Before preparing this Bulletin we have considered a number of different accounts of the history of the Office of Standard-Bearer and of its holders. It is our intention to publish as many of these accounts as possible in successive issues of the Bulletin, notwithstanding that this necessarily involves a certain amount of repetition. Some day some gifted person may be persuaded to do the work of collation that would result in a definitive "History of the Scr………s".

It seems to us that the most appropriate account with which to begin would be that dealing with the Office of Standard-bearer itself, and we are fortunate in obtaining a copy of an article which appeared in the "Dundee Advertiser" as long ago as 6^th August 1901. We reprint it, with headings, as it actually appeared.

Some dubiety seems to exist as to the identity of the Hereditary Standard-Bearer of Scotland, the question having been raised in view of the approaching Coronation of King Edward VII. This is not a mere matter of etiquette, but of serious history, and is worthy of calm investigation. The following outline of the case may be of more than local interest.

The accepted tradition regarding the creation of the office of Hereditary Standard-Bearer is thus related by Sir Bernard Burke, Ulster King-of-Arms, in his "Landed Gentry", sub voce "Wedderburn of Wedderburn and Birkhill":-

Alexander I began his reign in January 1106-7 and died in April 1124, so the approximate date of the creation of this office is thus ascertained. Whether the lands of Dudhope were those then bestowed has not been discovered. It is usually supposed that a charter in 1298 by Sir William Wallace, as Governor of Scotland, of "the Upper Field of Dundee" to Sir Alexander Scrymgeour marked the first appearance of the family in that quarter; but there is an earlier charter in the Dundee Charter Room which implies that the Scrymgeours were Lords of Dudhope early in the thirteenth century. It is certain, however that in a charter dated 13^th August 1384 James Scrymgeour is styled vexillator Regis = the King’s Standard-bearer; and this charter was confirmed by James II on 2^nd September 1458. From that date this title was continuously associated with the Scrymgeour of Dudhope for the time being. To prove that the title was acknowledged as official it is only necessary to refer to the historic charter by James VI. dated 17^th May 1590, in which the King alludes to the service of three noblemen who had officiated in the previous year at his marriage by proxy. These were George Keith, Earl Marischal, Andrew Keith of Dingwall, and James Scrymgeour of Dudhope, who is designated Connestabulus Taodunanus ac Scotie vexillifer hereditarius = Constable of Dundee and Hereditary Standard-Bearer of Scotland. James Scrymgeour died in 1612, and was succeeded by his son Sir John, who was created Viscount Dudhope in 1641, and died in 1642-3. His son the second Viscount Dudhope, died of wounds received at Marston Moor in 1644; and the son of the latter, who became the third Viscount, was created Earl of Dundee, and died without issue on 23 June 1668. In the patent of 1641, whereby John Scrimgeour was created Viscount Dudhope, it is distinctly stated that his predecessors "were honnored with the heretable title of The King's Standard-Bearers". It is thus beyond dispute that this title was held heritably till the death of the first and last Earl of Dundee.

Up till 1668, when the Earl died, there had always been male heirs to the title, offices and estates. The patent of the Earldom is not known to be in existence, but it may be presumed that the limitation of the title and the offices excluded heirs-female. This is implied by the terms of a charter apparently dated 11 July 1670, and ratified by Parliament on 22^nd August 1670, whereby Charles II conferred upon Charles Maitland of Halton (brother of the Duke of Lauderdale, and afterwards third Earl of Lauderdale) the lands

This document clearly shows that the lands had fallen to the King, but no mention was made of the offices of Constable of Dundee and Royal Banner-Bearer. It is probable that some claim to these offices was made by one of the Scrymgeours, for the King took means to settle this point. On 25^th May 1672 Charles II granted a charter to charter to Charles Maitland of the lands and Barony of Dundee.

No legal language could be more precise. The Charter was ratified by Parliament on 11^th September 1672. To make assurance doubly sure, however, Charles Maitland obtained another charter, ratified by Parliament on 6^th September, 1681, which settled all the lands and offices formerly belonging to the Earl of Dundee upon himself and "his airs male of his bodie, whilks failzieing, his nearest and lawfull airs male, whilks failzieing, his airs and assigneyes whatsumever". Amongst the offices mentioned are "the heretable office of Constabularie, and heretable office of carying all his Ma.ties Banners, Standards, cornetts, pincells, alsweil of foot and horse, with all fies, honors, lands and immunities thereto belonging". It will be noted that by this charter Charles Maitland had absolute power to confer the office of standard-bearer upon anyone, failing his own children and nearest heirs. Did he forfeit this right?

The Duke of Lauderdale died on 28^th August 1682, and his brother Charles Maitland, succeeded to the Scottish title of Earl of Lauderdale. His overbearing manner had made many enemies, and after the Duke's death they rose against him. On 20^th March 1683, he was charged before the Court of Session with fraud as Master of the Mint and Treasurer-Depute, and was found guilty, and he and his accomplice, Sir John Falconer, were declared liable in the sum of £72,000 sterling. This sum was afterwards reduced by the King to £20,000, and Lauderdale was ordered to pay £16,000 to the Lord Chancellor (Aberdeen), and £4,000 to John Graham of Claverhouse. The latter sum was converted into a grant of the lands of Dudhope and the Constabulary of Dundee, both of which were conferred on Claverhouse. Did this grant not necessarily include the office of Hereditary Standard-Bearer, seeing that that office had never been dissociated from the Barony of Dundee for many centuries? If so, then the Lauderdale family has not a shadow of a claim to this office.

John Graham of Claverhouse died a rebel in arms against King William, and his title was attainted and his lands forfeited. The King divided up the property, and in 1694 gave the Castle of Dudhope and the Constableship to Archibald Douglas, first Earl of Forfar. There is no mention made in this gift of the office of Hereditary Standard-Bearer. On the death of the second Earl, the estate fell to the Duke of Douglas, and from him it passed to Baron Douglas of Douglas Castle, whose present representative in the female line is the Earl of Home. No claim has ever been made by his family to the office of Standard-Bearer. The whole question thus lies in very narrow compass. If Graham of Claverhouse obtained this office together with the lands, then it fell into the Kings hands on Graham's forfeiture, and was not revived until 1821. If on the other hand, Charles II had no power over this office when the Earl of Dundee died, as there were then heirs in the line of Scrymgeours, then Mr Henry Scrymgeour-Wedderburn of Birkhill, the direct representative of the old line of Scrymgeours, is beyond question the Hereditary Standard-Bearer. Here a very curious circumstance must be noticed. In "The Wedderburn Book", recently published by Alexander Wedderburn KC, the following paragraph appears in the account of Henry Scrymgeour of Birkhill, born 1755, died 1841:-

There is thus a double precedent for the claim of Mr Henry Scrymgeour-Wedderburn to this office, with more than half a century between the events. The arguments in his favour, which were effective in 1821, should be equally cogent in 1901. In any case as Charles II committed an illegal act in seizing upon the estate and offices of the deceased Earl of Dundee in 1670, and bestowing them upon a favourite, making a false declaration that there were no heirs to the Earl then alive, it is perfectly clear that the Earldom is not extinct, and that a reasonable claim to it might be preferred by MrHenry Scrymgeour-Wedderburn. It is to be hoped that the Court of Claims will examine the whole evidence carefully, since the decision involves the revival of an ancient title in the Scottish Peerage.