Official portrait of Viscount Thurso crop 2

Viscount Thurso, of Ulbster in the

County of Caithness Caithness (; ; ) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. There are two towns, being Wick, which was the county town, and Thurso. The county includes the northernmost point of mainland Britain at Dunnet Hea ...

, is a title in the

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

. It was created on 11 June 1952 for the

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

Liberal politician and former

Secretary of State for Air The Secretary of State for Air was a secretary of state position in the British government that existed from 1919 to 1964. The person holding this position was in charge of the Air Ministry. The Secretary of State for Air was supported by ...

, Sir Archibald Sinclair, 4th Baronet. His son, the second Viscount, served as Lord Lieutenant of Caithness from 1973 to 1995. the titles are held by the latter's son, the third Viscount, who succeeded in 1995. Known as

John Thurso John Archibald Sinclair, 3rd Viscount Thurso (born 10 September 1953), known also as John Thurso, is a Scottish businessman, Liberal Democrat politician and hereditary peer who is notable for having served in the House of Lords both before and a ...

, he is a

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...

politician. Thurso lost his seat 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 ...

after the passing of the

House of Lords Act 1999 The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given royal assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords ...

, but was elected to the

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

in 2001, thereby becoming the first hereditary peer of the United Kingdom allowed to sit in the Commons without first disclaiming his title; he held his seat until his defeat in the 2015 general election. On 19 April 2016, he re-entered the Lords following his election by the remaining Liberal Democrat hereditary peers after the death of Lord Avebury. The third Viscount also became Lord Lieutenant of Caithness in 2017. The Sinclair baronetcy, of Ulbster in the County of Caithness, was created in the

Baronetage of Great Britain Baronets are hereditary titles awarded by the Crown. The current baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier, existing baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland and Great Britain. To be recognised as a baronet, it is necessary ...

in 14 February 1786 for the first Viscount's great-great-grandfather, the Scottish politician and writer John Sinclair. Both his son, the second Baronet, and grandson, the third Baronet, represented

Caithness Caithness (; ; ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Scotland. There are two towns, being Wick, Caithness, Wick, which was the county town, and Thurso. The count ...

in the House of Commons. The latter was the grandfather of the fourth Baronet, who was elevated to the peerage as Viscount Thurso in 1952. The family seat is

Thurso Castle is a ruined 19th-century castle, located in Thurso, Caithness, in the Scottish Highlands. Situated in Thurso East,east of the River Thurso, the site can be seen from across the river. The current castle ruins date to 1872; A large part was demol ...

in the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands, Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Scots language, Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gae ...

Sinclair baronets, of Ulbster (1786)

Sir John Sinclair, 1st Baronet Colonel Sir John Sinclair, 1st Baronet, (10 May 1754 – 21 December 1835), was a British politician, military officer and writer who was one of the first people to use the word "statistics" in the English language in his pioneering work, ...

(1754–1835) *

Sir George Sinclair, 2nd Baronet Sir George Sinclair, 2nd Baronet (28 August 1790 – 1868), was a Scottish politician and author. Background and education Sinclair, the eldest son of Sir John Sinclair, 1st Baronet of Ulbster, and Diana, only daughter of Alexander Macdonald, ...

(1790–1868) * Sir John George Tollemache Sinclair, 3rd Baronet (1824–1912) **Clarence Granville Sinclair (1858–1895) * Sir Archibald Henry MacDonald Sinclair, 4th Baronet (1890–1970) (created Viscount Thurso in 1952)

Viscounts Thurso (1952)

* Archibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso (1890–1970) * Robin Macdonald Sinclair, 2nd Viscount Thurso (1922–1995) * John Archibald Sinclair, 3rd Viscount Thurso (born 1953) The

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

is the present holder's son, the Hon. James Alexander Robin Sinclair (born 1984).

Male-line family tree

Line of succession

* ''Rt. Hon.

(1754–1835)'' ** ''

(1790–1868)'' *** '' Sir John George Tollemache Sinclair, 3rd Baronet (1824–1912)'' **** ''Lt Col. Clarence Granville Sinclair (1858–1895)'' ***** Coronet of a British Viscount

'' Archibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso (1890–1970)'' ****** Coronet of a British Viscount

'' Robin Macdonald Sinclair, 2nd Viscount Thurso (1922–1995)'' ******* Coronet of a British Viscount

John Archibald Sinclair, 3rd Viscount Thurso (born 1953) ******** (1) ''Hon.'' James Alexander Robin Sinclair (born 1984) ******** (2) ''Hon.'' George Henry MacDonald Sinclair (born 1989) ******* (3) ''Hon.'' Patrick James Sinclair (born 1954) ******** (4) Jody Peter Fergus North Sinclair (born 1975) ******** (5) Luke Robin Sinclair (born 1979) ** ''Rev. William Sinclair (1804–1878)'' *** ''Ven. John Stewart Sinclair (1853–1919)'' **** '' Sir John Alexander Sinclair (1897–1977)'' ***** (6) Ian Alexander Sinclair (born 1938) ****** (7) Andrew George Sinclair (born 1970) ****** (8) John Charles Sinclair (born 1972) ***** (9) Roderick John Sinclair (born 1944) ****** (10) James Alexander Sinclair (born 1984) Only those in positions (1) to (5) are in remainder to the viscountcy. Those in positions (6) to (10) are in remainder to the baronetcy only.

Notes

References

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, *

External links

*
www.debretts.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thurso Viscountcies in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Noble titles created in 1952 Peerages created for UK MPs