Earl Fife was a title in the

Peerage of Ireland The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

created by letters patent dated 26 April 1759 for William Duff, 1st Baron Braco, after asserting (but not proving) his descent from Macduff, the medieval

Earl of Fife The Earl of Fife or Mormaer of Fife was the ruler of the province of Fife in medieval Scotland, which encompassed the modern counties of Fife and Kinross. Due to their royal ancestry, the earls of Fife were the highest ranking nobles in the re ...

. Though in the Irish peerage, the title's name refers to

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

in Scotland.

History

William Duff, 1st Earl Fife, had previously been created Baron Braco, of Kilbryde in the County of Cavan, in 1735, and he was created Viscount Macduff at the same time that he was raised to the earldom. Both of these junior titles were in the Peerage of Ireland, although they referred to places in Scotland – namely Braco and Macduff in

Banffshire Banffshire (; ; ) is a historic county in Scotland. The county town is Banff, although the largest settlement is Buckie to the west. The historic county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975. Since 1996 the area has been spli ...

. Between 1790 and 1885, the Earls Fife received several additional titles in the

Peerage of Great Britain The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain between the Acts of Union 1707 and the Acts of Union 1800. It replaced the Peerage of England and the Peerage of Scotland, but was itself repla ...

and of the United Kingdom, respectively, which allowed them to sit and vote in the

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

. In 1790, the 2nd Earl was created Baron Fife, of the County of Fife, in the Peerage of Great Britain, but this title became extinct on his death in 1809. The 4th Earl was also created Baron Fife, of the County of Fife, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, in 1827, but this title became extinct on his death in 1857. Later that year, the 5th Earl was created Baron Skene, of Skene in the County of Aberdeen, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. In 1885, the 6th Earl was created

in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. In 1889, the 6th Earl Fife was further created Duke of Fife, in Scotland, and Marquess of Macduff, in the County of Banff, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, two days after his marriage to Princess Louise of Wales, the eldest daughter of

Albert Edward, Prince of Wales Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

(the future King Edward VII). When it became clear that he would have no sons, he was further created Duke of Fife and Earl of Macduff, in the County of Banff, also in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, with a special remainder to his daughters and their heirs male. When the 1st Duke died in 1912 without male issue, the earldom of 1759 became extinct, along with the first Dukedom of Fife, the Marquessate of Macduff, the 1885 Earldom of Fife, the Viscountcy of Macduff and the Baronies of Braco and Skene. The second Dukedom of Fife and the Earldom of Macduff passed by their special remainders to his daughters and their heirs male. Princess Alexandra of Fife thus succeeded to the second Dukedom of Fife. (See Duke of Fife for the succession to those titles.)

Barons Braco (1735)

* William Duff, 1st Baron Braco (c. 1696–1763), created Earl Fife in 1759

Earls Fife (1759)

William Duff, 1st Earl Fife William Duff, 1st Earl Fife (1697 – 30 September 1763), of Braco, Perth and Kinross, Braco, Banff, was a Scottish landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons from 1727 to 1734. Early life Du ...

(c. 1696–1763) *

James Duff, 2nd Earl Fife James Duff, 2nd Earl Fife (29 September 1729 – 1809) was a Scottish aristocrat and Member of Parliament. Heritage James Duff was second son of William Duff, 1st Earl Fife, and Jean Grant (daughter of Sir James Grant of Pluscardine, Baron ...

(1729–1809) *

Alexander Duff, 3rd Earl Fife Alexander Duff, 3rd Earl Fife (18 April 1731 – 17 April 1811) was a Scottish nobleman. Early life Duff was born on 18 April 1731. He was a son of William Duff, 1st Earl Fife, and, his second wife, Jean Grant. Among his siblings were brothers J ...

(1731–1811) *

James Duff, 4th Earl Fife James Duff, 4th Earl Fife, KT, GCH (6 October 1776 – 9 March 1857), was a Scottish nobleman who became a Spanish general. Biography James was the elder son of the Hon. Alexander Duff, who succeeded his brother as third Earl Fife in 1809. H ...

(1776–1857) *

James Duff, 5th Earl Fife James Duff, 5th Earl Fife, (6 July 1814 – 7 August 1879) was a Scottish nobleman and politician. Early life Duff was the son of Sir Alexander Duff, younger brother of James Duff, 4th Earl Fife, and Anne Stein, the daughter of James Stein o ...

(1814–1879) * Alexander Duff, 6th Earl Fife (1849–1912), created

in 1885 and Duke of Fife in 1889

Family tree

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fife Noble titles created in 1759 Extinct earldoms in the Peerage of Ireland Earl Fife