PEERAGES
Last updated 16/09/2018 (19 Jan 2024)
Date Rank Order Name Born Died Age
STRATHEARN
26 May 2011 E 1 HRH Prince William of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis)
Created Baron Carrickfergus, Earl of Strathearn and Duke of Cambridge 26 May 2011
See "Cambridge"
21 Jun 1982
STRATHEDEN
22 Jan 1836 B 1 Mary Elizabeth Campbell
Created Baroness Stratheden 22 Jan 1836
For details of the special remainder included in the creation of this peerage, see the note at the foot of this page
29 Apr 1796 25 Mar 1860 63
25 Mar 1860 2 William Frederick Campbell
MP for Cambridge 1847‑1852 and Harwich 1859‑1860
He succeeded to the barony of Campbell of St. Andrews in 1861
15 Oct 1824 21 Jan 1893 68
21 Jan 1893 3 Hallyburton George Campbell (also 3rd Baron Campbell) 18 Oct 1829 26 Dec 1918 89
26 Dec 1918 4 Alaistair Campbell (also 4th Baron Campbell) 21 Nov 1899 12 Dec 1981 82
12 Dec 1981 5 Gavin Campbell (also 5th Baron Campbell) 28 Aug 1901 29 Oct 1987 86
29 Oct 1987 6 Donald Campbell (also 6th Baron Campbell) 4 Apr 1934 23 Oct 2011 77
23 Oct 2011 7 David Anthony Campbell (also 7th Baron Campbell) 13 Feb 1963
STRATHERNE
c 1115 E[S] 1 Malise
He was witness to the Charter of Scone in 1115 as Earl of Stratherne
c 1160
c 1160 2 Ferquhard 1171
1171 3 Gilbert c 1150 1223
1223 4 Robert c 1244
c 1244 5 Malise 1271
1271 6 Malise c 1257 c 1313
c 1313 7 Malise by 1329
by 1329
to    
1332
8 Malise
He was attainted and the peerage forfeited
after 1332

9 Feb 1344
to    
17 Oct 1346
E[S] 1 Maurice Moray
Created Earl of Stratherne 9 Feb 1344
Peerage extinct on his death
17 Oct 1346

Nov 1357
to    
22 Feb 1371
E[S] 1 Robert Stewart
Created Earl of Stratherne Nov 1357
He succeeded to the throne as Robert II of Scotland in 1371 when the peerage merged with the Crown
2 Mar 1316 13 Apr 1390 74

26 Mar 1371 E[S] 1 David Stewart
Created Earl of Stratherne 26 Mar 1371
after 1355 Mar 1390
Mar 1390 2 Eupheme Graham c 1415
c 1415
to    
by 1427
3 Malise Graham
He was deprived of the peerage before 1427
c 1410 after 1427

22 Jul 1427
to    
26 Mar 1437
E[S] 1 Walter Stewart
Created Earl of Stratherne 22 Jul 1427
He was attainted and the peerage forfeited
26 Mar 1437
STRATHMORE AND KINGHORNE
10 Jul 1606 E[S] 1 Patrick Lyon, 9th Lord Glamis
Created Lord Lyon & Glamis and Earl of Kinghorne 10 Jul 1606
1575 1 Sep 1616 41
1 Sep 1616 2 John Lyon 13 Aug 1596 12 May 1647 50
12 May 1647 3 Patrick Lyon
On 1 July 1677 he received a new charter as Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, Viscount Lyon, Lord Glamis, Tannadyce, Sidlaw and Stradichtie with the original precedence
29 May 1643 15 May 1695 51
15 May 1695 4 John Lyon 8 May 1663 10 May 1712 49
10 May 1712 5 John Lyon 27 Apr 1690 13 Nov 1715 25
13 Nov 1715 6 Charles Lyon
For further information on the death of this peer, and the subsequent history of his widow, see the notes at the foot of this page
12 Jul 1699 11 May 1728 28
11 May 1728 7 James Lyon 24 Dec 1702 4 Jan 1735 32
4 Jan 1735 8 Thomas Lyon
MP for Forfarshire 1734‑1735
6 Jul 1704 18 Jan 1753 48
18 Jan 1753 9 John Lyon (later Bowes from 1767)
For further information on this peer's wife, see the note at the foot of this page
17 Jul 1737 7 Mar 1776 38
7 Mar 1776 10 John Bowes
Created Baron Bowes of Streatlam Castle and Lunedale 7 Aug 1815
14 Apr 1769 3 Jul 1820 51
3 Jul 1820 11 Thomas Lyon-Bowes
For further information on this peer's alleged eldest grandson, see the note at the foot of this page
3 May 1773 27 Aug 1846 73
27 Aug 1846 12 Thomas George Lyon‑Bowes 28 Sep 1822 13 Sep 1865 42
13 Sep 1865 13 Claud Bowes-Lyon
Created Baron Bowes of Streatlam Castle and Lunedale 1 Jul 1887
Lord Lieutenant Angus (Forfar) 1874‑1904
21 Jul 1824 16 Feb 1904 79
16 Feb 1904
1 Jun 1937
 
E
14
1
Claude George Bowes‑Lyon
Created Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne 1 Jun 1937
Lord Lieutenant Angus (Forfar) 1904‑1936; KT 1928; KG 1937
14 Mar 1855 7 Nov 1944 89
7 Nov 1944 15
2
Patrick Bowes-Lyon 22 Sep 1884 25 May 1949 64
25 May 1949 16
3
Timothy Bowes-Lyon 18 Mar 1918 13 Sep 1972 54
13 Sep 1972 17
4
Fergus Michael Claude Bowes Lyon 31 Dec 1928 18 Aug 1987 58
18 Aug 1987 18
5
Michael Fergus Bowes Lyon 7 Jun 1957 27 Feb 2016 58
27 Feb 2016 19
6
Simon Patrick Bowes‑Lyon 18 Jun 1986
STRATHNAIRN
31 Jul 1866
to    
16 Oct 1885
B 1 Sir Hugh Henry Rose
Created Baron Strathnairn 31 Jul 1866
Field Marshal 1877. PC [I] 1865
Peerage extinct on his death
6 Apr 1801 16 Oct 1885 84
STRATHNAVER
Although not a peerage, the title of Lord Strathnaver has been used as a courtesy title since the late 16th century by the Earls of Sutherland
STRATHSPEY
14 Aug 1858 B 1 John Charles Ogilvie Grant, 7th Earl of Seafield
Created Baron Strathspey 14 Aug 1858
4 Sep 1815 18 Feb 1881 65
18 Feb 1881
to    
31 Mar 1884
2 Ian Charles Ogilvie Grant, 8th Earl of Seafield
Peerage extinct on his death
7 Oct 1851 31 Mar 1884 32

17 Jun 1884 B 1 James Ogilvy Grant, 9th Earl of Seafield
Created Baron Strathspey 17 Jun 1884
27 Dec 1817 5 Jun 1888 70
5 Jun 1888 2 Francis William Ogilvy Grant, 10th Earl of Seafield 9 Mar 1847 3 Dec 1888 41
3 Dec 1888 3 James Ogilvy Grant, 11th Earl of Seafield 18 Apr 1876 12 Nov 1915 39
12 Nov 1915 4 Trevor Grant
For further information, see the note at the foot of this page
2 Mar 1879 11 Nov 1948 69
11 Nov 1948 5 Donald Patrick Trevor Grant 18 Mar 1912 27 Jan 1992 79
27 Jan 1992 6 James Patrick Trevor Grant 9 Sep 1943 26 May 2023 79
26 May 2023 7 Michael Patrick Francis Grant 22 Apr 1953
STRATHTAY AND STRATHARDLE
30 Jun 1703 E [S] 1 John Murray, 2nd Marquess of Atholl
Created Lord Murray, Viscount Glenalmond and Earl of Tullibardine for life 27 Jul 1696 and Lord Murray, Balvenie and Gask, Viscount of Balwhidder, Glenalmond and Glenlyon, Earl of Strathtay & Strathardle, Marquess of Tullibardine and Duke of Atholl 30 Jun 1703
Lord Privy Seal 1703 and 1713‑1714; Lord Lieutenant Perthshire 1715; KT 1704; PC 1712
See "Atholl"
24 Feb 1660 14 Nov 1724 64
STRAUSS
9 Jul 1979
to    
5 Jun 1993
B[L] George Russell Strauss
Created Baron Strauss for life 9 Jul 1979
MP for Lambeth North 1929‑1931 and 1934‑1950 and Vauxhall 1950‑1979; Minister of Supply 1947‑1951. PC 1947
Peerage extinct on his death
18 Jul 1901 5 Jun 1993 91
STRICKLAND
19 Jan 1928
to    
22 Aug 1940
B 1 Sir Gerald Strickland
Created Baron Strickland 19 Jan 1928
MP for Lancaster 1924‑1928; Governor of Leeward Islands 1902‑1904, Tasmania 1904‑1909, Western Australia 1909‑1913 and New South Wales 1913‑1917; Prime Minister of Malta 1927‑1932
Peerage extinct on his death
For further information on this peer, see the note at the foot of this page
24 May 1861 22 Aug 1940 79
STRIVELYN
25 Feb 1342
to    
15 Aug 1378
B 1 Sir John de Strivelyn
Summoned to Parliament as Lord Strivelyn 25 Feb 1342
Peerage extinct on his death
15 Aug 1378
STROUD
1 Oct 2015 B[L] Philippa Claire Stroud
Created Baroness Stroud for life 1 Oct 2015
2 Apr 1965
STUART DE DECIES
10 May 1839
to    
23 Jan 1874
B 1 Henry Villiers-Stuart
Created Baron Stuart de Decies 10 May 1839
MP for co. Waterford 1826‑1830 and Banbury 1830‑1831; Lord Lieutenant Waterford 1831‑1874; PC [I] 1837
Peerage extinct on his death
8 Jun 1803 23 Jan 1874 70
STUART DE ROTHESAY
22 Jan 1828
to    
6 Nov 1845
B 1 Sir Charles Stuart
Created Baron Stuart de Rothesay 22 Jan 1828
PC
Peerage extinct on his death
2 Jan 1779 6 Nov 1845 66
STUART OF CASTLE STUART
4 Jun 1796 B 1 Francis Stuart, 9th Earl of Moray
Created Baron Stuart of Castle Stuart 4 Jun 1796
See "Moray"
11 Jan 1737 28 Aug 1810 73
STUART OF EDGBASTON
7 Sep 2020 B[L] Gisela Stuart
Created Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston for life 7 Sep 2020
MP for Edgbaston 1997‑2017; PC 2015
26 Nov 1955
STUART OF FINDHORN
20 Nov 1959 V 1 James Gray Stuart
Created Viscount Stuart of Findhorn 20 Nov 1959
MP for Moray and Nairn 1923‑1959; Secretary of State for Scotland 1951‑1957; PC 1939; CH 1957
9 Feb 1897 20 Feb 1971 74
20 Feb 1971 2 David Randolph Moray Stuart 20 Jun 1924 24 Nov 1999 75
24 Nov 1999 3 James Dominic Stuart 25 Mar 1948
STUART OF LEIGHTON BROMSWOLD
7 Jun 1619 B 1 Esme Stuart
Created Baron Stuart of Leighton Bromswold and Earl of March 7 Jun 1619
Succeeded as 3rd Duke of Lennox 1624
See "Lennox" - extinct 1672
1579 30 Jul 1624 45
STUART OF NEWBURY
10 Dec 1645
to    
12 Dec 1672
B 1 Charles Stuart
Created Baron Stuart of Newbury and Earl of Lichfield 10 Dec 1645
Succeeded to the Dukedom of Richmond in 1660 - peerages extinct 1672
7 Mar 1640 12 Dec 1672 32
STUART OF WORTLEY
1 Jan 1917
to    
24 Apr 1926
B 1 Charles Beilby Stuart‑Wortley
Created Baron Stuart of Wortley 1 Jan 1917
MP for Sheffield 1880‑1885 and Hallam 1885‑1916; PC 1896
Peerage extinct on his death
15 Sep 1851 24 Apr 1926 74
STUNELL
26 Oct 2015 B[L] Sir Robert Andrew Stunell
Created Baron Stunell for life 26 Oct 2015
MP for Hazel Grove 1997‑2015; PC 2012
24 Nov 1942
SUDBURY
16 Aug 1672 B 1 Henry Fitzroy
Created Baron Sudbury, Viscount Ipswich, Earl of Euston 16 Aug 1672 and Duke of Grafton 11 Sep 1675
See "Grafton"
2 Sep 1663 9 Oct 1690 27
SUDELEY
29 Dec 1299 B 1 John de Sudeley
Summoned to Parliament as Lord Sudeley 29 Dec 1299
c 1257 1336
1336 2 John de Sudeley 1340
1340
to    
11 Aug 1367
3 John de Sudeley
On his death the peerage fell into abeyance
c 1337 11 Aug 1367
1380 4 Thomas Boteler
He became sole heir in 1380
1355 20 Sep 1398 43
20 Sep 1398 5 John Boteler 1417
1417
10 Sep 1441
 
B
6
1
Ralph Boteler
Created Baron Sudeley 10 Sep 1441
Lord High Treasurer 1444‑1447. KG 1440
On his death the Barony of 1441 became extinct and the Barony of 1299 fell into abeyance
2 May 1473

12 Jul 1838 B 1 Charles Hanbury-Tracy
Created Baron Sudeley 12 Jul 1838
MP for Tewkesbury 1807‑1812 and 1832‑1837; Lord Lieutenant Montgomery 1848‑1858
28 Dec 1778 10 Feb 1858 79
10 Feb 1858 2 Thomas Charles Hanbury‑Tracy
MP for Wallingford 1831‑1832; Lord Lieutenant Montgomery 1858‑1863
5 Feb 1801 19 Feb 1863 62
19 Feb 1863 3 Sudeley Charles George Hanbury‑Tracy
Lord Lieutenant Montgomery 1863‑1877
9 Apr 1837 28 Apr 1877 40
28 Apr 1877 4 Charles Douglas Richard Hanbury‑Tracy
MP for Montgomery 1863‑1877; PC 1886
3 Jul 1840 9 Dec 1922 82
9 Dec 1922 5 William Charles Frederick Hanbury‑Tracy 19 Aug 1870 5 Sep 1932 62
5 Sep 1932 6 Richard Algernon Frederick Hanbury‑Tracy 20 Apr 1911 26 Aug 1941 30
26 Aug 1941 7 Merlin Charles Sainthill Hanbury‑Tracy 17 Jun 1939 5 Sep 2022 83
5 Sep 2022 8 Nicholas Edward John Hanbury‑Tracy 13 Jan 1959
SUDLEY
15 Aug 1758 V[I] 1 Sir Arthur Gore
Created Baron Saunders and Viscount Sudley 15 Aug 1758 and Earl of Arran 12 Apr 1762
See "Arran"
17 Apr 1773

7 Nov 1884 B 1 Arthur Saunders Gore, 5th Earl of Arran
Created Baron Sudley 7 Nov 1884
See "Arran"
6 Jan 1839 14 Mar 1901 62
SUFFIELD
21 Aug 1786 B 1 Sir Hardbord Harbord, 2nd baronet
Created Baron Suffield 21 Aug 1786
MP for Norwich 1756‑1786
Jan 1734 4 Feb 1810 76
4 Feb 1810 2 William Assheton Harbord
MP for Ludgershall 1790‑1796 and Plympton Erle 1807‑1810. Lord Lieutenant Norfolk 1808‑1821
21 Aug 1766 1 Aug 1821 54
1 Aug 1821 3 Edward Harbord
MP for Great Yarmouth 1806‑1812 and Shaftesbury 1820‑1821
10 Nov 1781 6 Jul 1835 53
6 Jul 1835 4 Edward Vernon Harbord 19 Jun 1813 22 Aug 1853 40
22 Aug 1853 5 Charles Harbord
PC 1886
2 Jan 1830 9 Apr 1914 84
9 Apr 1914 6 Charles Harbord 14 Jun 1855 10 Feb 1924 68
10 Feb 1924 7 Victor Alexander Charles Harbord 12 Sep 1897 11 Jun 1943 45
11 Jun 1943 8 John Harbord 1 Jul 1907 23 Jun 1945 37
23 Jun 1945 9 Geoffrey Walter Harbord 12 Nov 1861 23 May 1946 84
23 May 1946 10 Richard Morden Harbord‑Hamond 24 Aug 1865 2 Feb 1951 85
2 Feb 1951 11 Anthony Philip Harbord‑Hamond 19 Jun 1922 8 Dec 2011 89
8 Dec 2011 12 Charles Anthony Assheton Harbord‑Hamond 3 Dec 1953 15 Jan 2016 62
15 Jan 2016 13 John Edward Richard Harbord‑Hamond 10 Jul 1956
SUFFOLK
16 Mar 1337 E 1 Robert de Ufford, 2nd Lord Ufford
Created Earl of Suffolk 16 Mar 1337
KG c 1348
9 Aug 1298 4 Nov 1369 71
4 Nov 1369
to    
13 Feb 1382
2 William de Ufford
KG 1375
On his death the peerage reverted to the Crown
13 Feb 1382

6 Aug 1385
to    
Feb 1388
E 1 Michael de la Pole, 1st Lord de la Pole
Created Earl of Suffolk 6 Aug 1385
Lord Chancellor 1383‑1386
He was attainted and the peerages forfeited
c 1330 5 Sep 1389
1397 2 Michael de la Pole
Restored to the peerage 1397
c 1367 14 Sep 1415
14 Sep 1415 3 Michael de la Pole c 1394 25 Oct 1415
25 Oct 1415
14 Sep 1444
2 Jul 1448
 
M
D
4
1
1
William de la Pole
Created Marquess of Suffolk 14 Sep 1444 and Duke of Suffolk 2 Jul 1448
KG 1421
16 Oct 1396 2 May 1450 53
2 May 1450 5
2
John de la Pole
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1478‑1479; KG c 1473
27 Sep 1442 1492 49
1492
to    
Jan 1504
6
3
Edmund de la Pole
KG 1496
He surrendered the Dukedom and Marquessate 26 Feb 1493. He was attainted and the Earldom forfeited Jan 1504
c 1471 5 Apr 1513

1 Feb 1514 D 1 Charles Brandon, 1st Viscount L'Isle
Created Duke of Suffolk 1 Feb 1514
Lord President of the Council 1530‑1545; KG 1513
c 1484 22 Aug 1545
22 Aug 1545 2 Henry Brandon 14 Jul 1551
14 Jul 1551
to    
14 Jul 1551
3 Charles Brandon
Peerage extinct on his death - he enjoyed the peerage for only half an hour
14 Jul 1551

11 Oct 1551
to    
23 Feb 1554
D 1 Henry Grey, 3rd Marquess of Dorset
Created Duke of Suffolk 11 Oct 1551
He was attainted and the peerages forfeited
by 1520 23 Feb 1554

21 Jul 1603 E 1 Thomas Howard, 1st Lord Howard de Walden
Created Earl of Suffolk 21 Jul 1603
Lord Lieutenant Cambridge 1598, Suffolk 1605 and Dorset 1613; Lord High Treasurer 1614‑1619; KG 1597
24 Aug 1561 28 May 1626 64
28 May 1626 2 Theophilus Howard
MP for Maldon 1605‑1610; Lord Lieutenant Cumberland, Westmorland and Northumberland 1614 and Cambridge, Suffolk and Dorset 1626; Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports 1628; KG 1627
He was summoned to Parliament by a Writ of Acceleration as Baron Howard de Walden 8 Feb 1610
13 Aug 1584 3 Jun 1640 55
3 Jun 1640 3 James Howard
Lord Lieutenant Suffolk 1642‑1681 and Cambridge 1660‑1681
10 Feb 1620 7 Jan 1689 68
7 Jan 1689 4 George Howard c 1625 21 Apr 1691
21 Apr 1691 5 Henry Howard 18 Jul 1627 10 Nov 1709 82
10 Nov 1709 6 Henry Howard
Created Baron Chesterford and Earl of Bindon 30 Dec 1706
MP for Arundel 1694 and 1695‑1698 and Essex 1705‑1706; Lord Lieutenant Essex 1715‑1718; President of the Board of Trade 1715‑1718; PC 1708
1670 19 Sep 1718 48
19 Sep 1718 7 Charles William Howard
Lord Lieutenant Essex 1718‑1722
The creations of 1706 became extinct on his death
9 May 1693 9 Feb 1722 28
9 Feb 1722 8 Edward Howard 1672 22 Jun 1731 58
22 Jun 1731 9 Charles Howard 1675 28 Sep 1733 58
28 Sep 1733 10 Henry Howard
MP for Bere Alston 1728‑1733
1 Jan 1706 22 Apr 1745 39
22 Apr 1745 11 Henry Bowes Howard
He had previously succeeded as 4th Earl of Berkshire in 1706
1686 21 Mar 1757 70
21 Mar 1757 12 Henry Howard (also 5th Earl of Berkshire)
Lord Privy Seal 1771; Secretary of State 1771. PC 1771; KG 1778
16 May 1739 7 Mar 1779 39
8 Aug 1779 13 Henry Howard (also 6th Earl of Berkshire) 8 Aug 1779 10 Aug 1779 -
10 Aug 1779 14 Thomas Howard (also 7th Earl of Berkshire)
MP for Castle Rising 1747‑1768, Malmesbury 1768‑1774 and Mitchell 1774‑1779
11 Jun 1721 3 Feb 1783 61
3 Feb 1783 15 John Howard (also 8th Earl of Berkshire) 7 Mar 1739 23 Jan 1820 80
23 Jan 1820 16 Thomas Howard (also 9th Earl of Berkshire)
MP for Arundel 1802‑1806
18 Aug 1776 4 Dec 1851 75
4 Dec 1851 17 Charles John Howard (also 10th Earl of Berkshire)
MP for Malmesbury 1832‑1841
7 Nov 1804 14 Aug 1876 71
14 Aug 1876 18 Henry Charles Howard (also 11th Earl of Berkshire)
MP for Malmesbury 1859‑1868
10 Sep 1833 31 Mar 1898 64
31 Mar 1898 19 Henry Molyneux Paget Howard (also 12th Earl of Berkshire) 13 Sep 1877 21 Apr 1917 39
21 Apr 1917 20 Charles Henry George Howard (also 13th Earl of Berkshire)
For further information on this peer, see the note at the foot of this page
2 Mar 1906 12 May 1941 35
12 May 1941 21 Michael John James George Robert Howard (also 14th Earl of Berkshire) 27 Mar 1935 5 Aug 2022 87
5 Aug 2022 22 Charles Leicester Stanhope (also 15th Earl of Berkshire) 20 Jul 1945
SUGAR
20 Jul 2009 B[L] Sir Alan Michael Sugar
Created Baron Sugar for life 20 Jul 2009
24 Mar 1947
SUGG
30 Aug 2016 B[L] Elizabeth Grace Sugg
Created Baroness Sugg for life 30 Aug 2016
2 May 1977
SUMMERHILL
19 Feb 1766 B[I] 1 Elizabeth Ormsby Rowley
Created Baroness Summerhill and Viscountess Langford 19 Feb  1766
See "Langford"
1713 18 Dec 1791 78
SUMMERSKILL
4 Feb 1961
to    
4 Feb 1980
B[L] Edith Clara Summerskill
Created Baroness Summerskill for life 4 Feb 1961
MP for Fulham West 1938‑1955 and Warrington 1955‑1961; Minister of National Insurance 1950‑1951; PC 1949; CH 1966
Peerage extinct on her death
19 Apr 1901 4 Feb 1980 78
SUMNER
20 Oct 1913
31 Jan 1927
to    
24 May 1934
B
V
1
1
Sir John Andrew Hamilton
Created Baron Sumner 20 Oct 1913 and Viscount Sumner 31 Jan 1927
Lord Justice of Appeal 1912‑1913; Lord of Appeal in Ordinary 1913‑1930; PC 1912
Peerages extinct on his death
3 Feb 1859 24 May 1934 75
SUNBURY
19 Oct 1714
to    
19 May 1715
V 1 Charles Montague
Created Baron Halifax 13 Dec 1700 and Viscount Sunbury and Earl of Halifax 19 Oct 1714
Viscountcy and Earldom extinct on his death
16 Apr 1661 19 May 1715 54

14 Jun 1715 V 1 George Montague, 2nd Baron Halifax
Created Viscount Sunbury and Earl of Halifax 14 Jun 1715
See "Halifax"
c 1684 9 May 1739
SUNDERLAND
19 Jun 1627
to    
30 May 1630
E 1 Emanuel Scrope, 11th Lord Scrope of Bolton
Created Earl of Sunderland 19 Jun 1627
Peerage extinct on his death
30 May 1630

8 Jun 1643 E 1 Henry Spencer, 3rd Baron Spencer of Wormleighton
Created Earl of Sunderland 8 Jun 1643
23 Nov 1620 20 Sep 1643 22
20 Sep 1643 2 Robert Spencer
Secretary of State 1679‑1681, 1683 and 1685‑1688; Lord President of the Council 1685‑1688; Lord Lieutenant Stafford 1679‑1681 and Warwick 1683‑1686 and 1687‑1689; PC 1679; KG 1687
1640 28 Sep 1702 62
28 Sep 1702 3 Charles Spencer
MP for Tiverton 1695‑1702; Secretary of State 1706‑1710 and 1717‑1718; Lord Privy Seal 1715‑1716; Lord President of the Council 1718‑1719; Prime Minister 1718‑1721; PC 1706; KG 1719
23 Apr 1675 19 Apr 1722 46
19 Apr 1722 4 Robert Spencer 24 Oct 1701 15 Sep 1729 27
15 Sep 1729 5 Charles Spencer
He succeeded to the Dukedom of Marlborough in 1733 with which title this peerage then merged and so remains
22 Nov 1706 20 Oct 1758 51
SUNDERLIN
30 Jun 1785
21 Nov 1797
to    
14 Apr 1816
B[I]
B[I]
1
1
Richard Malone
Created Baron Sunderlin 30 Jun 1785 and 21 Nov 1797
MP [I] for Banagher 1783‑1785
Peerages extinct on his death
For details of the special remainder included in the creation of 1797, see the note at the foot of this page
1737 14 Apr 1816 78
SUNDON
2 Jun 1735
to    
29 Apr 1752
B[I] 1 William Clayton
Created Baron Sundon 2 Jun 1735
MP for Woodstock 1716‑1722, St. Albans 1722‑1727, Westminster 1727‑1741, Plympton Erle 1742‑1747 and St. Mawes 1747‑1752
Peerage extinct on his death
9 Nov 1671 29 Apr 1752 80
SUNDRIDGE
22 Dec 1766 B 1 John Campbell, later [1770] 5th Duke of Argyll
Created Baron Sundridge 22 Dec 1766
The creation of this peerage included a special remainder, failing heirs male of his body, to his two brothers
See "Argyll" with which title this peerage remains merged
Jun 1723 24 May 1806 82
SURI
11 Sep 2014 B[L] Ranbir Singh Suri
Created Baron Suri for life 11 Sep 2014
10 Feb 1935
SURREY
1088 E 1 William de Warenne
Created Earl of Surrey 1088
24 Jun 1099
24 Jun 1099 2 William de Warenne 11 May 1138
11 May 1138 3 William de Warenne c 1119 19 Jan 1148
19 Jan 1148 4 Isabel de Warenne 13 Jul 1199
13 Jul 1199 5 William de Warenne 27 May 1240
27 May 1240 6 John de Warenne
He was created Earl of Sussex c 1282
1231 27 Sep 1305 74
27 Sep 1305 7 John de Warenne 29 Jun 1286 30 Jun 1347 61
30 Jun 1347 8 Richard Fitzalan, 3rd Earl of Arundel c 1306 24 Jan 1376
24 Jan 1376
to    
18 Sep 1397
9 Richard Fitzalan, 4th Earl of Arundel
He was attainted and the peerages forfeited but see below
c 1348 18 Sep 1397

29 Sep 1397
to    
1399
D 1 Thomas de Holand, 3rd Earl of Kent
Created Duke of Surrey 29 Sep 1397
He was degraded from the Dukedom 1399
c 1371 6 Jan 1400

Oct 1400
to    
13 Oct 1415
10 Thomas Fitzalan
Restored to the Earldoms of Surrey and Arundel Oct 1400. On his death the peerages reverted to the Crown
13 Oct 1381 13 Oct 1415 34

24 Mar 1451
to    
17 Jan 1476
E 1 John Mowbray
Created Earl of Surrey 24 Mar 1451
He later succeeded to the Dukedom of Norfolk in 1461
Peerages extinct on his death
18 Oct 1444 17 Jan 1476 31

28 Jun 1483 E 1 Thomas Howard
Created Earl of Surrey 28 Jun 1483
Later restored to the Dukedom of Norfolk 1514
c 1443 21 May 1524
21 May 1524 2 Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk 1473 25 Aug 1554 81
25 Aug 1554
to    
2 Jun 1572
3 Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk
He was attainted and the peerages forfeited
10 Mar 1536 2 Jun 1572 36
1604 4 Thomas Howard
Restored to the Earldoms of Surrey, Arundel and Norfolk 1604
7 Jul 1585 4 Oct 1646 61
4 Oct 1646 5 Henry Frederick Howard 15 Aug 1608 17 Apr 1652 43
17 Apr 1652 6 Thomas Howard
He was restored to the Dukedom of Norfolk in 1660 with which title this peerage then merged
9 May 1627 13 Dec 1677 50
SUSSEX
1141 E 1 William de Albini
Created Earl of Sussex 1141
4 Oct 1176
4 Oct 1176 2 William de Albini 24 Dec 1193
24 Dec 1193 3 William de Albini Mar 1221
Mar 1221 4 William de Albini Aug 1224
Aug 1224
to    
12 May 1243
5 William de Albini
On his death the peerage reverted to the Crown
12 May 1243

c 1282 E 1 John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey
Created Earl of Sussex c 1282
1231 27 Sep 1305 74
27 Sep 1305
to    
30 Jun 1347
2 John de Warenne
On his death the peerage reverted to the Crown
29 Jun 1286 30 Jun 1347 61

8 Dec 1529 E 1 Robert Radclyffe
Created Viscount Fitzwalter 18 Jun 1525 and Earl of Sussex 8 Dec 1529
Lord Lieutenant Lancashire 1537; KG 1524
c 1483 27 Nov 1542
27 Nov 1542 2 Henry Radclyffe
KG 1554
c 1507 17 Feb 1557
17 Feb 1557 3 Thomas Radclyffe
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1556‑1558, 1559‑1560 and 1560‑1565; Lord Lieutenant Norfolk and Suffolk 1557; KG 1557
He was summoned to Parliament by a Writ of Acceleration as Baron Fitzwalter 24 Aug 1553
c 1525 9 Jun 1583
9 Jun 1583 4 Henry Radclyffe
MP for Maldon 1555, Hampshire 1571 and Portsmouth 1572‑1583; Lord Lieutenant Hampshire 1585; KG 1589
c 1532 14 Dec 1593
14 Dec 1593 5 Robert Radclyffe
Lord Lieutenant Essex 1603; KG 1599
12 Jun 1573 22 Sep 1629 56
22 Sep 1629
to    
Aug 1643
6 Edward Radclyffe
MP for Petersfield 1586-1587, Bedford 1588-1589, 1601 and 1604-1612 and Portsmouth 1592-1593
Peerage extinct on his death
c 1559 Aug 1643

25 May 1644 E 1 Thomas Savile
Created Baron of Castlebar and Viscount Savile 11 Jun 1628 and Earl of Sussex 25 May 1644
MP for Yorkshire 1624‑1625; Lord Lieutenant Yorkshire 1641
14 Sep 1590 c 1659
c 1659
to    
Oct 1671
2 James Savile
Peerages extinct on his death
1647 Oct 1671 24

5 Oct 1674
to    
30 Oct 1715
E 1 Thomas Lennard, 15th Lord Dacre
Created Earl of Sussex 5 Oct 1674
Peerage extinct on his death
c 1653 30 Oct 1715

26 Feb 1717 E 1 Talbot Yelverton, 2nd Viscount Longueville
Created Earl of Sussex 26 Feb 1717
This creation contained a special remainder, failing the heirs male of his body, to his brother, Henry Yelverton
PC 1727
2 May 1690 27 Oct 1731 41
27 Oct 1731 2 George Augustus Yelverton 27 Jul 1727 8 Jan 1758 30
8 Jan 1758
to    
22 Apr 1799
3 Henry Yelverton
Peerage extinct on his death
7 Jul 1728 22 Apr 1799 70

27 Nov 1801
to    
21 Apr 1843
D 1 Augustus Frederick
Created Baron of Arklow, Earl of Inverness and Duke of Sussex 27 Nov 1801
Sixth son of George III; President of the Royal Society 1830‑1838; KG 1786; PC 1804; KT 1830
For further information on this peer and his marriages, and details of the claim made to the peerages in 1844, see the note at the foot of this page
27 Jan 1773 21 Apr 1843 70

24 May 1874 E 1 Arthur William Patrick Albert
Created Earl of Sussex and Duke of Connaught & Strathearn 24 May 1874
See "Connaught and Strathearn"
1 May 1850 16 Jan 1942 91

16 Jul 2018 D 1 HRH Henry Charles Albert David
Created Baron Kilkeel, Earl of Dumbarton and Duke of Sussex 19 May 2018
Second son of Charles III
15 Sep 1984
SUTHERLAND
1235 E[S] 1 William Sutherland
Created Earl of Sutherland 1235
1248
1248 2 William Sutherland Sep 1307
Sep 1307 3 William Sutherland Dec 1330
Dec 1330 4 Kenneth Sutherland 19 Jul 1333
19 Jul 1333 5 William Sutherland c 1370
c 1370 6 Robert Sutherland c 1427
c 1427 7 John Sutherland 1460
1460 8 John Sutherland 1508
1508 9 John Sutherland Jun 1514
Jun 1514 10 Elizabeth Sutherland
She married Adam Gordon who was considered to be Earl in her right. He died 17 Mar 1537
Sep 1535
17 Mar 1537 11 John Gordon 1525 23 Jun 1567 41
23 Jun 1567 12 Alexander Gordon 1552 4 Dec 1594 42
4 Dec 1594 13 John Gordon 20 Jul 1576 11 Sep 1615 39
11 Sep 1615 14 John Gordon
Lord Privy Seal [S] 1641
4 Mar 1609 14 Oct 1679 70
14 Oct 1679 15 George Gordon 2 Nov 1633 4 Mar 1703 69
4 Mar 1703 16 John Sutherland
KT 1716; PC 1721
2 Mar 1661 27 Jun 1733 72
27 Jun 1733 17 William Sutherland
MP for Sutherland 1727‑1733
2 Oct 1708 7 Dec 1750 42
7 Dec 1750 18 William Sutherland 29 May 1735 16 Jun 1766 31
16 Jun 1766 19 Elizabeth Sutherland
She married George Granville Leveson‑Gower who was created Duke of Sutherland in 1833 (see below)
24 May 1765 29 Jan 1839 73
29 Jan 1839 20 George Granville Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 2nd Duke of Sutherland 8 Aug 1786 28 Feb 1861 74
28 Feb 1861 21 George Granville William Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 3rd Duke of Sutherland 19 Dec 1828 22 Sep 1892 63
22 Sep 1892 22 Cromartie Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 4th Duke of Sutherland 20 Jul 1851 27 Jun 1913 61
27 Jun 1913 23 George Granville Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 5th Duke of Sutherland 29 Aug 1888 1 Feb 1963 74
1 Feb 1963 24 Elizabeth Millicent Sutherland 30 Mar 1921 9 Dec 2019 98
9 Dec 2019 25 Alistair Charles St. Clair Sutherland 7 Jan 1947

28 Jan 1833 D 1 George Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Marquess of Stafford
He was summoned to Parliament by a Writ of Acceleration as Baron Gower 25 Feb 1799
Created Duke of Sutherland 28 Jan 1833

MP for Newcastle under Lyme 1779‑1784 and Staffordshire 1787‑1799; Lord Lieutenant Stafford 1799‑1801 and Sutherland 1794‑1830; PC 1790; KG 1806
For further information on this peer, and his role in the "Highland Clearances", see the note at the foot of this page
9 Jan 1758 19 Jul 1833 75
19 Jul 1833 2 George Granville Sutherland-Leveson-Gower
MP for St. Mawes 1808‑1812, Newcastle under Lyme 1812‑1815 and Staffordshire 1815‑1820; Lord Lieutenant Sutherland 1830‑1861 and Shropshire 1839‑1845; KG 1841
He was summoned to Parliament by a Writ of Acceleration as Baron Gower 25 Nov 1826
8 Aug 1786 28 Feb 1861 74
28 Feb 1861 3 George Granville William Sutherland-Leveson-Gower
MP for Sutherland 1852‑1861; Lord Lieutenant Cromarty 1853‑1892 and Sutherland 1861‑1892; KG 1864
For information on the Duke's second wife, see the note at the foot of this page
19 Dec 1828 22 Sep 1892 63
22 Sep 1892 4 Cromartie Sutherland-Leveson-Gower
MP for Sutherland 1874‑1886; Lord Lieutenant Sutherland 1892‑1913; KG 1902
20 Jul 1851 27 Jun 1913 61
27 Jun 1913 5 George Granville Sutherland-Leveson-Gower
Paymaster General 1925‑1928; Lord Lieutenant Sutherland 1913‑1945; KT 1929; PC 1936
29 Aug 1888 1 Feb 1963 74
1 Feb 1963 6 John Sutherland Egerton, 5th Earl of Ellesmere 10 May 1915 21 Sep 2000 85
21 Sep 2000 7 Francis Ronald Egerton 18 Feb 1940
SUTHERLAND OF HOUNDWOOD
29 Jun 2001
to    
29 Jan 2018
B[L] Sir Stewart Ross Sutherland
Created Baron Sutherland of Houndwood for life 29 Jun 2001
KT 2002
Peerage extinct on his death
25 Feb 1941 29 Jan 2018 76
SUTTIE
17 Sep 2013 B[L] Alison Mary Suttie
Created Baroness Suttie for life 17 Sep 2013
27 Aug 1968
SUTTON
30 Dec 1324 B 1 John de Sutton
Summoned to Parliament as Lord Sutton 30 Dec 1324
24 Jun 1270 24 Sep 1338 68
24 Sep 1338 2 John de Sutton 3 May 1356
3 May 1356
to    
after 1356
3 Thomas de Sutton
On his death the peerage fell into abeyance
after 1356
SWANBOROUGH
22 Sep 1958
to    
22 May 1971
B[L] Stella Isaacs, Dowager Marchioness of Reading
Created Baroness Swanborough for life 22 Sep 1958
Peerage extinct on her death
6 Jan 1894 22 May 1971 77
SWANN
16 Feb 1981
to    
22 Sep 1990
B[L] Sir Michael Meredith Swann
Created Baron Swann for life 16 Feb 1981
Peerage extinct on his death
1 Mar 1920 22 Sep 1990 70
SWANSEA
9 Jun 1893 B 1 Sir Henry Hussey Vivian, 1st baronet
Created Baron Swansea 9 Jun 1893
MP for Truro 1852‑1857, Glamorganshire 1857‑1885 and Swansea District 1885‑1893
6 Jul 1821 28 Nov 1894 73
28 Nov 1894 2 Ernest Ambrose Vivian 11 Feb 1848 17 Jul 1932 74
17 Jul 1932 3 Odo Richard Vivian 22 Apr 1875 16 Nov 1934 59
16 Nov 1934 4 John Hussey Hamilton Vivian 1 Jan 1925 24 Jun 2005 80
24 Jun 2005 5 Richard Anthony Hussey Vivian 24 Jan 1957
SWAYTHLING
18 Jul 1907 B 1 Sir Montagu Samuel-Montagu, 1st baronet
Created Baron Swaythling 18 Jul 1907
MP for Whitechapel 1885‑1900
21 Dec 1832 12 Jan 1911 78
12 Jan 1911 3 Louis Samuel Montagu 10 Dec 1869 11 Jun 1927 57
11 Jun 1927 3 Stuart Albert Montagu 19 Dec 1898 5 Jan 1990 91
5 Jan 1990 4 David Charles Samuel Montagu 6 Aug 1928 1 Jul 1998 69
1 Jul 1998 5 Charles Edgar Samuel Montagu 20 Feb 1954
SWILLINGTON
3 Dec 1326 B 1 Adam Swillington
Summoned to Parliament as Lord Swillington 3 Dec 1326
Jun 1328
Jun 1328 2 Adam Swillington after 1328
after 1328 3 Robert Swillington c 1380
c 1380 4 Thomas Swillington after 1405
after 1405
to    
after 1430
5 Elizabeth Swillington
Nothing further is known of this peerage
c 1405 after 1430
SWINBURNE
20 Jun 2023 B[L] (Jacqueline) Kay Swinburne
Created Baroness Swinburne for life 20 Jun 2023
MEP for Wales 2009‑2019
8 Jun 1967
SWINFEN
1 Nov 1919 B 1 Sir Charles Swinfen Eady
Created Baron Swinfen 1 Nov 1919
Lord Justice of Appeal 1913; Master of the Rolls 1918‑1919; PC 1913
31 Jul 1851 15 Nov 1919 68
15 Nov 1919 2 Charles Swinfen Eady 22 Feb 1904 19 Mar 1977 73
19 Mar 1977 3 Roger Mynors Swinfen Eady
[Elected hereditary peer 1999‑2022]
14 Dec 1938 5 Jun 2022 83
5 Jun 2022 4 Charles Roger Peregrine Swinfen Eady 8 Mar 1971
SWINTON
29 Nov 1935
5 May 1955
V
E
1
1
Philip Cunliffe-Lister [originally Lloyd‑Greame - name changed 7 Nov 1924]
Created Viscount Swinton 29 Nov 1935 and Baron Masham and Earl of Swinton 5 May 1955
MP for Hendon 1918‑1935; President of the Board of Trade 1922‑1924, 1924‑1929 and 1931; Secretary of State for Colonies 1931‑1935; Secretary of State for Air 1935‑1938; Minister of Civil Aviation 1944‑1945; Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister of Materials 1951‑1952; Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations 1952‑1955; PC 1922; CH 1943
1 May 1884 27 Jul 1972 88
27 Jul 1972 2 David Yarburgh Cunliffe‑Lister 21 Mar 1937 26 Mar 2006 69
26 Mar 2006 3 Nicholas John Cunliffe‑Lister 4 Sep 1939 21 Mar 2021 81
21 Mar 2021 4 Mark William Philip Cunliffe‑Lister 15 Sep 1970
SWIRE
1 Nov 2022 B[L] Hugo George William Swire
Created Baron Swire for life 1 Nov 2022
MP for Devon East 2001‑2019; PC 2010
30 Nov 1959
SWYNERTON
23 Apr 1337 B 1 Sir Roger Swynerton
Summoned to Parliament as Lord Swynerton 23 Apr 1337
Mar 1338
Mar 1338 2 Robert Swynerton c 1312 1350
1350 3 Thomas Swynerton Dec 1361
Dec 1361
to    
by 1396
4 Robert Swynerton
On his death the peerage became dormant
by 1396
SYDENHAM
19 Aug 1840
to    
19 Sep 1841
B 1 Charles Edward Poulett-Thomson
Created Baron Sydenham 19 Aug 1840
MP for Dover 1826‑1830 and Manchester 1832‑1839; Vice President of the Board of Trade 1830; President of the Board of Trade 1834 and 1835‑1839. Governor General of Canada 1839‑1841; PC 1830
Peerage extinct on his death
13 Sep 1799 19 Sep 1841 42
SYDENHAM OF COMBE
12 Feb 1913
to    
7 Feb 1933
B 1 Sir George Sydenham Clarke
Created Baron Sydenham of Combe 12 Feb 1913
Governor of Victoria 1901‑1903 and Bombay 1907‑1913
Peerage extinct on his death
4 Jul 1848 7 Feb 1933 84
SYDNEY
13 May 1603 B 1 Robert Sydney
Created Baron Sydney 13 May 1603, Viscount L'Isle 4 May 1605 and Earl of Leicester 2 Aug 1618
See "Leicester"
28 Nov 1563 13 Jul 1626 62

11 Jul 1689 Robert Sydney
He was summoned to Parliament by a Writ of Acceleration as Baron Sydney 11 Jul 1689
He succeeded as Earl of Leicester in 1698
1649 11 Nov 1702 53

9 Apr 1689
to    
8 Apr 1704
V 1 Henry Sydney
Created Baron Milton and Viscount Sydney 9 Apr 1689 and Earl of Romney 14 May 1694
See "Romney"
c 1641 8 Apr 1704

14 Jul 1768
to    
17 Jan 1774
B[I] 1 Dudley Alexander Sydney Cosby
Created Baron Sydney 14 Jul 1768
Peerage extinct on his death
c 1730 17 Jan 1774

6 Mar 1783
11 Jun 1789
B
V
1
1
Thomas Townshend
Created Baron Sydney 6 Mar 1783 and Viscount Sydney 11 Jun 1789
MP for Whitchurch 1754‑1783; Paymaster General 1767‑1768; Secretary at War 1782; Home Secretary 1782‑1783 and 1783‑1789; PC 1767
24 Feb 1733 30 Jun 1800 67
30 Jun 1800 2 John Thomas Townshend
MP for Newport (IOW) 1786‑1790 and Whitchurch 1790‑1800
21 Feb 1764 20 Jan 1831 66
20 Jan 1831
27 Feb 1874
to    
14 Feb 1890
 
E
3
1
John Robert Townshend
Created Earl Sydney 27 Feb 1874
MP for Whitchurch 1826‑1831; Lord Lieutenant Kent 1856‑1890; PC 1853
Peerages extinct on his death
9 Aug 1805 14 Feb 1890 84
SYMONS OF VERNHAM DEAN
7 Oct 1996 B[L] Elizabeth Conway Symons
Created Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean for life 7 Oct 1996
PC 2001
14 Apr 1951
SYSONBY
24 Jun 1935 B 1 Sir Frederick Edward Grey Ponsonby
Created Baron Sysonby 24 Jun 1935
PC 1914
16 Sep 1867 30 Oct 1935 68
30 Oct 1935 2 Edward Gaspard Ponsonby 7 Jun 1903 21 Jan 1956 52
21 Jan 1956
to    
23 Oct 2009
3 John Frederick Ponsonby
Peerage extinct on his death
5 Aug 1945 23 Oct 2009 64
 

The special remainder to the Barony of Stratheden
From the London Gazette of 19 January 1836 (issue 19348, page 100):-
The King has … been pleased to direct letters patent to be passed under the Great Seal, granting the dignity of a Baroness of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to the Honourable Mary Elizabeth Lady Campbell, wife of Sir John Campbell, Knt. His Majesty's Attorney-General, and eldest daughter of the Right Honourable James Baron Abinger, by the name, style, and title of Baroness Stratheden, of Cupar, in the county of Fife, and, at her decease, the dignity of a Baron of the said United Kingdom to the heirs male, of the body of the said Mary Elizabeth Lady Campbell lawfully begotten by the said Sir John Campbell, by the name, style, and title of Baron Stratheden, of Cupar, in the county of Fife.
Charles Lyon, 6th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
Charles Lyon succeeded his brother, John, as 6th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne in 1715, following John's death at the Battle of Sheriffmuir, which was fought between the followers of the Old Pretender and those of George I as part of the Jacobite Uprising of that year.
On 25 July 1725, Charles married Lady Susan Cochrane. For more information on this lady, see the separate note devoted to her below.
On 9 May 1728, Charles attended the funeral of the daughter of Mr. Carnegie, of Lour, in Forfar. Also present at the funeral were a number of others, including Mr. James Carnegie, of Finhaven (brother of Carnegie of Lour) and a Mr. Lyon of Bridgeton. After the funeral, Charles, Carnegie of Finhaven and Lyon of Bridgeton visited a tavern, where a great deal of alcohol was consumed. Leaving the tavern, Charles, followed by the others, visited the house of Carnegie's sister, where Lyon of Bridgeton was extremely rude to both the lady and Carnegie of Finhaven. After leaving the house, Bridgeton pushed Carnegie of Finhaven into a filthy ditch, leaving Finhaven covered with filth. Finhaven drew his sword and ran after Bridgeton, intending to strike him, but Charles pushed himself between Finhaven and Bridgeton, and was run through, dying two days later.
The following account of Carnegie of Finhaven's trial appeared in the [London] Daily Journal of 10 August 1728:-
Yesterday came on the Tryal of Mr. Carnegie, of Finhaven, who has been accused as guilty of the Murder of the late Earl of Strathmore, at Forfar, on the 9th of May last. The Tryal lasted from 9 in the Morning till near 1 o'Clock this Morning, when the Jury was inclosed, and this Day at Noon, they returned their Verdict Not guilty. The Sum of the Evidence was, That the Defunct and the Prisoner had been in Company together a great Part of that Day, conversing in a familiar and friendly Manner without any Appearance of Enmity or Quarrel betwixt them. That they both went from a Tavern in Forfar, where they had been drinking plentifully, to visit a Lady in that Town, a common Relation of them both, where their mutual Civilities and Demonstrations of Friendship continued without Interruption. That in this Place another Gentleman in the Company, Mr. Lyon of Brigton, behaved very rudely towards the Prisoner, who was then very drunk, and when the Company left that House, the deceased Earl, with one of his Brothers, and the Lord Rosehill, walked up the Street, and left the Prisoner coming up behind them; that as these two were coming by a nasty deep Channel, which was by the Side of the Street, and received all the Filth of the Shambles, Brigton laid hold on the Prisoner, and flung him violently backwards into the Channel, where he plunged till he was almost quite covered, and the other walk'd off and left him there; that one of the deceased Earl's Servants took the Prisoner out of the Channel, who immediately drew his Sword and ran after Brigton, and came up with him just as he came up close behind the Earl, whose Sword he endeavour'd to draw; that upon this the Earl turning about, perceived the Prisoner making at Brigton with his drawn Sword, and to save him interposed himself, in the Instant the Prisoner was making a Pass at the other, which the Earl unhappily received; that the Prisoner did not know, till he was in Custody, that he had at all wounded the Earl; and when he heard it from the Minister of the Parish, who went to visit the Prisoner, upon his first Commitment, fell into an Anguish, almost to a Pitch of Distraction, crying out, Good god! Have I wounded the Earl of Strathmore, whom I loved so well, and had no Design against? and that the Earl declared to his Physicians his Sense of the Innocence of the Prisoner's Intention as to him.
Until this case, the alternatives available to Scottish juries were verdicts of "proven" and "not proven". However, in this case, even when the facts of the case were proven, the jury brought in a verdict of "not guilty". As the Scottish legal system subsequently developed, the verdict of "not proven" came to mean "we don't have sufficient evidence to prove that you did it, but we also don't have sufficient evidence to prove that you are not guilty".
Susan Lyon, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne (widow of the 6th Earl)
Susan was the second daughter of John Cochrane, 4th Earl of Dundonald and his wife, Lady Anne Murray, daughter of the 1st Earl of Dunmore. She had two sisters - Lady Anne, who married the 5th Duke of Hamilton, and Lady Catherine, who married the 6th Earl of Galloway.
She was born around 1707, and in July 1725, she married Charles Lyon, 6th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne. After a marriage of only three years, her husband was killed in a drunken brawl, the details of which are outlined in the preceding note. Susan therefore became a widow at the age of about 20. Due to her youth and her wealth, there was no shortage of suitors for her hand in marriage, but she refused them all. Instead, she spent the next seventeen years devoting herself to good works.
In 1745, however, she became involved in a scandal. She was still on the right side of 40 years old, and romance and passion still burned within her. The following story is extracted from Love Romances of the Aristocracy by Thornton Hall (Werner Laurie, London, 1911).
Among the Countess's many servants was one George Forbes, a young and strikingly handsome groom, who had been taken on as a stable-boy by her late husband. Forbes was a simple, manly fellow, a peasant's son, and with no ambition beyond the state of life to which he had been born. He was proud of the fact that he had served his mistress well, and that she liked him. That Lady Strathmore valued her groom was proved by the fact that she chose him as her escort whenever she went riding, and that she promoted him to the charge of her stables - a proof of confidence which no doubt he had earned. But that his high-placed mistress should regard him otherwise than as a servant was an absurd idea which never entered his head.
One day, however, the Countess summoned the groom to her presence, and, to his amazement and embarrassment, told him that she had long grown to love him, and that she asked nothing better of life than to become his wife. Overcome with surprise and confusion, Forbes protested "But my lady, think of the difference between us. You are one of the greatest ladies of the land, and I am no better than the earth you tread on." "You must not say that", the Countess replied. "You are more to me than rank or riches. These I count as nothing, compared with the happiness you have it in your power to bestow."
In the face of such pleading, from one so beautiful and so reverenced, what could the poor groom do but consent, fearful though he was of the consequences of such an ill-assorted union? And thus strangely and romantically it was that, one April day in 1745, the Countess of Strathmore, the descendant of dukes and kings, gave her hand at the altar to the ex-stable-lad and peasant's son.
What followed this singular union was precisely what was to be expected. The Countess was disowned by her noble relatives; her friends with one consent gave her the cold shoulder; and, unable to bear any longer the constant slights and her complete isolation, she was thankful to escape with her low-born husband to the Continent.
Here familiarity with the groom quickly, and naturally, perhaps, bred contempt and disillusion. His coarseness offended every susceptibility; he was frankly impossible in such an intimate relation; and after she had given birth to a daughter in Holland, she arranged a separation, for which the groom was, at least, as grateful as herself. The child - the very sight of whom, reminding her as she did of her father, she could not bear - was placed in a convent at Rouen, where she was tenderly cared for by the abbess and nuns. As for the mother, weary and disillusioned, she rambled aimlessly and miserably about the Continent until, after nine years of unhappiness, death came to her at Paris as a merciful friend [23 June 1754]. Such was the sordid close of a life that had opened as fairly as any that has fallen to the lot of woman.
And what of the child who drew from her mother royal and ducal strains, and from her father the blood of stablemen and peasants? At the Rouen convent she grew up to girlhood, perfectly happy, among the nuns she learned to love. The sad and beautiful lady who had come once or twice to see her, and who, she was told, was her mother, had become a dim memory of early girlhood. Who the great lady was, and who was her father, she did not know. This knowledge the nuns, in their wisdom, kept from her - if, indeed, they knew themselves.
One day, in 1761, her days of childish happiness came to an abrupt and sensational end. A rough seafaring man called at the convent with a letter from her father demanding the return of his daughter. The bearer was sent by the captain of a merchant-vessel, who had instructions to convey the girl from Rouen to Leith; and, after an affecting farewell to the abbess and nuns, who had been so kind to her, Susan Janet Emilia (for that was the girl's name) started with her strange escort on the long journey to a parent who she had never consciously seen. The father, released by the death of the Countess, had married a second wife of his own station, and had settled as a livery-stable keeper at Leith, where, with his rapidly-growing family, he had now made his home for some years.
At last Emilia was handed over to the custody of her groom-father, who conducted her to his home, which, as may be imagined, was a pitiful and sordid exchange for the peace and happiness of her convent life. From the first day the new life was impossible. Emilia was treated by her stepmother with coarseness and brutality; she was daily taunted with her dependent position, and shown in a hundred ways that her presence was unwelcome.
Can one wonder that the proud spirit of the girl rebelled against such ignominy? It was better far to trust to the mercy of the world than to bear the brutal treatment of her low-born step-mother. And thus it came to pass that, early one morning, before the household was awake, Emilia slipped stealthily away with a few shillings, all her worldly possessions, in her pocket. Walking a few miles along the shore, she took the packet-boat, and crossed to the Fife coast, thus placing a broad arm of the sea between herself and the house of misery and oppression she had left for ever.
For days this descendant of Scotland's proudest nobles tramped aimlessly through the country, sleeping in barns or craving the shelter of the humblest cottage, and, when her money was exhausted, even begging her bread from door to door.
At last human nature reached its limit. Late one night, footsore and fainting from exhaustion and hunger, she presented herself at a remote farmhouse, and begged piteously for a meal and a night's rest. None but the hardest heart could have resisted such a pathetic appeal, and Farmer Lauder and his good wife had hearts as large as their bodies. At last the waif had fallen among good Samaritans. She was received with open arms; and instead of being sent away in the morning, was cordially invited to make her home with them.
The rest of Emilia's strange life-story can be told in few words. After a few years of peaceful and happy life in the hospitable farmhouse, she married the farmer's only son, an honest and worthy young fellow who loved her dearly. She became the mother of many children, who in their humble life knew nothing of the high-placed cousins, the Dukes and Earls of another world than theirs.
When, in the process of time, her husband died - many of her children had died young, the rest were far from prosperous - Mrs. Lauder retired to spend her last days in a small cottage at St. Ninian's, near Stirling, where for a time she lived in the utmost poverty. Then, when her life was almost flickering out in destitution, a few of her great relatives condescended to acknowledge her existence. The Earls of Galloway and Dunmore, the Duke of Hamilton, and Mrs. Stewart Mackenzie combined to provide her with an annuity of £100; and, thus secure from want, the old lady contrived to spin out the thread of her days a few years longer. Thus died, at the advanced age of eighty-five, eating the bread of charity, the woman who had in her veins the blood of Scotland's greatest men and her fairest women.
Mary Eleanor Bowes, wife of the 9th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
Mary's domestic affairs kept the public enthralled for 20 years of England's Georgian age. She was born Mary Eleanor Bowes at Streatlam Castle in Durham on 24 February 1749, the only daughter of George Bowes, who had amassed vast riches by developing the coal-mines and iron-works on his ancestral estate. When he died in 1761, Mary, at age 12, found herself the heiress to 43,000 acres of land and an annual income of £25,000.
Pampered, pretty and precocious, Mary was one of the greatest matrimonial catches of the day. At 14, she declared herself desperately in love with a brother of the Duke of Buccleuch, whose proud family promptly packed him off to the army where he conveniently died of smallpox. Other suitors flocked to Streatlam Castle but, after numerous passionate and fleeting affairs, Mary was 17 before she chose John Lyon, 9th Earl of Strathmore, a young man of such delicate good looks that he was somewhat contemptuously known as 'beautiful Strathmore'. The Earl was consumptive, slow-witted and, despite his magnificent, but dilapidated castle at Glamis, extremely poor.
However, Mary's fortune was more than enough to revive the ancient Strathmore splendours. On Mary's 18th birthday in 1767, the ill-fated young couple were married. By an Act of Parliament, the Earl assumed his wife's surname. The marriage lasted for nine years until the Earl's death at sea from TB in 1776, during which time Mary bore her husband five children, including the ancestor of the late Queen Mother and therefore the present-day Queen. Having done her duty as a wife, Mary became no longer content to bury herself in the gloomy walls of Glamis Castle, and by the early 1770s, Mary and the Earl were living almost continually apart - she in a mansion in London's Grosvenor Square, he at Glamis or feverishly seeking to restore his waning health at Bath. Mary was still in her 20s and with an amorous eye. How many lovers she took no one could accurately count. Two of her lovers were respectable Scottish squires, James Graham and his brother Robert Graham. Another was George Grey, a swaggering blackguard of obscure background, who was rumoured to have acquired a fortune in India by dubious means. By Grey, Mary had at least one child and, according to rumour she 'suffered the degradation of abortion' when news of her liaison with Grey threatened to reach the ears of the Strathmore family.
These diversions, however, paled into insignificance when an elegant and utterly ruthless Irish adventurer, Andrew Robinson Stoney, burst into her life in the autumn of 1775. Not until many years later did Mary learn of Stoney's past - how he had been kicked out of the army and how he had squandered his wife's fortune before killing her by his cruelty. Stoney set out to charm Mary and within a few weeks of their meeting she was infatuated with him.
Stoney and Mary now waited impatiently for the sickly Earl of Strathmore to quit his life, which he did in February 1776. However, the Strathmore family immediately launched lawsuits to rescue the Earl's children from her scandalous household. A series of anonymous letters in the Morning Post had London society licking their lips at the lurid revelations contained in these letters. To defend his mistress' honour, Stoney promptly challenged the newspaper's owner, [Sir] Henry Bate Dudley (later 1st baronet) to a duel at the Adelphi Tavern. After a mysterious affray in which both men were wounded, Stoney's enemies loudly claimed that, since Stoney was a notorious coward, the fight had obviously been staged.
The jeers of the public left Mary unmoved, and she and Stoney were married on 17 January 1777, three days after the duel. Stoney changed his name to Andrew Stoney Bowes, it being only fitting, he explained, that the controller of the Bowes fortune should bear the family name. But, unknown to her husband, Mary had, on the evening before the wedding, executed a legal deed tying up all of her property in trust for herself so that Stoney Bowes could not touch a penny of it.
When he learned of the deed's existence, Bowes raged like a madman and for the first time Mary realised that she had married a monster. Dragged from London to the seclusion of Streatlam Castle, she was beaten, abused, half-starved and reduced to a trembling wreck. In May 1777, terrified for her life, she signed a document revoking the trust deed, thereby giving Bowes full control of her fortune. This, however, brought no cessation to Bowes' cruelty. He filled the house in Grosvenor Square with a mob of gamblers, bullies and drunks. No female servant was safe from his assaults. He boasted openly to Mary of having raped the kitchen maid in London and the estate labourer's daughters at Streatlam.
For nine years, Mary endured a miserable life with Bowes. Then, in February 1786, she took flight and vanished. She found shelter with friends in a house in Bloomsbury Square, from where she appealed to the Ecclesiastical Court for a divorce from Bowes and also began the legal process to nullify her revocation of the trust deed. Her husband, insane with rage, set thugs to watch the door of her refuge day and night. On 10 November 1786, the gang swooped, seizing her in Oxford Street and bundling her into a carriage which was driven to an inn at Highgate where Bowes was waiting. She was then immediately driven north to Streatlam Castle where she was imprisoned. After an unsuccessful attempt at rescue by a mob of coal-miners from the nearby collieries, Bowes dragged his wife into flight again, hoping to lie low in Ireland. But by now, a warrant had been issued for his arrest and the whole country was aroused. The end came on 27 November, when he was seized by the village constables of Neasham in Durham and sent to London in chains. Bowes spent most of the rest of his life in prison until his death in 1810.
Mary still had another ordeal to face during her divorce proceedings, when Bowes called every possible witness to vilify her reputation and dig up scurrilous details of her amorous career. In the end, Mary was, however, successful, regaining her freedom and her property, before retiring into rural seclusion in Hampshire until her death on 28 April 1800.
The Monster of Glamis
The Monster of Glamis was allegedly a deformed member of the Bowes-Lyon family who was kept in seclusion during his lifetime in hidden chambers at Glamis Castle. The truth of the allegations is not known, and probably never will be.
The alleged Monster has been identified with Thomas Bowes-Lyon, eldest son of Thomas George Bowes-Lyon, Lord Glamis, son of the 11th Earl of Strathmore and father of the 12th Earl. In Burke's Peerage he is shown as 'a son, b and d 18 Oct 1821.'
Most of the details of the Monster come from the book The Queen Mother's Family Story by James Wentworth-Day (1967), although the legend had arisen shortly after the birth of the son in 1821, when the midwife who was present at the birth and who had alleged the child to have been healthy, became suspicious when the child's death was reported a day or two later.
According to Wentworth-Day, the Monster is described as having 'a chest like an enormous barrel, hairy as a doormat; his head ran straight into his shoulders and his arms and legs were toy-like'. Other accounts describe the Monster as 'an enormous flabby egg'. The Monster was allegedly confined in a 10 ft by 15 ft secret chamber, the entrance to which was bricked up after his death. He was fed daily through an iron grill in the door by a trusted servant and, according to some of the stories, was taken for walks on dark nights on the Castle's battlements. The secret of his existence was known only to the current Earl and the next heir, who was informed of the secret on his 21st birthday.
Wentworth-Day describes a tale in which a workman carrying out renovations around the early years of the 20th century accidentally found the secret chamber, resulting in the worker being paid a fortune in hush money provided he emigrated to Australia. In another well-known story, guests at the Castle once tried to identify secret rooms by hanging towels or cloths from every window they could access. On surveying their work, they found a number of vacant windows, thereby assuming that a number of secret chambers existed. The then Earl was furious when he heard of this experiment and asked all the guests to leave immediately.
For further reading, cut and paste the following into your browser to view an interesting article in the Smithsonian Magazine. My thanks to Michael Rhodes for supplying this information.
A number of other stories surround Glamis Castle and the Bowes-Lyon family. It was here that Alexander Lindsay, 4th Earl of Crawford, was alleged to have sold his soul to the Devil during a card-game in the middle of the 15th century, since when he has haunted a sealed chamber in the west tower of the Castle. For further details, see the note at the foot of the page containing details of the Earls of Crawford.
Some authors on the subject of Jack the Ripper have tried to prove that Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and eldest son of Edward VII, was the Ripper. This is very easily disproved, since Court Circulars and similar publications show that the Duke of Clarence was in Yorkshire, in Scotland or at Sandringham when each of the murders occurred. In his book, The Ripper and the Royals, Melvyn Fairclough makes the claim that Clarence did not die in 1892, but was secretly secluded at Glamis Castle until the 1930s, and that the Bowes-Lyon family was rewarded for their assistance by their daughter marrying the future King George VI. This all sounds extremely unlikely to me.
On the other hand, a few eyebrows were raised when, in 1987, it was revealed that two of the Queen Mother's nieces, Nerissa and Katherine Bowes-Lyon, who the family had told Burke's Peerage had died in 1940 and 1961 respectively, had not died as stated. Rather, they had both been incarcerated in the Royal Earlswood Mental Hospital since 1941, where they had never received a single visit from any member of the Royal family. Katherine lived on until February 2014 when she died aged 87.
Glamis Castle is not short on ghosts - indeed, according to various legends, it is infested with them. Some of the better known include :-
* The Grey Lady - believed to be Janet, wife of 6th Lord Glamis, she can be regularly seen praying in the Castle Chapel or walking in the Clock Tower. She was accused of witchcraft and of conspiring to kill the King, James V. On 17 July 1537, she was burned at the stake on Castle Hill in Edinburgh. For further details, see the note under the peerage of Glamis.
* The woman with no tongue - she walks the grounds tearing and gesturing wildly at her mutilated face. Who she was in life is unknown.
* A young African boy, formerly a household servant, who haunts the entrance to the Queen's Living Chamber, where he likes to trip up sightseers as they enter the room.
* The Ghosts of the Ogilvies - after a skirmish with the Lindsay family, a group of Ogilvies sought shelter at Glamis. There they were locked in a room and left to starve to death.
* A woman servant caught drinking the blood of a victim, and who was promptly bricked up in a wall.
Trevor Grant, 4th Baron Strathspey
Lord Strathspey's remedy for rheumatism was described in a number of Australian papers in 1936. This version appeared in the Glen Innes Examiner on 10 September 1936:-
Lord Strathspey, Trevor Grant of Grant, 16th baronet of a creation of 1625, and 31st chief of Grant, heir presumptive to the Earldom of Seafield, who was born in New Zealand and lived there until he was 34, did prominent national service during the Great War and has subsequently been associated with public affairs in Sussex, has sprung into the limelight - through a potato!
There is still a widely-held belief in Sussex that the carrying of a potato will render a person immune from rheumatism. This theory has supporters both in village and town. One of them is Lord Strathspey. He has been carrying a potato about with him for years, and although he admits that the beneficial results may be due to a kind of "optimistic auto-suggestion", he would never be without one.
When the correspondent of the Evening Standard recently visited him in his house at Rottingdean, he took a potato as large as a pullet's egg from his trousers pocket. "This is about the size I generally carry", he explained. "If I can only get a big one, I cut it in half. After it has been used for some weeks, it becomes soft. One might think it was rotten, but it isn't. After that it becomes so hard it is difficult to cut. It's like iron. Some people keep their potato longer, but I believe it has lost its healing properties. I throw it away then, but not before I have got a new one from a garden or a fruit stall or a pantry, wherever I happen to be. I don't like to break the sequence. I was troubled for a long time with a knee I injured, but since trying this remedy, I have not had a twinge. My wife tried it with success, too, but she didn't keep it up because it is so difficult for a woman, having no pockets, to carry the potato constantly with her.
Gerald Strickland, 1st and only Baron Strickland
Following a spectacular career as Governor of three Australian states, Strickland returned to Malta, his country of birth, in 1917. Between 1921‑1927, he was leader of the opposition in the Maltese Legislative Assembly, and, after the 1927 elections in Malta, he became Prime Minister from 1927 to 1932 as leader of the Constitutionalist Party. During this period, he also managed to be returned for the constituency of Lancaster in the House of Commons in 1924, but had to leave the House in 1928 when he raised to the peerage.
During a large period of his premiership, Strickland fought a bitter battle against the Catholic Church's role in Maltese politics, to the extent the population of Malta was split into two warring factions - the Church party and the Constitutionalists.
The dispute arose early in 1929, when Strickland refused to allow a Franciscan priest to be transferred to Sicily against his will by order of the Superior of the Order in Malta. The Maltese Government claimed that the transfer had been ordered on political grounds, which led to massive resentment against the Government being shown by prominent local ecclesiastics, and in particular by Michael Gonzi, then Bishop of Gozo, but later Archbishop of Malta. An appeal to the Vatican led ultimately to the appointment of Mgr. Paschal Robinson [1870‑1948], an Irishman, as Apostolic Delegate to investigate the dispute, but no solution was reached and tension between the two camps became steadily worse.
On 27 April 1930, shortly before the general election was due to take place, the Bishop of Gozo issued an order that it would be a mortal sin for Catholics to vote for the Constitutionalist party, and that its supporters need not bother to try to partake of Easter Communion. Strickland also owned the Malta Daily Chronicle, the reading of which was also declared to be a mortal sin. In a pastoral letter dated 1 May 1930, the Archbishop of Malta issued a similar order.
Matters came to a head on 23 May 1930 when an attempt was made to assassinate Lord Strickland. The following report appeared in the Manchester Guardian of 24 May 1930:-
A dastardly attempt was made this morning on the life of Lord Strickland, the Premier of Malta. The assailant, a maimed malcontent named Miller, who is a supporter of the Nationalist party, and who has been previously involved with the police on several occasions, fired two shots at the Premier at point-blank range, but owing to the presence of mind of a police officer the shots were diverted and the Premier was not hurt. Miller himself was arrested.
The attempt was made at nine o'clock this morning in the corridors of the Court of Appeal, a few yards from the hall where appeals are heard. The corridor was densely packed when Lord Strickland entered in company with Police Sergeant de Pares to attend a case in which he appeared as plaintiff, the issue being at attempt by Nationalists to invalidate all laws passed by the Government.
Elbowing his way through the crowd Miller approached to about six feet of the Premier, and whipped out a revolver. His movements drew the attention of the police sergeant, who with great presence of mind closed with him, seizing him by the arm and deflecting the first shot. Four other policemen immediately rushed to the sergeant's assistance, and held Miller tightly. He managed to pull the trigger twice more, but the two shots went wide, one hitting the wall and the other the ceiling of the court corridor. In view of the crowd it is nothing short of miraculous that no one was wounded.
"It is nothing, " said Lord Strickland. "I am still alive. If I had been assassinated I should have appeared before God with a clear conscience."
On the adjournment of the case the Premier left, unaccompanied by police, and tried to avoid the crowds, but they surge round him and followed him to the Auberge d'Aragon, his official residence, raising frantic cheers. News of the outrage spread rapidly and caused considerable excitement. The Strada Reale filled up as if by magic. Police reinforcements were called in, and mounted police patrolled the street.
After staying for about half an hour at the Auberge d'Aragon the Premier motored to the Villa Bologna, his private residence, to see Lady Strickland. Meanwhile long queues of people of all classes in the island waited outside the Auberge to sign their names, and three books were filled up.
This afternoon Valetta was still being filled with crowds, whose temper against the assailant was none too good. One of the former Nationalist Ministers only escaped being man-handled through the timely intervention of the police.
Miller, who was interned in a prisoner of war camp for part of the Great War, played a prominent part in the riots of June 7, 1919, when he was arrested for tearing up a Union Jack. He was charged with active participation in the rioting and with inciting Maltese soldiers to side with the rioters. He is believed to be mentally unbalanced.
Charles Henry George Howard, 20th Earl of Suffolk and 13th Earl of Berkshire
Howard succeeded to the earldoms in 1917, when his father was killed in Mesopotamia. His mother, the daughter of an American wheat market buccaneer named Levi Leiter, pushed her son into the navy as a cadet-midshipman at Dartmouth College. Here he detested the discipline imposed upon him and, deciding the navy was not for him, at the age of 17 packed his kitbag, caught the next train to Liverpool, and signed on a windjammer as plain 'Jack Howard'.
The first his mother knew of his defection was when he marched into the ancestral home at Charlton Park, Wiltshire, wearing a beard and carrying a parrot on his shoulder. His family pestered him to take up a life more fitting of his title and obtained a commission for him in the Scots Guards. His former free life as a sailor made it impossible for him to settle as a soldier and his habit of fraternising with the lower ranks caused the army to request his resignation.
Howard then signed on to a windjammer bound for South Australia. There he signed off, spending the next six years in the Australian outback as a jackeroo, rouseabout and tramp. Eventually, he returned to England to take control of his ancestral 10,000 acres and, in 1934, married a Chicago-born ballet dancer, Mimi Crawford. Although he was young and rich enough to live a life of leisure, Howard chose hard work. Enrolling at Edinburgh University, he graduated in 1937 with a first class honours degree in chemistry.
Periodic attacks of rheumatism prevented Howard from joining up at the outbreak of WW2. Instead, he went to Paris as liaison officer between the British and French Ministries of Supply. Here, speaking fluent gutter-French as well as five other languages, Howard proved a winner at overcoming the distrust of French scientists. He also indulged his love for flamboyant clothes, dressing like a comic-book spy in a long trenchcoat, broad-brimmed hat and wearing his two favourite pistols, Oscar and Genevieve, together with a fierce black beard.
In June 1940, Howard called at the French Armament Ministry and found them preparing to evacuate. Panic-stricken officials advised him to leave for England post-haste. Before he left, Howard gathered ammunition for the desperate struggle he guessed England was about to make. Diamonds, especially industrial diamonds, were needed and a large number were to be found in Paris. Howard toured Paris banks pleading for their managers to surrender their diamond stocks to England. Some agreed, whilst others had to be persuaded by Oscar and Genevieve. Together with his secretary, Eileen Morden, Howard left Paris in an open car piled with diamonds and rare chemicals. Using his pistols, he cleared a path through roads choked with refugees, reaching Bordeaux in four days. After three days vainly trying to find a ship, a British collier, the Broompart entered the harbour. Howard threw his plunder aboard and then raged through the town calling for French refugee scientists to volunteer for service in England. Some went willingly, others at pistol-point. His last move was to secrete some lorry loads of machine tools in an isolated cove along the coast, which were later picked up by a British destroyer.
Howard then volunteered to form a unit to defuse faulty enemy bombs. He gave himself the title of 'Director of Field Research' and gathered around him a staff which shocked staid government officials. There was not an officer or a gentleman amongst them. Some were illiterate, but all had the extreme courage needed in bomb disposal. Howard's men worked night and day rendering unexploded bombs harmless or removing them to the countryside for investigation.
After each nerve-racking job, Howard liked to take his men to London's swanky Kempinski's restaurant for a meal. Patrons sniffed at the dirty mob that poured in, but the sniffing soon ceased when the other diners were told that the dirtiest of all was the Earl of Suffolk.
Finally, in May 1941, Howard undertook to defuse 'Old Faithful', a big bomb that had been dug out of an East End slum and left awaiting treatment for months. Unfortunately for Howard, he had met his match - the bomb exploded, killing Howard, his secretary Eileen Morden and six others. Ten soldiers working nearby were seriously injured and windows were smashed within a 500-yard radius. Very little remained of Jack Howard for burial in the family vault at Charlton Park. On 18 July 1941, Howard was posthumously awarded the George Cross, Britain's highest civilian decoration for bravery and the civilian equivalent of the Victoria Cross.
The special remainder to the Barony of Sunderlin created in 1797
From the London Gazette of 11 November 1797 (issue 14064, page 1081):-
His Majesty's Royal Letters being received, granting the following Dignities, Letters Patent are preparing to be passed under the Great Seal of this Kingdom accordingly [including] to Richard, Lord Sunderlin, and the Heirs Male of his Body lawfully begotten, the Dignity of Baron Sunderlin, of Baronstown, in the County of Westmeath; and in Default of such Issue, to his Brother Edmond Malone, of Shingles in the County of Westmeath aforesaid, Esq; and the Heirs Male of his Body lawfully begotten.
Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex
Augustus Frederick was the sixth son of King George III of England. Like his brothers, Augustus flouted his father by falling in love with a commoner, secretly marrying her and then later casting her aside.
Born at Buckingham Place, he spent most of his early years in Germany and Italy in the company of dull German tutors, but in November 1792, after arriving in Rome to spend the winter, he fell in love with Lady Augusta Murray, daughter of the 4th Earl of Dunmore. She has been described as a headstrong and ambitious woman, with an imperious beauty and a reckless love of pleasure. It was little wonder that Augustus, fresh from the constrictions of Gottingen University, became fascinated by her charms and, within a month, was demonstrating his undisguised devotion.
Lady Augusta was both flattered and alarmed. She knew that, under the Royal Marriages Act, it was illegal for any member of the royal family to marry without the King's consent until they were 25. Augustus begged her to marry him secretly, swearing solemnly that he would acknowledge her as his legal wife as soon as reached 25. Finally, on 21 March 1793, Augustus wrote out a solemn declaration that he would have no other wife but Lady Augusta, adding, 'May God forget me, if I forget thee!'
Moved by this appeal, Lady Augusta at last surrendered and agreed to a secret wedding. The prince suggested hunting for an American parson or an 'Armenian patriarch' to perform the ceremony, but he was dubious about the legality of such a marriage, especially on foreign soil. Eventually, Augustus found an English clergyman living in Rome, the Rev. Mr. Gunn, who was willing to perform the ceremony, which he did on the morning of 4 April 1793. There were no witnesses and the marriage was not registered. Even the bride's mother, the Countess of Dunmore was not told until five months later, when it was made necessary by Augusta's pregnancy.
Rumour of the marriage soon reached Buckingham Palace and George III ordered Augustus to return home. Lady Augusta followed him and set up house in Berkeley Square, where Augustus frequently visited her, causing the court and society to believe that she was the Prince's mistress. Augustus was, at that time, still an honourable man; he had doubts about the legality of the Rome marriage and, with a baby fast approaching, he determined to through a second secret marriage ceremony, this time on English soil.
On 5 December 1793, they were remarried at St. George's Church, Hanover Square. In order to establish his residential qualifications, Augustus had taken lodgings with the proprietor of a coal store. This wedding was witnessed by the Countess of Dunmore and the coal merchant and his wife. Immediately after the ceremony, Augusta retired to Essex to await the birth of her >baby, a son, which occurred on 13 January 1794.
When he discovered what had happened, George III was furious. A writ was issued to have both marriages declared null and void under the Royal Marriage Act. Augustus was ordered to Germany, and, although he complained that his father's action was 'barbarous, inhumane and despotick', he went nevertheless. As soon as she had recovered from giving birth, Augusta joined him in Berlin, where, for the next four years, they lived happily and had another child, a daughter.
When, in 1798, Augustus reached the age of 25, it became obvious that he was in no hurry to fulfil his earlier pledge and soon the romance was dying. In 1801 Augustus was created Duke of Sussex and Augusta, who insisted on calling herself Duchess of Sussex, finally separated from the prince. She was granted an annual pension of £4,000 and retired to a villa at Ramsgate. Because she was not allowed to call herself Duchess of Sussex, she styled herself as the Countess d'Armeland and her children assumed the name of d'Este. She lived on until 5 March 1830.
Sussex at least had the decency to wait for Augusta's death before he went through another marriage on 2 May 1831, again in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act, to Lady Cecilia Letitia Underwood, daughter of the 2nd Earl of Arran and widow of a Norfolk squire, Sir George Buggin. She was created Duchess of Inverness in 1840.
During his remaining years, the Duke of Sussex exasperated his royal brothers and the establishment by supporting a number of radical causes, including the Reform Bill and the abolition of slavery; he also supported Queen Caroline against her estranged husband, George IV. At his death in 1843, he was by his own request buried in the public cemetery at Kensal Green.
What of the two children born to Augusta? The son, Augustus d'Este was sent into the Army in 1809 and was knighted in 1830. Following the death of his father, he tried to claim the Dukedom of Sussex but his claim was rejected by the Committee of Privileges in July 1844 on the grounds that the marriages of his parents were illegal. For further information on this claim, see the following note. As an interesting sidelight, it is claimed that Augustus d'Este is the first person for whom a definite diagnosis of multiple sclerosis can be made, based on the entries in his diaries. He died unmarried on 18 December 1848, aged 54. Augusta's daughter, Augusta Emma d'Este, married Thomas Wilde, later first Baron Truro, in 1845 and died 21 May 1866, aged 64.
The Sussex Peerage claim of 1844
After his father's death in 1843, his son, Augustus d'Este laid claim to the peerages. The following edited article on this claim is from Lloyd's Weekly London Newspaper of 26 May 1844:-
On Thursday [23 May 1844] the case of Augustus Frederick d'Este, on his claim to the Dukedom of Sussex, the Earldom of Inverness, and the Barony of Arklow, came before the Committee for Privileges, in the House of Lords. As very much interest will naturally be felt in this remarkable and extraordinary peerage claim, the following abstract of the case, and of the arguments upon which Sir Augustus d'Este's claim is founded, cannot but prove welcome. The claimant first sets forth his pedigree as the son of the late Duke of Sussex and Lady Augusta Murray, and then recites the letters patent of the 27th of November, 42nd George III [i.e. 1801], by which his Royal Highness Prince Augustus Frederick was created Baron of Arklow, Earl of Inverness and Duke of Sussex, with a limitation to the heirs male of his body; and adds, that he (the claimant) is the only male issue of the marriage celebrated at Rome, A.D. 1793, between the said late Royal Highness and Lady Augusta Murray, daughter of the Earl of Dunmore. The marriage took place without previous communication with George III, and with the strictest secrecy; but the fact soon became known. "The king (to use the language of the claimant's case) was displeased at the event, and from the time it came to his knowledge, every endeavour was made to cause a separation of the prince from his wife. This was accomplished, in the first instance, by his royal highness being immediately sent abroad, and after several short periods of residence together, the desired object of a permanent separation was attained in the year 1806, the claimant and a daughter being the only children of the marriage."
On the death of his royal parent, the claimant presented his petition to her Majesty, claiming the dignities of Baron of Arklow, Earl of Inverness and the Duke of Sussex, which petition was referred to the consideration of the Attorney-General, who, having heard the evidence in support of its allegations, made his report in August, 1843. From that report it appears that the fact of a marriage between the late Duke of Sussex and the claimant's mother having been celebrated at Rome, was proved; but with the view of establishing the lawfulness of that marriage, and of showing that its validity was not affected by the provisions of the Royal Marriage Act, 12 George III, c. 11, a statement of the circumstances under which the marriage took place is relied on by the claimant.
Three principal questions will arise for their lordships' consideration - "First, the question of fact as to the marriage, upon which he [the claimant] relies, as having been contracted at Rome; secondly, the legality of that marriage. And upon these two points the claimant presumes to hope that little difficulty will be found in the way of [the Committee's] conclusion in his favour. The third question will be, whether a marriage contracted by a descendant of his late Majesty George II, out of her Majesty's dominions, and legal in all other respects, is rendered invalid by the operation of the Royal Marriages Act. Whatever impression may be received from the first view of the question, the claimant confidently anticipates that a due investigation of the general principles of international law and of local legislation will in its result abundantly satisfy your lordships that that statute does not invalidate the marriage upon which he relies, or defeat his claim, as the legitimate offspring of that marriage, to succeed to the honours of his royal parent."
The claimant's confidence was, unfortunately for him, misplaced. In its judgment, delivered in July 1844, the Committee for Privileges found that the wording of the Royal Marriages Act was 'precise and unambiguous' and that the Act's intent was 'clear and unmistakeable'. The Committee found that the Act was binding upon a British subject, whether inside or outside of the realm, and that, as a result, a son to a marriage contracted in defiance of the Act was not entitled to recover his father's lands or dignities, and consequently the claim to the peerages could not be sustained.
George Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Marquess of Stafford and 1st Duke of Sutherland and his role in "The Highland Clearances"
The "Highland Clearances" remain a controversial period in Scottish history, when thousands of crofters were forcibly removed from their homes so as to allow large scale sheep farming. Some commentators have expressed the view that the Clearances amounted to an early form of "ethnic cleansing". The following article appeared in the October 1970 issue of the Australian magazine Parade. For full-length books on the subject, I recommend The Highland Clearances by John Prebble (Martin Secker and Warburg 1963) and Patrick Sellar and the Highland Clearances by Eric Richards (Edinburgh University Press 1999). It should also be noted that the Duke's surname of Leveson-Gower is pronounced "Loosen-Gore".
In June 1814 two companies of the 21st Regiment of Foot marched into Strath Naver, one of the long glens winding through the bleak, heather-clad mountains of northern Scotland. When the redcoats left a month later 300 cottages were blackened ruins and nearly 1500 men, women and children had been driven destitute into the hills. The memory of the "burning of Strath Naver" was to linger long and bitterly among the Highlanders evicted from their ancestral glen in those weeks of horror. Men told how 90-year-old Margaret  Chisholm was carried dying from her blazing hut while the landlord's agent shouted: "Damn the old witch. She has lived long enough. Let her burn!" And how old Donald Mackay, mortally stricken with cancer, crawled for refuge to a deserted mill and lived for a week by licking flour meal off the floor while his dog kept the rats from him. Others died from cold and exhaustion in the mountains or on the terrible trek to the coast where emigrant ships waited to take the survivors to Canada and New South Wales.
The tragedy of Strath Naver was one of many similar scenes enacted all over the Highlands during the great "clearances" of the early 19th century. The evictions went on for 40 years as landowners and clan chiefs ousted their ancient small tenantry to make way for vastly more profitable sheep-farming enterprises. Throughout the Highlands the glens were depopulated, the traditional clan system was broken up and only grass-grown ruins marked the homes of thousands driven into exile.
No other landlord equalled in greed or ruthlessness that "leviathan of wealth" George Granville Leveson‑Gower, Marquess of Stafford and Duke of Sutherland. He was responsible for uprooting 10,000 people from the 2400-square-mile estate that covered almost the whole of the northern extremity of Scotland from the Atlantic to the North Sea. To Leveson‑Gower the Highlanders were mere savages, picturesque relics of Scotland's barbaric past who had to be swept away to make room for modern farming methods. Most other big landlords shared his views. But none put them into practice on such a gigantic scale and with such terror of fire and bloodshed as the Duke of Sutherland.
The son of the first Marquess of Stafford, George Leveson‑Gower was born in 1758, into one of the richest families in Britain. He was a delicate child and by the time he reached adulthood was described as "a bilious creature" with a hawk nose, pallid face and short-sighted eyes blinking through thick spectacles. After he had made the customary Grand Tour of Europe his parents looked about for a suitable bride but, despite his vast expectations, he did not appear a particularly attractive husband. He was 27 before a wife was found in the person of Elizabeth, Countess of Sutherland in her own right, who possessed by far the largest (and also one of the least profitable) estates in Scotland.
For 600 years the Earls of Sutherland had been lairds of the great northern expanse of mountain, glen and loch populated by the most isolated and primitive Highland clans. Only small and uncertain rents reached Dunrobin Castle from the Mackays, Macbeths, Gunns, Mathesons and other ancient tenant families of Sutherlandshire. When Elizabeth succeeded her father, the last earl, the clansmen still lived as they had for centuries in a land without roads and only the smallest vestiges of civilisation. The villages were handfuls of thatched stone huts in which humans, pigs and poultry lived under a single roof. Around them were potato patches and tiny cornfields. Black cattle grazed on the slopes of the glens, their ownership often fiercely disputed in blood feuds that lasted for generations.
For 20 years after their marriage the countess and her husband scarcely saw their Highland kingdom except for an occasional visit to the gloomy old castle of Dunrobin. In 1803 Leveson‑Gower became Marquess of Stafford on his father's death and in the same year inherited the huge estates of his maternal uncle, the last Duke of Bridgewater. Within six months he found himself the greatest landlord in the British Isles, with a million acres, a rent roll of £300,000 a year and tenants numbered by tens of thousands. Bridgewater House contained London's finest private art collection and he had also acquired all the duke's enormous interests in canals and coal mines. "The golden marquess", his contemporaries called him. But a life of mere luxurious idleness was not enough for the Marquess of Stafford. He had great possessions and he meant them to earn every penny that could be extracted from them. Above all he intended to make his wife's unprofitable heritage pay its way.
The process of destroying the old clan life of the Highlands by evictions and enforced emigration was not new. For 20 years Scottish landlords had been ousting their tenants, pulling down their cottages and letting the glens as sheep runs at rents no small farmer could possibly pay. "The sheep came and the lairds built their fine houses in Edinburgh and London with nae a thought for the puir folk drove out from their native soil", one Scots bard lamented. Occasionally the landlords' factors met resistance but usually the appearance of a few soldiers was enough to overawe the clansmen into leaving their homes.
It was 1808 when Stafford arrived at Dunrobin to organise the first clearances in that part of his estate and around Loch Assynt in the remote south-western corner. For four years he encountered little trouble and about 3000 tenants were herded from their glens into villages on the coast, where they could either become fishermen or emigrate. The picture grew grimmer when Patrick Sellar, a hard-headed Edinburgh lawyer-turned-land-agent, was employed to speed up the evictions. [Sellar (1780‑1851) was the father of Alexander Craig Sellar, MP for Haddington Burghs 1882‑1885 and Partick 1885‑1890.]
About 20 miles north of Dunrobin was the long, green valley of Kildonan where generations of Gunns and Mathesons had fought and stolen each other's cattle completely isolated from the outside world. Late in 1812 Stafford let out the whole glen as a sheep run. The clansmen refused to move. In March of the next year Sellar and his band of hirelings arrived to evict them. A screaming horde of men, women and children barred the track into the first village, drove the intruders off with stones and chased them for 10 miles over the hills. Wild rumours swept the countryside that the clansmen were marching to burn Dunrobin Castle and hang the Marquess and Sellar over the ashes. A messenger galloped off to Fort George to seek military aid and two days later the "Kildonan rebellion", with its threats of blood and fire, had utterly collapsed. Protected by the redcoats' bayonets, Sellar and his men tore down every cottage in Kildonan, killed or scattered the livestock and drove the terrorised inhabitants down to the coast at Helmsdale. Hundreds of the clansmen later emigrated to Canada. The rest eked out a miserable living on the tiny plots granted them by the Marquess of Stafford. Sheep replaced men in the glen of Kildonan.
However it was the two massive clearances of Strath Naver in 1814 and 1819 that made the names of Stafford and his agents accursed throughout the Scottish Highlands. The first blow fell on the Clan Mackay, which occupied the lower end of the valley, where Patrick Sellar had acquired thousands of acres on lease from his master to run sheep. As was expected the tenants tore up their eviction notices and prepared to resist. This time, however, Sellar was taking no chances. He knew that in June most of the men would be away driving their cattle to summer pastures in the hills, leaving only the women, children and aged in the villages. Stafford's influence provided military support and two companies of the 21st Regiment, with several pieces of artillery, marched into Strath Naver.
The month of horror began on June 14 as Sellar's thugs and redcoats moved systematically along the valley, burning and tearing down one village after another. Those who refused to quit their poor cottages had the thatch fired above their heads or were dragged out and beaten with musket butts without regard for sex or age. When Sellar was asked to show mercy to the old and sick he shouted: "Devil a one shall remain. If they will not quit then let them burn!" How many died from maltreatment, or from hunger, exposure or sheer terror could never be discovered. But when the men returned from the hills they found Strath Naver a scene of desolation, their homes in blackened rubble and their families scattered like animals in the heather.
So great was the wave of public horror, when news of the tragedy leaked out, that the Sheriff of Sutherlandshire insisted on arresting Sellar and charging him with gross cruelty, arson and culpable homicide. It took all the ingenuity of Stafford's lawyers to save him and Sellar's acquittal at the Inverness Assizes touched off an explosion that staggered even the "golden marquess". For several years Stafford dared not show his face at Dunrobin. Sellar retired from his service. But the ruthless work of eviction went on.
In 1819 the rest of Strath Naver was cleared under redcoat guard and 3000 more clansmen were burned out of their homes and driven to the coast to emigrate or starve. For weeks the nightmare trek went on. Typhus raged among the victims. The dead were simply left in the heather. The sick were carried in blankets borne by the sturdiest survivors. The glens of Loch Shin, Strath More and Strath Halladale all told the same grim stories of hopeless resistance, brutality and suffering.
By 1830 it was calculated that at least 10,000 tenants had been evicted from the Marquess of Stafford's Scottish estates and that 200,000 sheep were grazing in their place. Meanwhile James Loch, Stafford's new chief agent, boasted that hundreds of miles of road and scores of bridges had brought civilisation to the savage Highlands. Stafford himself suffered no qualms of conscience. His sole remaining ambition was to become a duke and join his wife's ancient title of Sutherland with his own. He begged and intrigued, he lavished his wealth on sumptuous entertaining, he curried favour with two successive monarchs, George IV and William IV. At last in January 1833, his wish was granted and he was created Duke of Sutherland. Six months later, on July 19, he died at Dunrobin Castle. What was left of his tenantry lined the funeral route to Dornoch cathedral. Then his agents began racking the clansmen for funds to erect a giant statue of the duke overlooking one of the glens he had depopulated.
Mary, Duchess of Sutherland (second wife of the 3rd Duke)
By all accounts the Duchess was a grasping gold-digger whose aim appears to have been to gain control of the Duke's huge fortune to the exclusion of the Duke's children. The following two paragraphs are summarised from Brian Masters' fascinating book, The Dukes [Blond & Briggs 1975].
The future Duchess, then known as Mrs. Blair, had already wormed her way into the Duke's affections while his first wife was still alive. When the first Duchess died in November 1888, it did not take long before Mrs. Blair became the Duke's second wife, for they were married in March 1889, less than 4 months later. She immediately alienated her stepchildren by ignoring the terms of the first Duchess's will which left her wardrobe to her daughter - instead the new Duchess appropriated her predecessor's clothes. Next she forced her stepson, the Marquess of Stafford and his wife out of their residence and confiscated all of their furniture. Meanwhile she persuaded the Duke to commence legal action to disentail a portion of the vast Sutherland estates in her favour. Soon the Duke and his son were mortal enemies.
Shortly before the Duke died in 1892, she drafted an amended will for her husband, which left her everything that he possibly could, apart from those items which were considered heirlooms and which could not be alienated from his heir. When the Duke died in September 1892, she attempted to gain possession of one of the late Duke's houses, but was prevented from doing so when the new Duke installed additional caretakers to deny her access. For the next two years, the will was disputed in the Courts, on the basis that it had been made under undue influence and fraud.
In April 1893, while the litigation was proceeding, the Duchess was sentenced to prison for six weeks for contempt of court, as can be seen from the following report which appeared in the Belfast News-Letter of 19 April 1893:-
In the Probate Division of the High Court of Justice to-day Mr. Justice Jeune had before him a motion to commit the Dowager Duchess of Sutherland for alleged contempt of court, consisting of having burnt a letter or letters pertaining to the present litigation about the late duke's will. On Wednesday last an order was made that certain documents should be inspected in the presence of the duke, the dowager duchess, and their advisers, and the present case was that the dowager duchess during the inspection concealed a bundle of papers, which at first she said were letters from her to the duke, but afterwards swore were from the duke to her, and threw them on the fire, where they were destroyed. Mr Finlay, Q.C., for the dowager duchess, read a long affidavit, in the course of which she said the letter was a personal one, and affected persons other than herself, some of whom were dead, though some were living. She offered the fullest apology to the Court for an act which she now greatly regretted, and offered so far as lay in her power to disclose the contents of the letter which she had destroyed. The learned counsel said there was not the slightest intention on the part of the lady to justify her conduct. Sir Henry James, on behalf of the duke, submitted that this was so serious a contempt of court that a mere apology was not sufficient. Further, he submitted that the lady could not be trusted to disclose the contents of the document. Mr. Justice Jeune, in giving judgment, said that it appeared to him that the scheme of destroying the documents was deliberately planned beforehand by the duchess, and that the previous application was made in order that she might have the opportunity of doing that which she afterwards did. The injury done to the justice of the pending suit was irreparable, and could not be satisfied by an apology. It might be that a piece of evidence vital to her opponent's case had been destroyed, or it might be that under the circumstances the inference drawn would tell overwhelmingly against herself. The position of the plaintiff was wholly immaterial. Justice must be done in this case as in any other. The order of the Court would be that the Dowager Duchess of Sutherland must pay a fine of £250, the costs of the action, and be committed to prison for a term of six weeks.
The Dowager Duchess was remarried, in November 1896, to Sir Albert Kaye Rollit, MP for Islington South 1886‑1906. She was again in the headlines in the last quarter of 1898, after she was robbed of £30,000 worth of jewels while visiting Paris. At the subsequent trial of the two men arrested for the robbery, the Dowager Duchess said that "she visited Paris on October 9 [1898], accompanied by her brother and his wife, her maid Perkins, and her footman. She was afterwards joined at the hotel by her husband, Sir Albert Rollit. She had a large despatch-box, fastened by straps, with a plain cover. It was her custom to keep her jewellery in this case. In addition to her own jewelry she had a ring and a stone to show to a jeweller in Paris for an opinion. The stone was an emerald and it was unset, and the ring was a large emerald, set in diamonds. She stayed at an hotel in Paris until the morning of October 17. On that day she prepared to return to London. With the assistance of her maid, she packed the greater part of her jewels in the despatch-box, which was very full. The maid locked it, and witness kept the key. She last saw the case on the table in her room before leaving the hotel, and she gave her maid instructions to take it to the railway station and await her arrival. She afterwards drove to the station by herself, and was joined there by Sir Albert Rollit and her brother, to return to London. She found a train at the platform, and her maid was sitting or standing in a first-class compartment with the jewel-case on one of the seats. It was a corridor-carriage, but at that time she did not know that. The case was on the seat on the same side as the corridor, looking towards the engine. At that time there was no other person in the carriage. The maid went off to find her own luggage, leaving the despatch-box on the seat in witness's sight. Witness got into the department and sat down for two minutes, but then got outside to let her friends see where she was … Sir Albert Rollit came onto the platform, and I went a few steps to meet him. We both got into the carriage, no other person being within the compartment … the train started, and at that time I had not missed anything. A few minutes afterwards I missed my purse … As soon as I realized that thief had been in the compartment I looked for the despatch-box and missed it …" [edited account from The Times of 15 December 1898].
The two men charged with the theft were William Johnson (alias "Harry the Valet") and Moss Lipman. At their subsequent trial in early January 1899, Johnson pleaded guilty and was given a sentence of 7 years' imprisonment. He declined, however, to state the whereabouts of the stolen jewels, presumably hoping to obtain them upon his release, but I can find no further reference to them.