Lord Lovat
| Lord Lovat | |
|---|---|
Quarterly 1st & 4th Azure three fraises Argent 2nd & 3rd Argent three antique crowns Gules.
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| Creation date | 1458 |
| Peerage | Peerage of Scotland |
| Present holder | Simon Fraser, 16th Lord Lovat |
| Heir presumptive | Hon. Jack Fraser, Master of Lovat |
| Subsidiary titles | Baron Lovat |
| Seat(s) | Beaufort Lodge Balblair House |
| Former seat(s) | Beaufort Castle |
| Armorial motto |
Je suis prest (I am ready) |
Lord Lovat (Scottish Gaelic: Mac Shimidh) is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1458 for Hugh Fraser. The holder is also the Chief of Clan Fraser of Lovat.
The first Lord Lovat was one of the hostages for James I on his return to Scotland in 1424, and in 1431 he was appointed high sheriff of the county of Inverness. The second Lord Lovat, Thomas, held the office of justiciary of the north in the reign of James IV, and died 21 October 1524.
The title descended in a direct line for nine sequential generations from 1458 until the death of the ninth Lord in 1696. He was succeeded by his great-uncle, the tenth Lord. In 1697 the latter's son, Simon Fraser, known as Simon "the Fox", kidnapped and forcefully married the late ninth Lord's widow, the former Lady Amelia Murray, only daughter of John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl. However, Lady Lovat's powerful family, the Murrays, were angered, and prosecuted Fraser, who fled the country. Fraser was convicted in absentia, attainted, and sentenced to death. In 1715, however, Fraser supported the Government against the Jacobite uprising and was rewarded by being pardoned for his crimes. In 1730, he won litigation seeking to confirm his title of Lord Lovat. In 1745, however, Lord Lovat participated in The '45 against the Crown and was therefore sentenced to death. He was beheaded on 9 April 1747, aged 80, on Tower Hill in London, becoming the last man to die in this manner. His titles, furthermore, were forfeit. (Fraser was also created Duke of Fraser, Marquess of Beaufort, Earl of Stratherrick and Upper Tarf, Viscount of the Aird and Strathglass and Lord Lovat and Beaulieu in the Jacobite Peerage of Scotland by James Francis Edward Stuart (titular King James III of England and VIII of Scotland) in 1740.)
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