Earl of

Airth Airth is a Royal Burgh, village, former trading port and civil parish in Falkirk, Scotland. It is north of Falkirk town and sits on the banks of the River Forth. Airth lies on the A905 road between Grangemouth and Stirling and is overlooked by ...

was 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, ...

, created on 21 January 1633 by

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

, for

William Graham, 7th Earl of Menteith William Graham, 7th Earl of Menteith, 1st Earl of Airth (–1661), was a 17th-century Scottish nobleman. A supporter of King Charles I, he held offices including Lord President of the Court of Session and was a Privy Counsellor. Although he ...

. It became extinct on the death of his grandson in 1694. Owing to the uncanonicity of the marriage of Robert II to

Elizabeth Mure Elizabeth Mure (est. born 2 March 1320 - died before May 1355), a member of Clan Muir, was the first wife of Robert, High Steward of Scotland, and Guardian of Scotland (1338–1341 and from October 1346), who later became King Robert II of Scotl ...

, and the 1373 Act which only sidestepped this question for heirs male of Robert II's sons, William Graham's ancestors potentially had a better claim to the Scottish throne than

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scot ...

. Graham thus had a potentially better claim to the throne than Mary's descendant, Charles I, as Graham's claim descends from Robert II's second - undoubted - marriage. Graham had successfully petitioned for the return of the title of Earl of Strathearn which the first Graham Earl of Mentieth had held. Before he was invested, however, Graham boasted that his blood was "bluer than the King's". He was dismissed from his positions and instead of receiving the Earldom of Strathearn, he was given the insultingly minor title of Earl of Airth.

Earls of Airth (1633)

* William Graham, 1st Earl of Airth (c. 1591 – 1661) * William Graham, 2nd Earl of Airth (c. 1634 – 1694)

19th century claimant

On the death of the 2nd Earl of Airth the earldom became dormant. In 1834 Capt Robert Barclay Allardice of Ury and Allardice petitioned the King to be recognised as Earl of Airth as a descendant of William Graham, 1st Earl of Airth, his great-great-great-grandfather, basing his claim on the fact that the Letters Patent of 1633 specified descent to 'heirs general', rather than limiting it to 'heirs male'. The petition was referred to the House of Lords. No decision was forthcoming and in 1840 Capt Barclay Allardice petitioned Queen Victoria for him to be recognised as Earl of Strathearn, Menteith and Airth. Capt Barclay Allardice died in 1854 and his elder daughter, Mary Barclay Allardice, renewed the claim in 1870. The Committee for Privileges heard evidence in support of the opposing claims in 1870 and 1871, but came to no decision, and the three Earldoms remained dormant. On 29 April 2011, Queen Elizabeth II conferred the title of Earl of Strathearn on Prince William of Wales. As a result, on marriage his wife Catherine became Countess of Strathearn. He generally uses this title in Scotland.

References

* * Extinct earldoms in the Peerage of Scotland 1633 establishments in Scotland 1694 disestablishments in Scotland Noble titles created in 1633 {{Scotland-stub