The Duke of Fife & The Barony, Logie-Coldstone & Migvie
The Duke of Fife and the MacDuffs
Viscount Macduff and Earl Fife, William Duff of Brace
William Duff, a son of William Duff and his wife Jean Gordon, served as MP for Banffshire from 1727-1734. In 1735 he was created Baron Braco of Kilbryde, County Cavan, Ireland. Among the manuscripts in the National Archives of Scotland is a copy of the rentals payable by the tenantry of Cromar which had been sold by James Erskine of Grange, David Erskine of Dun, and Thomas, Lord Erskine, to William Duff of Brace, dated 5 August 1735. During the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745-1746 he supported the Hanoverian government. In 1759 he was made Viscount Macduff and Earl Fife in Irish Peerage. He married firstly Janet, widow of Hugh Forbes, and daughter of James Ogilvie, 4th Earl of Findlator, and secondly Jean Grant. He died in 1763 and was buried at Duff House.
James Duff, Second Earl of Fife [1729-1809]
Succeeded by son James [1729-1809] as second Earl of Fife etc in 1763; Viscount Duff, became MP for Banffshire and later Morayshire, also founder of town of Macduff in Banffshire. He was a notable agricultural improver and was responsible for the reforestation of 14,000 acres in northern Scotland. During a period of famine, around 1782-1783, he cut the rent on his estates by twenty per cent and imported grain from England which was sold at a loss to his tenantry. He married Dorothea Sinclair, daughter of Alexander, 9th Earl of Caithness in 1759. In 1790 he was created Baron of Fife. On his death he was buried in Duff House mausoleum.
His titles etc were inherited by his brother Alexander Duff, [1731-1811].
3rd Earl of Fife Alexander Duff, [1731-1811]
Alexander Duff was married in 1775 to Elizabeth, daughter of George Skene of Skene.
3rd Earl of Fife Alexander Duff, [1731-1811]
4th Earl of Fife, Major General James Duff [1776-1857]
On his death the title Earl of Fife went to his son and heir James Duff [1776-1857], a Major General of the Spanish Army during the Peninsular War, who was wounded at Talavera in 1809 and at Fort Matagorda in 1810. Subsequently he was awarded the Sword of Sweden and became a knight of San Fernando in Spain; the Grand Master of Freemasons from 1814-1816, MP for Banffshire, Lord of the Bedchamber, Lord Rector of Marischal College, Aberdeen. He was created Baron Fife in 1827, and retired to Scotland where he died at his seat Duff House on 9 March 1857.
5th Earl of Fife, James Duff , [1814-1879],
Title then was inherited by his nephew James, [1814-1879], son of General the Hon. Sir Alexander Duff. His appointments included British attaché in Paris, MP for Banffshire, and Lord Lieutenant of Elgin. He was created Baron Skene of Skene in 1857. In Paris, during 1846, he married Agnes, daughter of the Earl of Erroll. He had earlier followed a military career as commander of the 88th Regiment [the Connaught Rangers] and had participated in Baird’s Expedition from India to Egypt in 1801, also in the attack on Buenos Ayres in 1806.
Duke of Fife and Marquess of MacDuff and Alexander William George Duff, [1850-1912]
Then followed Alexander William George Duff, [1850-1912] his son, and heir as Earl of Fife, Viscount Macduff, Baron Braco of Kilbryde, Baron Skene. He was MP for Elgin and Nairn, Captain of the Corps of Gentlemen at Arms, Privy Councillor, Knight of the Thistle, Envoy Extraordinary to the Court of Saxony, Lord Lieutenant of London and Lord High Constable. In 1885 he was created Earl of Fife, and in 1889 on his marriage to The Princess Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife (Louise Victoria Alexandra Dagmar; 20 February 1867 - 4 January 1931) who was the grand daughter of Queen Victoria. The Princess Louise was also the third child and the eldest daughter of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra and the younger sister of King George V and the fifth daughter of a British monarch to be styled Princess Royalof Alexander William George MacDuff became Marquess of Macduff and Duke of Fife. He was a successful financier and was founder of the Chartered Company of South Africa. He died at High Aswan in Upper Egypt in 1912 and was buried at Braemar.
On his death the estates and titles of Fife passed to his daughter, Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife (Alexandra Victoria Alberta Edwina Louise; née Duff; later Princess Arthur of Connaught; 17 May 1891 - 26 February 1959) who was a member of the British Royal Family, a granddaughter of King Edward VII. Alexandra, and her younger sister, Maud, had the distinction of being the only female-line granddaughters of a British Sovereign to receive the title of Princess of Great Britain and Ireland and the style Highness.
