, Maol Chaluim mac Dhonnchaidh; died 13 November 1093) was King of Scotland from 1058 to 1093. He was later nicknamed "Canmore" ("ceann mòr", Gaelic, literally "big head" ...

, ''anno Domini'' 1057. A Thomas de Borthwick is mentioned in a charter of

Sir Robert Lauder of Quarrelwood Sir Robert de Lawedre (Lauder), Knt., of Quarrelwood, Edrington, and the Bass (died about 1370) was Justiciar of Scotia, a Scottish soldier of great prominence and Captain of Urquhart Castle. He is recorded by Fordun, in his ''Scotichronicon'', ...

, in the reign of King Alexander II." Borthwick Castle

Sir William de Borthwick of that Ilk was created a

Lord of Parliament A Lord of Parliament ( sco, Laird o Pairlament) was the holder of the lowest form of peerage, entitled as of right to take part in sessions of the pre- Union Parliament of Scotland. Since that Union in 1707, it has been the lowest rank of the ...

as Lord Borthwick, (

William Borthwick, 1st Lord Borthwick Sir William Borthwick, 3rd of Borthwick and later 1st Lord Borthwick (c. 1413 – October 1483) was a Scottish peer and ambassador. Borthwick was the eldest son of Sir William Borthwick, 2nd of Borthwick, castellan of Edinburgh ( Sir William Bo ...

), but it is unclear exactly when the title was created. Nisbet states: "there appears no

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

in the records constituting this peerage". Anderson supposes it dates from "about 1424", Brown says 1438, Leeson gives 1452, and Burke's and Pine actually give an exact date: June 12, 1452. However, Alexander Nisbet, writing as far back as 1722 states: "this family was dignified with the title of Lord Borthwick in the beginning of the reign of King James II" which commenced in 1437, which is closer to Brown's assertion. In the Parliament of 1469 held at

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 ...

by King

James III of Scotland James III (10 July 1451/May 1452 – 11 June 1488) was King of Scots from 1460 until his death at the Battle of Sauchieburn in 1488. He inherited the throne as a child following the death of his father, King James II, at the siege of Roxburgh ...

Lord Borthwick was ranked after the Lord Halyburton (cr.1441). In the parliament of 1471 he is the fourth

ranked immediately after the

Lord Glamis Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

(cr.1445). The chronology of the Lords Borthwick also presents problems as of the first seven, six were named William. Of the first Lord, Burke's (1999) merely states: "knighted before his father in 1430; one of the magnates who according to contemporary records habitually plundered the Customs. Married and left issue". Anderson states "the first Lord Borthwick died before 1458". Borthwick Arms

His son, the second Lord (

William Borthwick, 2nd Lord Borthwick William Borthwick, 2nd Lord Borthwick (died between 6 October 1483 and 7 February 1484) was a Scottish landowner and ambassador to England. He was a son of William Borthwick, 1st Lord Borthwick. Borthwick served as ambassador to England in 1459 ...

), was an ambassador to England as well as Master of the Household to King James III. He was succeeded by his son, the third Lord (

William Borthwick, 3rd Lord Borthwick Sir William Borthwick, 3rd Lord Borthwick (died 20 May 1503) was a Scottish nobleman, ambassador, and Master of the King's Household in 1485. The son of William Borthwick, 2nd Lord Borthwick (died c. 1483), the 3rd Lord Borthwick was knighted b ...

), who some say was one of the many Scottish noblemen killed at the

Battle of Flodden The Battle of Flodden, Flodden Field, or occasionally Branxton, (Brainston Moor) was a battle fought on 9 September 1513 during the War of the League of Cambrai between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, resulting in an English ...

in 1513 although the ''Complete Peerage'' cited by Pine stated "this is was unlikely".Pine, L.G., FSA Scot., &c., ''The New Extinct Peerage 1884-1971'', London, 1972:32, His son, the fourth Lord ( William Borthwick, 4th Lord Borthwick), became guardian to the infant

King James V James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was King of Scotland from 9 September 1513 until his death in 1542. He was crowned on 21 September 1513 at the age of seventeen months. James was the son of King James IV and Margaret Tudor, and dur ...

. The ninth Lord, was a Royalist during the

Wars of the Three Kingdoms The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of related conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, then separate entities united in a pers ...

. However, on his death in 1675 the male line of the third Lord failed. The Borthwick estates passed to his nephew John Dundas, son of his sister Margaret Borthwick, while the lordship became dormant. It was to remain dormant for the next 87 years. The right to the title, however, passed to the late Lord's kinsman and male heir William Borthwick, the ''de jure'' tenth Lord. He was the son of William Borthwick, 5th of Soltray (

Soutra Soutra Aisle, (the present structure lies just within the boundary of the Scottish Borders from Midlothian) not far from Fala, is the remains of the ''House of the Holy Trinity'', a church that was part of a complex comprising a hospital and a ...

) and Johnstonburn, elder son of William Borthwick, 4th of Soltray and Johnstonburn, great-grandson of William Borthwick, 1st of Soltray, son of the Hon. Alexander Borthwick, third son of the second Lord Borthwick. He never assumed the title. His son, the ''de jure'' eleventh Lord, was a colonel in the army and was killed at the

Battle of Ramillies The Battle of Ramillies (), fought on 23 May 1706, was a battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. For the Grand Alliance – Austria, England, and the Dutch Republic – the battle had followed an indecisive campaign against the Bourbon a ...

in 1706. On his death the right to the lordship passed to his cousin Henry Borthwick, the ''de jure'' twelfth Lord. He was the grandson of Alexander Borthwick, younger son of the aforementioned William Borthwick, 4th of Soltray and Johnstonburn. Henry was a captain in the Scottish army and like his cousin fought at the Battle of Ramillies. He died from wounds received in action four days after the battle (and four days after his cousin). On his death the right to the lordship passed to his elder son William, ''de jure'' thirteenth Lord, and then to his younger brother Henry. The latter's claim to the title was admitted by the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

in 1762, and he became the fourteenth Lord Borthwick. However, on his death in 1772 the peerage became dormant again. The claim now passed to the late Lord's kinsman and male heir Patrick Borthwick, the ''de jure'' fifteenth Lord. He was the great-grandson of Alexander Borthwick, 1st of Reidhall and Sauchnell, younger son of William Borthwick, 3rd of Soltray and Johnstonburne, grandson of William Borthwick, 1st of Soltray, cited above. His son Archibald, the ''de jure'' sixteenth Lord, petitioned the House of Lords for the right to claim the title in 1808 but was unsuccessful. His son Patrick, ''de jure'' seventeenth Lord, was also unsuccessful when he tried to claim the title in 1816. However, his younger son Cunninghame had his claim to the lordship allowed by the House of Lords in 1870 and he became the nineteenth Lord Borthwick. From 1880 to 1885 he sat in the House of Lords as a Scottish Representative Peer. He married Alice Day, their eldest daughter was Gabrielle Borthwick, their son, the twentieth Lord, was a Scottish Representative Peer between 1906 and 1910. When he died in 1910 the peerage once again became dormant. The claim passed to his distant relative William Henry Borthwick, the ''de jure'' twenty-first Lord. He was a descendant of John Borthwick, 1st of Crookston, younger son of the first Lord. His grandson John Henry Stuart Borthwick had his claim to the title admitted by the

Lord Lyon The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new grant ...

in 1986, and he became the twenty-third Lord Borthwick. this ancient title is held by his elder twin son, the twenty-fourth Lord Borthwick, who succeeded in 1996. He is Chief of Clan Borthwick and also holds the feudal titles of Baron of Heriotmuir and Laird of Crookston. The family seat is

Borthwick Castle Borthwick Castle is one of the largest and best-preserved surviving medieval Scottish fortifications. It is located south-east of Edinburgh, to the east of the village of Borthwick, on a site protected on three sides by a steep fall in the gro ...

, near

Borthwick Borthwick is a hamlet, parish and stream in Midlothian, Scotland. The parish includes the 15th century Borthwick Castle, which is to the east of the village and the villages of Gorebridge and North Middleton.''Gazetteer of Scotland'', publ. b ...

, Midlothian but is leased as a venue for hire by the family.

Coat of arms

The heraldic blazon for the coat of arms of the lordship is: ''Argent, three cinquefoils sable''.

Lords Borthwick (1452)

(d. 1470) *

(d. 1484) *

(d. 1513) * William Borthwick, 4th Lord Borthwick (d. 1543) *John Borthwick, 5th Lord Borthwick (d. 1566) *

William Borthwick, 6th Lord Borthwick William Borthwick, 6th Lord Borthwick (died 1582) was a Scottish landowner. William Borthwick was the son of John, 5th Lord Borthwick and Isobel Lindsay, daughter of David Lindsay, 8th Earl of Crawford. Borthwick first attended the Privy Counci ...

(d. 1582) *James Borthwick, 7th Lord Borthwick (1570–1599) *John Borthwick, 8th Lord Borthwick (d. 1623) *John Borthwick, 9th Lord Borthwick (1616–1675) (dormant 1675) *William Borthwick, ''de jure'' 10th Lord Borthwick (d. 1690) *William Borthwick, ''de jure'' 11th Lord Borthwick (1666–1706) *Henry Borthwick, ''de jure'' 12th Lord Borthwick (d. 1706) *William Borthwick, ''de jure'' 13th Lord Borthwick (d. 1723) *Henry Borthwick, 14th Lord Borthwick (d. 1772) (confirmed in title 1762; dormant 1772) *Patrick Borthwick, ''de jure'' 15th Lord Borthwick (d. 1772) *Archibald Borthwick, ''de jure'' 16th Lord Borthwick (1732–1815) *Patrick Borthwick, ''de jure'' 17th Lord Borthwick (1779–1840) *Archibald Borthwick, ''de jure'' 18th Lord Borthwick (1811–1863) *Cunninghame Borthwick, 19th Lord Borthwick (1813–1885) (confirmed in title 1870) *Archibald Patrick Thomas Borthwick, 20th Lord Borthwick (1867–1910) (dormant 1910) *William Henry Borthwick, ''de jure'' 21st Lord Borthwick (1832–1928) *Henry Borthwick, ''de jure'' 22nd Lord Borthwick (1868–1937) *John Henry Stuart Borthwick, 23rd Lord Borthwick (1905–1996) (confirmed in title 1986) * John Hugh Borthwick, 24th Lord Borthwick (b. 1940) The

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. ...

is the present holder's twin brother James Henry Alexander Borthwick of Glengelt, Master of Borthwick (b. 1940).
The heir presumptive's

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 ...

is his only son Malcolm Henry Borthwick (b. 1973).
The heir presumptive's heir apparent's heir apparent is his son Archie Dexter Borthwick (b. 2007).

References

Notes

* *

External links

Borthwick Castle History page
{{Extant Lords of Parliament of Scotland 1452 establishments in Scotland