John Leslie (27 July 1681), son of John Leslie, 6th Earl of Rothes, was the 7th

Earl of Rothes Earl of Rothes (pronounced "''Roth''-es") 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 th ...

and 1st

Duke of Rothes Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ...

. According to tradition, he was a descendant of Princess Beatrix, sister of King

Malcolm III of Scotland Malcolm III (; ; –13 November 1093) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Alba from 1058 to 1093. He was later nicknamed "Canmore" (, , understood as "great chief"). Malcolm's long reign of 35 years preceded the beginning of the Scoto-Norma ...

. His family had intermarried with both the

Stuarts The House of Stuart, originally spelled Stewart, also known as the Stuart dynasty, 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 hel ...

and the Bruces.

Early 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, 17th Earl of Crawford, 1st Earl of Lindsay ( – 1679) was a Scottish nobleman. Early life Lindsay was born . He was the eldest son of Robert Lindsay, 9th Lord Lindsay and Lady Christian Hamilton. His younger sister, Helen Lin ...

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

Career

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 1642 to 1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Parliamentarian army of around 28,000 under Oliver Cromwell def ...

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 citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

. 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 1654–1655 he was permitted to stay six months at Newcastle. On 8 January 1656/57 he obtained leave to visit Scotland again, possibly owing to the influence of Elizabeth Murray, countess of Dysart. However, in January 1658 he was committed to the castle of Edinburgh by Cromwell. This was done in order to prevent a duel between Leslie 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 The Treasurer was a senior post in the pre- Union government of Scotland, the Privy Council of Scotland. Lord Treasurer The full title of the post was ''Lord High Treasurer, Comptroller, Collector-General and Treasurer of the New Augmentation'', ...

, Lord Keeper of the

Great Seal of Scotland The Great Seal of Scotland (; also the Scottish Seal; formally the Seal appointed by the Treaty of Union to be kept and made use of in place of the Great Seal of Scotland) is a seal used by the first minister of Scotland to seal letters pate ...

Lord Chancellor of Scotland The Lord Chancellor of Scotland, formally titled Lord High Chancellor, was an Officer of State in the Kingdom of Scotland. The Lord Chancellor was the principal Great Officer of State, the presiding officer of the Parliament of Scotland, the K ...

for life in 1667, and President of the

Privy Council of Scotland The Privy Council of Scotland ( — 1 May 1708) was a body that advised the Scottish monarch. During its existence, the Privy Council of Scotland was essentially considered as the government of the Kingdom of Scotland, and was seen as the most ...

. He carried the

sword of state A sword of state is a sword, used as part of the regalia, symbolising the supreme power of a monarch, given by God, to use the infinite might of the state to deter its enemies by use of deadly warfare, if thus dire, to maintain order in the r ...

at the coronation 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 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. It originated in disputes with James VI and his son ...

and insufficiently attentive to the defence of

Leith Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...

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.

Personal life

On 2 February 1647, he married

Anne Crawford-Lindsay Anne Leslie, Duchess of Rothes ( Lady Anne Lindsay; 1 September 1631 – 1 July 1689), was a Scottish aristocrat. Early life Lady Anne Lindsay was born on 1 September 1631. She was the daughter of John Lindsay, 17th Earl of Crawford, 1st Earl of ...

, daughter of

. He built the Palace of Leslie (also known as

Leslie House Leslie House in Leslie, Fife — a Grade A listed historic building in the County — is the largest and earliest Restoration house in Fife, Scotland, and was the seat of the Earls of Rothes for over 250 years, remaining today still the seat o ...

), which nearly burnt completely in a fire on Christmas Day 1763. Together, they had two daughters: * Lady Margaret Leslie (d. 1700), who married her cousin Charles Hamilton, 5th Earl of Haddington, son of

John Hamilton, 4th Earl of Haddington John Hamilton, 4th Earl of Haddington (1626 – 31 August 1669) was a Scottish nobleman. Life Haddington was born in 1626, second son of Thomas Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Haddington and Lady Catherine Erskine, a daughter of John Erskine, Earl of Ma ...

and Lady Christian Lindsay, in 1674. * Lady Christian Leslie (1661–1710), who married firstly

James Graham, 3rd Marquess of Montrose James Graham, 3rd Marquess of Montrose (30 October 1657 – 25 April 1684) was a Scottish nobleman. He was the grandson of James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, who was made Marquess of Montrose in 1644 by Charles I. The eldest son of James G ...

, the son of

James Graham, 2nd Marquess of Montrose James Graham, 2nd Marquess of Montrose ( – February 1669) was a Scottish nobleman and judge, nicknamed the "Good" Marquess. Early life He was the second son of James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, by his wife, Lady Magdalene Carnegie, daug ...

and Lady Isabel Douglas, in 1681. After his death in 1684, she married

Sir John Bruce, 2nd Baronet Sir John Bruce, 2nd Baronet (before 1671 – 19 March 1711) was the son of William Bruce, the famous architect, and a member of parliament. John married Christian Leslie, widow of the Marquess of Montrose and daughter of the Duke of Rothes. In ...

, son of

Sir William Bruce, 1st Baronet Sir William Bruce of Kinross, 1st Baronet (c. 1630 – 1710), was a Scottish gentleman-architect, "the effective founder of classical architecture in Scotland," as Howard Colvin observes.Colvin, p.172–176 As a key figure in introducing the Pa ...

and Mary Halkett, in 1687. Lord Rothes died at

Holyrood Palace The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly known as Holyrood Palace, 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 Castle, Holyrood has s ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

on 27 July 1681.Charles Mosley, editor, ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes'' (

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher, considered an authority on the order of precedence of noble families and information on the lesser nobility of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1826, when the Anglo-Irish geneal ...

, 2003), volume 2, page 2343. 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 o ...

. The funeral procession was more elaborate and impressive than either Wellington's or Churchill's. It stretched over 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. 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 Nobility from Fife 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 peers Commissioners of the Treasury of Scotland Extraordinary Lords of Session