Charlotte Murray, Duchess of Atholl
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Charlotte Murray, Duchess of Atholl and 8th Baroness Strange (13 October 1731–13 October 1805) was a Scottish peeress.
Born Lady Charlotte Murray, she was the daughter of the 2nd Duke of Atholl. On 23 October 1753, she married her first cousin, John Murray at Dunkeld, Scotland. They had nine children.
On 8 January 1764, Charlotte's father died. Her husband, John, should have been heir to the dukedom, which was only able to descend through the male line; but he was ineligible since his father had fought in the Jacobite Rising and consequently been attainted in the blood. Charlotte, however, had succeeded to her father's title of Baron Strange (which could descend through the female line) and consequently held a higher position in society than her husband. Thus, just less than a month later on 7 February 1764, the House of Lords deemed John as the rightful heir to his uncle's title (notwithstanding the attainder of his father) and he succeed him as 3rd Duke of Atholl, whereupon Charlotte became Duchess of Atholl. Charlotte had also inherited the sovereignty of the Isle of Man from her father on his death but sold it to the British government in 1765 for £70,000 and an annuity of £2,000 per year (£5,235,000 and £150,000 respectively, in early-2000s)[1].
The duchess died in 1805, aged 74 at Barochey House, near Glasgow and was buried at Dunkeld.
| Peerage of England | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by James Murray |
Baroness Strange 1764–1805 |
Succeeded by John Murray |
