Earls of Breadalbane

Earldom of Breadalbane and Holland
Arms of the 6th Earl of Breadalbane, 1868 (Lyon Register, vol. 8, p. 13)
Creation date	13 August 1681
Monarch	Charles II
Peerage	Peerage of Scotland
First holder	John Campbell, 1st Earl of Breadalbane and Holland
Last holder	John Campbell, 10th Earl of Breadalbane and Holland
Present holder	Dormant
Remainder to	Heirs male of the son chosen to succeed him, failing which to the heirs male of his body, failing which to his own heirs male, failing which to his heirs whatsoever
Subsidiary titles	Lord Glenorchy, Benederaloch, Ormelie and Weick Viscount of Tay and Paintland
Former seat(s)	Taymouth Castle

Earl of Breadalbane and Holland is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1681 for Sir John Campbell, 5th Baronet, of Glenorchy, who had previously been deprived of the title Earl of Caithness. He, as a principal creditor, had "acquired" the estates of George Sinclair, 6th Earl of Caithness who had died heavily in debt and without issue in 1670. Campbell was consequently created Earl of Caithness in 1673, but after much litigation and even bloodshed, George Sinclair of Keiss (died 1698), second son of George, 5th Earl of Caithness (died 1643), recovered the estates, and successfully petitioned parliament regarding the earldom, which was removed from Campbell. Sinclair's title was finally restored to him in 1681. Deprived by parliament of the Caithness earldom, Sir John Campbell was created Lord Glenorchy, Benederaloch, Ormelie and Weick, Viscount of Tay and Paintland, and Earl of Breadalbane and Holland on 13 August 1681, with the precedency of the former patent and with the power to nominate any of his sons by his first wife to succeed him. The titles were created with remainder to the heirs male of the son chosen to succeed him, failing which to the heirs male of his body, failing which to his own heirs male, failing which to his heirs whatsoever. The "of Holland" part of the title derived from the fact that Campbell was the husband of Lady Mary Rich, daughter of Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland (see Earl of Holland).

The member of a junior branch of Clan Campbell, Breadalbane was a descendant of Sir Colin Campbell, 1st of Glenorchy (died 1475), the son of Duncan Campbell, 1st Lord Campbell by his second wife Margaret Stewart and the half-brother of Archibald Campbell, Master of Campbell, ancestor of the Dukes of Argyll. Colin Campbell was granted Glenorchy and other lands by his father and built Kilchurn Castle on Loch Awe in Argyll. King James III knighted him, and granted him land around Loch Tay, in thanks for hunting down the assassins of James II, and to end the power vacuum in the surrounding region that had resulted when the local earls - the assassins - were executed. The land around Loch Tay formed Breadalbane, creating the association between the area and Colin Campbell's descendants.