Hugh Magnus MacLeod of MacLeod facts for kids

Hugh Magnus MacLeod of MacLeod (born 1973) is the 30th Chief of Clan MacLeod and is currently representing the Associated Clan MacLeod Societies in the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs. He is also recognized Chief of the Name and Arms of MacLeod, in Scotland and the United Kingdom, by the Court of the Lord Lyon.

On 12 February 2007, Hugh inherited Dunvegan Castle, the ancient seat of the Chiefs of Clan MacLeod, and the associated ancestral clan territories, which still extend to over 42,000 acres (17,000 ha) on the Isle of Skye following the death of his father, John MacLeod of MacLeod.

Biography

Hugh was born in London in 1973.

His mother, Melita Kolin, is a Bulgarian concert pianist and artist based in London, originally from Sofia. She created and ran the annual Chamber Music Festival at Dunvegan Castle which took place every summer. She is a cousin of artist Mihail Simeonov.

Hugh graduated with a BA (Hons) in Film and Modern History from the University of London and the Sorbonne in 1995.

After a brief period at Sotheby's and Freud Communications, he began working in television as a researcher and was commissioned to direct and produce Champagne and Canvas, a documentary that was nominated for best video at the 1998 BBC British Short Film Festival. Since then, he has worked as a freelance director, producer, and writer in both film and TV, and also combines his media career with the management of the MacLeod Estate which he took on in 2008.

He divides his time between Dunvegan and London.

Family

Hugh married French former actress Frédérique Feder (Three Colours Red, Mutant Action), daughter of Serge Feder and Anne Isabelle Marie Coquillon, on 28 September 2002. The marriage was later dissolved by divorce on 25 March 2020.

They have a son, Vincent Liam MacLeod, Younger (born 1999).

Heraldry

Arms of Hugh Magnus MacLeod of MacLeod

Notes The Latin motto, murus aheneus esto, translates into English as "be thou a wall of brass". The 1st and 4th quarters represent Clan MacLeod; the 2nd and 3rd quarters represent the supposed royal Manx heritage of the clan. Adopted Lyon Office 2 June 1962. Crest: Lyon Office January 1943. Crest A bull's head cabossed sable, horned Or, between two flags gules, staves of the first. Escutcheon Quarterly; 1st and 4th, azure, a castles triple-towered and embattled argent, masoned sable, windows and porch gules; 2nd and 3rd, gules, three legs in armour proper, garnished and spurred Or, flexed and conjoined in triangle at the upper part of the thigh. Supporters Two lions reguardant gules, armed and langued azure, each holding a dagger proper. Motto Hold fast (above the crest); murus aheneus esto (on a compartment below the shield).