Earl of Eglinton
Earl of Eglinton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created by James IV of Scotland in 1507 for Hugh Montgomerie, 3rd Lord Montgomerie.
| Earldom of Eglinton | |
|---|---|
Quarterly 1st and 4th grand quarters counterquartered 1st and 4th Azure three fleur-de-lys Or (Montgomerie); 2nd and 3rd Gules three annulets Or stoned Azure (Eglinton), all within a bordure Or charged with a double treasure flory counter-flory Gules; 2nd and 3rd grand quarters counterquartered 1st and 4th Or three crescents within a double treasure flory counterflory Gules (Seton); 2nd and 3rd Azure three garbs Or (Buchan) over all an escutcheon parted per pale Gules and Azure the dexter charged with a sword in pale proper pommelled and billed Or supporting an imperial crown the sinister charged with a star of twelve points Argent, all within a double treasure flory counterflory Gold. | |
| Creation date | 1507 |
| Created by | James IV of Scotland |
| Peerage | Peerage of Scotland |
| First holder | Hugh Montgomerie, 3rd Lord Montgomerie |
| Present holder | Hugh Archibald William Montgomerie, 19th Earl of Eglinton, 7th Earl of Winton |
| Heir apparent | Rhuridh Seton Archibald Montgomerie, Lord Montgomerie |
| Subsidiary titles | Lord Montgomerie |
| Seat(s) | Balhomie House |
| Former seat(s) | Eglinton Castle Skelmorlie Castle |
In 1859, the thirteenth Earl of Eglinton, Archibald Montgomerie, was also created Earl of Winton in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, which gave him an automatic seat in the House of Lords, and both earldoms have been united since. Furthermore, other titles held with the earldoms are: Lord Montgomerie (created 1449), Baron Ardrossan (1806) and Baron Seton and Tranent (1859). The first is in the Peerage of Scotland, while the latter two are in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
William Dunbar mentions a Sir Hugh of Eglinton in his Lament for the Makaris, citing him as a fellow poet. He has sometimes been tentatively identified as Huchown, but this is not certain.
The Earl of Eglinton is the hereditary Clan Chief of Clan Montgomery. The ancestral seat was Eglinton Castle in Kilwinning, North Ayrshire.