Margaret of Mar, 31st Countess of Mar
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The Right Honourable The Countess of Mar |
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| Born | 19 September 1940 |
| Title | Countess of Mar Lady Garioch |
| Nationality | British |
| Offices | Chief of Clan Mar |
| Predecessor | James of Mar, 30th Earl of Mar |
| Heir | Susan of Mar, Mistress of Mar |
| Spouse(s) | Edwin Noel Artiss (div.), John Salton (div.), John Jenkin |
Margaret of Mar, 31st Countess of Mar (born 19 September 1940), is a crossbench member of the House of Lords, an elected hereditary peer, the holder of the original Earldom of Mar, the oldest peerage title in the United Kingdom, and a farmer and former specialist goats cheesemaker in Great Witley, Worcestershire. She is the only suo jure countess in the House of Lords.
She was born Margaret Alison Lane, the daughter of Millicent Mary Salton and James Clifton Lane, later James of Mar, 30th Earl of Mar, the heir presumptive of Lionel Erskine-Young, 29th Earl of Mar, his first cousin once removed (both were descended from a sister of John Goodeve-Erskine, 27th Earl of Mar).
Margaret had two younger siblings: David of Mar, Master of Mar, and Lady Janet of Mar. In 1959, her father was officially recognised in the style of Mar, and from that year his three children were also styled of Mar, the name Lane being abandoned.
When Margaret's father succeeded as 30th Earl of Mar in 1965 she became Lady Margaret of Mar, and her brother became The Master of Mar, Lord Garioch. When Lord Garioch died in 1967, Margaret became The Mistress of Mar as the elder heir-portioner presumptive in general of her father.
When in 1975 her father the 30th Earl died, Lady Margaret became the 31st holder of the Mar earldom, the Premier Earldom of Scotland, and entered the House of Lords, making her maiden speech in April 1976. After the passing of House of Lords Act 1999, Lady Mar was elected to serve as one of the ninety-two hereditary peers retained in the House, where she sits as a cross-bencher, meaning she is not aligned with any particular political party.
As Countess of Mar she is also titular 11th Duchess of Mar in the Jacobite Peerage (in which Peerage she is numbered as 32nd Countess of Mar, as the attainder of 1716–1824 is not recognised by the Jacobites).
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