Viscount Falkland

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Viscount of Falkland is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1620 for Sir Henry Cary. He was made Lord Cary at the same time, also in the Peerage of Scotland. His son, the second Viscount, was a prominent statesman. The latter's younger son, the fourth Viscount (who succeeded his elder brother), notably served as Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire. His son, the fifth Viscount, represented several constituencies in the House of Commons and held office as First Lord of the Admiralty from 1693 to 1694.

On his death the line of the second Viscount failed and the peerages were inherited by the late Viscount's second cousin, the sixth Viscount. He was the grandson of the Hon. Patrick Cary, fifth son of the first Viscount. A lifelong adherent of the exiled Royal Family of Stuart, he was created, on 13 December 1722, by James Francis Edward Stuart (recognised by Jacobites as "King James III") Earl of Falkland, in the Jacobite Peerage of England. He also embraced the Catholic faith. His great-great-grandson, the tenth Viscount, was a colonial administrator and Liberal politician. In 1832 he was created Baron Hunsdon, of Scutterskelfe in the County of York, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. This title gave him an automatic seat in the House of Lords but became extinct on his death in 1884. The Scottish titles were inherited by his younger brother, the eleventh Viscount. He was an Admiral in the Royal Navy.

His nephew, the twelfth Viscount, sat in the House of Lords as a Scottish Representative Peer from 1894 to 1922. He was succeeded by his son, the thirteenth Viscount, who served as a Scottish Representative Peer between 1922 and 1931. As of 2006 the titles are held by the latter's grandson, the fifteenth Viscount, who succeeded his father in 1984. He is one of the ninety elected hereditary peers that were allowed to remain in the House of Lords after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999. Lord Falkland sits on the Liberal Democrat benches.

Theoretically all viscountcies in the Peerage of Scotland have "of" in their titles, but most Scottish Viscounts have dropped the practice of using "of." The only ones who persist in the usage of the word are the Viscount of Arbuthnott, and, to a lesser extent, the Viscount of Oxfuird.

The Viscounts Falkland take their title from the Scottish royal residence Falkland Palace, Falkland, Fife, Scotland. However, despite holding two Scottish peerages, the Cary family are of English origin.

The Falkland Islands are named after Anthony Cary, 5th Viscount Falkland.

[edit] Viscounts (of) Falkland (1620)

The Heir Apparent is the present holder's son Lucius Alexander Plantagenet Cary, Master of Falkland

[edit] References

  • Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
  • Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page
  • Ruvigny and Raineval, Marquis of, The Jacobite Peerage. Edinburgh, 1904.