Earl of Home ( ) is a title in the

Peerage of Scotland The Peerage of 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 1707, Treaty of Union, the Kingdom of Scots and the ...

. It was created in 1605 for Alexander Home

of that Ilk "Of that Ilk", otherwise known as "Chief of that Bluid", is a term used in the Scottish nobility to denote a clan chieftain in some Scottish clans. The term '' of that ilk'' means "of the same ame, and is used to avoid repetition in a person's ti ...

, 6th Lord Home. The Earl of Home holds, among others, the subsidiary titles of Lord Home (created 1473) and Lord Dunglass (1605) in the

, and Baron Douglas, of Douglas in the County of Lanark (1875), in the

Peerage of the United Kingdom The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great B ...

. Various Earls of Home have also claimed the title of Lord Hume of Berwick. The Earl is also ''

Chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boat ...

of the Name and Arms of

Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or more human occupants, and sometimes various companion animals. Homes provide sheltered spaces, for instance rooms, where domestic activity can be p ...

'' and ''

heir general In English law, heirs of the body is the principle that certain types of property pass to a descendant of the original holder, recipient or grantee according to a fixed order of kinship. Upon the death of the grantee, a designated inheritance s ...

'' to the

House of Douglas Clan Douglas (Gaelic: ''Dùbhghlas'') is an ancient clan or noble house from the Scottish Lowlands. Taking their name from Douglas in Lanarkshire, their leaders gained vast territories throughout the Borders, Angus, Lothian, Moray, and also i ...

. The title of Lord Dunglass is used as a

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

by the eldest son of the Earl. The most famous recent holder of the title was the 14th Earl, Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, better known as

Sir Alec Douglas-Home Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel ( ; 2 July 1903 – 9 October 1995), known as Lord Dunglass from 1918 to 1951 and the Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963, was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative ...

. After the unexpected resignation of

Harold Macmillan Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986), was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Nickn ...

, the 14th Earl was named Prime Minister by the monarch. For the first time in over sixty years, a sitting Prime Minister was a member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

rather than of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

. Because he believed that it was impractical and unconventional to remain a member of the Lords, the Earl disclaimed his peerages on 23 October 1963 under the Peerage Act passed in the same year. He then contested the House of Commons seat of Kinross and Western Perthshire by standing in the

1963 Kinross and Western Perthshire by-election The 1963 Kinross and Western Perthshire by-election of 7 November 1963 was a by-election to the UK House of Commons. It was unique among by-elections since 1918 in that one of the candidates was the sitting prime minister, Alec Douglas-Home; he ...

. The seat had been vacated by the death of the previous Member of Parliament,

Gilmour Leburn William Gilmour Leburn (30 July 1913 – 15 August 1963) was a British company director and Conservative Member of Parliament for Kinross and West Perthshire from 1955 until 1963. He served in the government of Harold Macmillan as Under-Secreta ...

. the titles are held by the 16th Earl, who succeeded in that year. The family seats are

The Hirsel The Hirsel is a Category A Listed stately home near Coldstream, Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders council area. It has been a seat of the Earls of Home since 1611, and the principal seat following the destruction of Hume Castle during the mi ...

near

Coldstream Coldstream () is a town and civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. A former burgh, Coldstream was where the Coldstream Guards, a regiment in the British Army, originated. Description Coldstream li ...

Berwickshire Berwickshire (; ) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. The county takes its name from Berwick-upon-Tweed, its original county town, which was part of Scotland at the ...

, and Castlemains near

Douglas, South Lanarkshire Douglas () is a village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located on the south bank of the Douglas Water and on the A70 road that links Ayr, on the West coast of Scotland, to Edinburgh on the East, around 12 miles south west of Lanark. The ...

. Former seats include

Douglas Castle Douglas Castle was a stronghold of the Douglas (later Douglas-Home) family from medieval times to the 20th century. The first castle, erected in the 13th century, was destroyed and replaced several times until the 18th century when a large man ...

(mostly demolished),

Dunglass Castle Dunglass Castle, situated in West Dunbartonshire on a rocky cliff overlooking the River Clyde, is a 14th-century ruinous castle. It was designated as a Category B listed building in 1971. It has been graded at high risk by the Buildings at Ris ...

(demolished),

Tantallon Castle Tantallon Castle is a ruined mid-14th-century fortress, located east of North Berwick, in East Lothian, Scotland. It sits atop a promontory opposite the Bass Rock, looking out onto the Firth of Forth. The last medieval curtain wall castle to b ...

(ruined) and

Bothwell Castle Bothwell Castle is a large medieval castle, sited on a high, steep bank, above a bend in the River Clyde in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located between Bothwell and Uddingston, about south-east of Glasgow. Construction of the castle wa ...

(in the care of the state).

Origins

The Earls of Home descend in the male line from Cospatric I (died after 1073), the Anglo-Danish

Earl of Northumbria Earl of Northumbria or Ealdorman of Northumbria was a title in the late Anglo-Saxon England, Anglo-Saxon, Scandinavian people, Anglo-Scandinavian and early Anglo-Norman England, Anglo-Norman period in England. The ealdordom was a successor of the ...

. His descendant William de Home (son of Sir Patrick de Greenlaw, the second son of Cospatric III, Earl of Lothian), adopted the surname following his acquisition of the lands of

in Berwickshire during the early 13th century, through his marriage to his second cousin Ada (the daughter of Patrick I, Earl of Dunbar). William's arms featured the silver lion of Dunbar but with a green field instead of a red field, in reference to his lands of Greenlaw.

Lords Home (1473)

* Alexander Home, 1st Lord Home (died 1490) *

Alexander Home, 2nd Lord Home Alexander Home, 2nd Lord Home (c.1450s – 5 September 1506) was a Scottish nobleman and soldier, Lord Chamberlain of Scotland and Warden of the Eastern March. Life Lord Home was the son of Alexander Home, Master of Home and Agnes Hepburn, ...

(died 1506) *

Alexander Home, 3rd Lord Home Alexander Home, 3rd Lord Home (died 1516) was a Scottish soldier and nobleman, Chamberlain of Scotland and Warden of the Eastern March. He fought at the Battle of Flodden where his forces defeated the English right wing before the Scottish army ...

(died 1516) * George Home, 4th Lord Home (died 1549) *

Alexander Home, 5th Lord Home Alexander Home, 5th Lord Home (died 1575) was a Scottish nobleman and Warden of the Eastern March. Early life Alexander Home was the son of George Home, 4th Lord Home and Mariotta Haliburton. He became Lord Home on the death of his father who ...

(died 1575) *

Alexander Home, 6th Lord Home Alexander Home, 1st Earl of Home and 6th Lord Home (c. 15665 April 1619), was a Scottish nobleman and Lord Warden-general of all the March. He succeeded as the 6th Lord Home, a Lord of Parliament in the Peerage of Scotland, in 1575, and he was c ...

(c. 1566–1619) (created Earl of Home in 1605)

Earls of Home (1605)

Alexander Home, 1st Earl of Home Alexander Home, 1st Earl of Home and 6th Lord Home (c. 15665 April 1619), was a Scottish nobleman and Lord Warden of the Marches, Lord Warden-general of all the March. He succeeded as the 6th Lord Home, a Lord of Parliament in the Peerage of Scot ...

(c. 1566–1619) *

James Home, 2nd Earl of Home James Home, 2nd Earl of Home (died 1633) was a Scottish nobleman. Biography James was the son of Alexander Home, 1st Earl of Home and Mary, Countess of Home. Known as "Lord Dunglass", he became Earl of Home when his father died in London in April ...

(died 1633) *

James Home, 3rd Earl of Home James Home, 3rd Earl of Home (died 1666) was a Scottish courtier and landowner. He was the son of Sir James Home of Whitriggs and Anne Home, daughter of George Home, 1st Earl of Dunbar and Elizabeth Gordon, daughter of Alexander Gordon of Gight a ...

(c. 1615–1666) *

Alexander Home, 4th Earl of Home Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. 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 A ...

(died 1674) *

James Home, 5th Earl of Home James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Jame ...

(died 1687) *

Charles Home, 6th Earl of Home Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

(died 1706) * Alexander Home, 7th Earl of Home (died 1720) *

William Home, 8th Earl of Home Lieutenant General William Home, 8th Earl of Home (1681 – 28 April 1761) was a Scottish peer and the British Governor of Gibraltar between 1757 and 1761. Lord Home was a well-known spendthrift. Military career He inherited the title Earl of ...

(died 1761) * Alexander Home, 9th Earl of Home (died 1786) *

Alexander Home, 10th Earl of Home Alexander Ramey-Home, 10th Earl of Home (11 November 1769 – 21 October 1841), styled Lord Dunglass from 1781 to 1786, was a British politician and nobleman. He served as a List of Scottish representative peers, Scottish representative peer bet ...

(1769–1841) *

Cospatrick Alexander Home, 11th Earl of Home Cospatrick Alexander Douglas-Home, 11th Earl of Home (27 October 1799 – 4 July 1881), styled Lord Dunglass until 1841, was a Scottish diplomat and politician. He served as a Scottish representative peer. During the premiership of the Duke of We ...

(1799–1881) (created Baron Douglas in 1875) * Charles Alexander Douglas-Home, 12th Earl of Home (1834–1918) * Charles Cospatrick Archibald Douglas-Home, 13th Earl of Home (1873–1951) * Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, 14th Earl of Home (1903–1995) ( disclaimed 1963) (created Baron Home of the Hirsel in 1974) * David Alexander Cospatrick Douglas-Home, 15th Earl of Home (1943–2022) * Michael David Alexander Douglas-Home, 16th Earl of Home (born 1987)

Present Earl

Michael David Alexander Douglas-Home, 16th Earl of Home, was born on 30 November 1987, the only son of the 15th Earl and his wife Jane Margaret Williams-Wynne. He has two older sisters, Lady Iona Katherine (born 1980) and Lady Mary Elizabeth (born 1982), and was

Page of Honour A Page of Honour is a ceremonial position in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. It requires attendance on state occasions, but does not now involve the daily duties which were once attached to the office of page. The only ...

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

from 1997 to 2000.''

Burke's Peerage 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 genea ...

'', volume 2 (2003), p. 1948 Styled as Lord Dunglass between 1995 and 2022, in 2017 he married Sally Antoinette Underhill, a daughter of Group Captain Gregory B. P. Underhill. On 22 August 2022 he succeeded to the peerages and to the estate of

.The Earl of Home, obituary
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', 5 September 2022, accessed 7 January 2023 His son Leo Gregory Cospatrick born in 2024 is the

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

. 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 a person with a better claim to the position in question. This is in contrast to an heir app ...

had been the present earl's second cousin, Alexander Sholto Douglas-Home (born 1962), a great-grandson of the 13th earl. * ''Charles Douglas-Home, 13th Earl of Home (1873–1951)'' ** ''Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home (1903–1995); 14th Earl of Home: 1951–1963, when peerage disclaimed; made life peer as "Baron Home of the Hirsel" in 1974''. *** ''David Douglas-Home, 15th Earl of Home (1943–2022)'' **** Michael Douglas-Home, 16th Earl of Home (born 1987) *****(1). Leo Gregory Cospatrick Douglas-Home, Lord Dunglass (born 2024) **''Hon. Henry Montagu Douglas-Home (1907–1980)'' ***''Cecil Robin Douglas-Home (1932–1968)'' ****(2). Alexander Sholto Douglas-Home (born 1962) *****(3). Louis Robin Douglas-Home (born 1999) ***'' Charles Cospatrick Douglas-Home (1937–1985)'' ****(4). Tara John Douglas-Home (born 1969) *****(5). Nicholas Charles Aernout Douglas-Home (born 2002) ****(6). Luke Cospatrick Douglas-Home (born 1971) There are further male descendants of the younger sons of the 13th Earl in the line of succession.

Arms

References

Works cited

* *Mosley, Charles (editor). (1999). ''Burke's Peerage & Baronetage'', 106th edition *Charles Kidd & David Williamson, editors. (2003). Debrett's Peerage & Baronetage. Macmillan, London

External links

Official Clan Home Association website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Home Earldoms in the Peerage of Scotland 1473 establishments in Scotland 1605 establishments in Scotland Noble titles created in 1605 Home family