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Earldom of Forfar
Royal Standard of Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh (in Scotland).svg
Royal Standard of Prince Edward
for use in Scotland as Earl of Forfar
Creation date 10 March 2019
Creation Second
Monarch Elizabeth II
Peerage Peerage of the United Kingdom
First holder Lord Archibald Douglas
Present holder Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh
Heir apparent James, Earl of Wessex
Remainder to the 1st Earl's heirs male of the body lawfully begotten
Status Extant
Seat(s) Bagshot Park

Earl of Forfar is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of Scotland and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The name of the earldom refers to Forfar, the county town of Angus, Scotland. The current holder is Prince Edward, son of Elizabeth II and brother of Charles III.

History

The title was first created in 1661 in the Peerage of Scotland as a subsidiary title to the Earldom of Ormond. This first creation of the title became extinct in 1715.

The dignity of Earl of Forfar in the Peerage of the United Kingdom was granted in 2019 to Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, on the occasion of his 55th birthday. This earldom was given in addition to the two titles (Earl of Wessex and Viscount Severn) that he received on his wedding day and affords Prince Edward and his wife Sophie a Scottish title to use when in Scotland. Unlike his brother (Prince Andrew, Earl of Inverness) and nephews (Prince William, Earl of Strathearn and Prince Harry, Earl of Dumbarton), Prince Edward did not receive a Scottish title on the occasion of his marriage.

The County of Forfar, renamed Angus in 1928, contains Glamis Castle, the seat of the Earls of Strathmore and Kinghorne, from whom Prince Edward's grandmother Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother was descended.

In July 2019, the Earl and Countess visited Forfar on their first official visit to the town since the Queen granted the title in March 2019. He was presented with 'Earl of Forfar' tartan, to decorate the Earl and Countess, by a town firm – the Strathmore Woollen Company. The weave is based on the existing Forfar tartan, which it designed in 2004 on the colours from the Forfar coat of arms. The geometry remains virtually the same, but the colours have been strengthened, with Azure blue replaced by the St Andrew's blue of the Scottish flag, and white yarns replaced by a brown to reflect the rich agriculture of the surrounds.

The couple visited Forfar again in the summer of 2021.

Earls of Forfar, first creation (1661)

Subsidiary title was Lord Wandell and Hartside (Peerage of Scotland, 1661).


Earls of Forfar, second creation (2019)

Earl Portrait Birth Marriages Death
Prince Edward
House of Windsor
2019–present
also: Duke of Edinburgh (2023), Earl of Wessex (1999), Viscount Severn (1999)
Prince Edward 10 March 1964
Buckingham Palace, London
son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip
19 June 1999
Sophie Rhys-Jones
2 children
 –
now 60 years, 290 days old

Line of succession

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