24-468: Earl of Selkirk is a title in the Peerage of Scotland , used since 1646. It has rules of inheritance subject to unusual and unique provisions. The title was created on 14 August 1646 for Lord William Douglas , third son of William Douglas, 1st Marquess of Douglas , along with the title Lord Daer and Shortcleuch . On 29 April 1656, the first earl married Anne Hamilton, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton . In 1660, after
48-546: A lesser extent the Viscount of Oxfuird still use " of ". Scottish Barons rank below Lords of Parliament, and although considered noble , their titles are incorporeal hereditaments . At one time barons did sit in parliament. However, they are considered minor nobles and not peers because their titles can be bought and sold. In the following table of the Peerage of Scotland as it currently stands, each peer's highest ranking title in
72-513: A selection of critical essays focusing on events of the previous year. Extensive astronomical data covering the forthcoming year is published at the rear of the book. Whitaker's was prized enough that Winston Churchill took a personal interest in the continued publication of the book after its headquarters were destroyed in the Blitz . A copy is also sealed in Cleopatra's Needle on the north bank of
96-403: A wholly owned subsidiary of Bloomsbury Publishing in 2011. The publication was acquired by Rebellion Publishing in 2020, with the 153rd edition appearing on 15 April 2021. In mid-2022, Rebellion announced that there would not be a 2022 edition and no further editions have appeared since then. Joseph Whitaker began preparing his Almanack in the autumn of 1868. He postponed publication of
120-421: A work which will commend itself to those who desire to see improvement in this direction." It concluded by inviting critics to suggest ways in which improvements could be made. The Manchester Guardian , reviewing the first edition, described it as "the largest of the cheap almanacks" to appear, and noted it contained a great deal more valuable information than other such works. In 2013, the 2014 edition became
144-655: The House of Lords at Westminster . The Peerage Act 1963 granted all Scottish Peers the right to sit in the House of Lords, but this automatic right was revoked, as for all hereditary peerages (except those of the incumbent Earl Marshal and Lord Great Chamberlain ), when the House of Lords Act 1999 received the Royal Assent . Unlike most peerages, many Scottish titles have been granted with remainder to pass via female offspring (thus an Italian family has succeeded to and presently holds
168-701: The King of Scots before 1707. Following that year's Treaty of Union , the Kingdom of Scots and the Kingdom of England were combined under the name of Great Britain , and a new Peerage of Great Britain was introduced in which subsequent titles were created. Scottish Peers were entitled to sit in the ancient Parliament of Scotland . After the Union, the Peers of the old Parliament of Scotland elected 16 Scottish representative peers to sit in
192-584: The River Thames . Each year the Almanack is published in two formats – the Standard Edition and a shortened Concise Edition. In previous years, a larger-format of the Standard Edition, bound in leather , was produced for libraries . In 2016, Whitaker's launched its online edition through its website, which was updated weekly with free-to-view and subscription only content. The Almanack' s current editor
216-435: The earldom of Newburgh ), and in the case of daughters only, these titles devolve to the eldest daughter rather than falling into abeyance (as is the case with ancient English baronies by writ of summons ). Unlike other British peerage titles, Scots law permits peerages to be inherited by or through a person who was not legitimate at birth, but was subsequently legitimised by their parents marrying later. The ranks of
240-424: The 10th Earl. Lord Malcolm had died in 1969 as heir presumptive to the 10th earl and his son was listed thereafter in that position by reference works such as Whitaker's Almanack and Debrett's but it was the ruling of the court that the death of the 14th duke in 1973 had placed the younger sons of the 14th duke ahead of the younger sons of the 13th duke and their issue in line to the earldom. The 11th earl was, at
264-521: The Scottish Peerage are, in ascending order: Lord of Parliament , Viscount , Earl , Marquess and Duke . Scottish Viscounts differ from those of the other Peerages (of England, Great Britain, Ireland and the United Kingdom) by using the style of in their title, as in Viscount of Oxfuird . Though this is the theoretical form, most Viscounts drop the " of ". The Viscount of Arbuthnott and to
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#1732848971009288-660: The birth of two sons, he changed his surname from Douglas to "Hamilton", and was created Duke of Hamilton for life, as was then a not uncommon practice in Scotland when a peeress in her own right married someone of lesser degree. On 6 October 1688, during the reign of James VII , the new Duke of Hamilton surrendered his previous titles to the Crown (except Hamilton). They were reconferred on his third (but second surviving) son Charles, who thereby became second Earl of Selkirk, and who also reverted to his original surname of "Douglas". Thus, while
312-546: The death of the 10th earl in 1994, married but childless, the titles passed (under provision 5 above) to his nephew, Lord James Douglas-Hamilton , second son of the 14th Duke of Hamilton and next brother of Angus Douglas-Hamilton, 15th Duke of Hamilton , who succeeded as 11th earl. This succession was unsuccessfully challenged in the Court of the Lord Lyon by Alasdair Douglas-Hamilton, son of Lord Malcolm Douglas-Hamilton, next brother of
336-519: The eighth earl died without a son in 1895, the dukedom passed to his fourth cousin, Alfred Douglas-Hamilton , who succeeded as 13th duke of Hamilton. As he also had no brothers, he also succeeded as ninth earl of Selkirk. When the ninth earl died in 1940, his eldest son, Douglas Douglas-Hamilton , inherited the dukedom, but the earldom of Selkirk and its subsidiary title passed under the special remainder (provision 3 above) to his second son, Lord George Douglas-Hamilton , who succeeded as 10th earl. Upon
360-570: The eldest son was to inherit the title of Duke of Hamilton and have his mother's maiden name for surname, the younger son was to inherit his father's dignities and perpetuate the name of Douglas. This novodamus for this arrangement embodied a unique remainder, the effect of which was that: This remainder is so unusual that "Hamilton House", a Scottish country dance , reputedly was created around it. The second earl died childless in 1739, and his younger brother, John Hamilton, 1st Earl of Ruglen (who had been so created on 14 April 1697), succeeded as
384-434: The first earl's eldest son was William Douglas-Hamilton, 12th Duke of Hamilton , but under the special remainder (provision 2 above) the titles passed instead to his younger brother, Lord Charles Hamilton, who succeeded as seventh earl. When the seventh earl died unmarried in 1886, the titles reverted to his elder brother, who had no further brothers to whom they could pass, and who accordingly succeeded as eighth earl. When
408-407: The first earl. Upon succeeding as fourth earl, he, like the second earl, changed his surname to "Douglas". On the fourth earl's death in 1799, he was succeeded by his only surviving son, Thomas , as fifth earl, who was then succeeded on his own death in 1820 by his only son, Dunbar , as sixth earl. On his death in 1885, the heirs male of the younger sons of the first earl expired. The heir male of
432-664: The first edition on learning of the resignation of Benjamin Disraeli on 1 December 1868, so that he could include details of the new Gladstone administration . At the same time, Whitaker continued to expand the information so that the initially planned 329 pages grew to 370. The first edition of the Almanack appeared on 23 December 1868, priced at 1 shilling , introduced by a short editorial piece written by Joseph Whitaker. It began "The Editor does not put forward this Almanack as perfect: yet he ventures to think that he has succeeded in preparing
456-448: The first to be published under the new simpler branding of " Whitaker's ". Whitaker's Almanack consists of articles, lists and tables on a wide range of subjects including education , the peerage , government departments, health and social issues, and the environment . The largest section is the countries directory, which includes recent history , politics , economic information and culture overviews. Each edition also features
480-521: The line of succession to the Duke of Hamilton is eligible to succeed to the Earldom, but in the order dictated by its special remainder: the sons of Lord Selkirk of Douglas, starting with the present earl, come first (with potential male issue of any of them preceding younger brothers of that son), but should any future Earl of Selkirk die without a direct heir, the death of the 15th Duke of Hamilton in 2010 means that
504-478: The other peerages (if any) are also listed. Those peers who are known by a higher title in one of the other peerages are listed in italics . Whitaker%27s Almanack Whitaker's is a reference book, published annually in the United Kingdom . It was originally published by J. Whitaker & Sons from 1868 to 1997, next by HM Stationery Office until 2003 and then by A. & C. Black , which became
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#1732848971009528-433: The third earl. He outlived his son and heir, and when he died in 1744 the Earldom of Ruglen and its subsidiary titles passed to his daughter Anne Douglas, Countess of March , and on her death in 1748 to William Douglas, 3rd Earl of March (later 4th Duke of Queensberry ). The earldom of Selkirk and its subsidiary title, being limited to male heirs, passed to Dunbar Hamilton , grandson of Lord Basil Hamilton , sixth son of
552-546: The time of his succession, the Member of Parliament for Edinburgh West , and he disclaimed the titles in order to remain in the House of Commons . He was later elevated to the House of Lords with a life peerage as Baron Selkirk of Douglas , and served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament . The heir presumptive is the present earl's younger brother Charles Douglas Douglas-Hamilton ( b. 1979 ). Everyone in
576-477: The younger son of the 15th Duke would rank ahead of lines from younger sons of the 14th Duke and the death of the 16th Duke would likewise move his younger sons to the head of the line. Peerage of Scotland The Peerage of Scotland ( Scottish Gaelic : Moraireachd na h-Alba ; Scots : Peerage o Scotland ) is one of the five divisions of peerages in the United Kingdom and for those peers created by
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