Home > Earl of Orkney

The next Orkney title was the dukedom of Orkney, which was given to James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, husband of Queen Mary I, in 1567. Later that year, however, he forfeited the title when his wife was forced to abdicate.

The second creation of the title was for Lord Robert Stewart, an illegitimate son of King James V. His successor Patrick, however, forfeit the title.

The last creation of the earldom was in favour of the man who would become the first British Field Marshal, Lord George Hamilton, the fifth son of William Douglas, Duke of Hamilton. By marriage, the title passed to the O'Brien family, then to the Fitzmaurice family, and finally to the St John family. The present earl holds the subsidiary titles of Viscount of Kirkwall and Lord Dechmont. Both subsidiary titles were created at the same time as the earldom, in 1696.

1 Earls of Orkney, First Creation ( 1379)

• Henry Sinclair, 1st Earl of Orkney (d. 1400)
• Henry Sinclair, 2nd Earl of Orkney (d. 1418)
• William Sinclair, 3rd Earl of Orkney (d. 1480) (surrendered 1470)

2 Dukes of Orkney ( 1567)

• James Hepburn, 1st Duke of Orkney (c. 1535- 1578) (forfeit 1567)

3 Earls of Orkney, Second Creation ( 1581)

• Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney ( 1533Events January 25 King Henry VIII of England marries Anne Boleyn, his second Queen consort. March 30 Thomas Cranmer becomes Archbishop of Canterbury May 23 King Henry VIII of England marriage with Catherine of Aragon officially declared annulled. Catherin- 1593Events May 18 Playwright Thomas Kyd's accusations of heresy lead to an arrest warrant for Christopher Marlowe. July 25 King Henry IV of France returns to Catholicism, and is recognized as King in most of France. Outbreak of the Long War in Hungary between)
• Patrick Stewart, 2nd Earl of Orkney (c. 1569Events January 11 First recorded lottery in England. March 13 Battle of Jarnac Royalist troops under Marshal Gaspard de Tavannes surprise and defeat the Huguenots under the Prince of Conde, who is captured and murdered. A substantial proportion of the Hug- 1614Events April 5 In Virginia, Native American Pocahontas marries English colonist John Rolfe. October 11 Adriaen Block and a group of Amsterdam merchants petition the States General for exclusive trading rights in the area he explored and named " New Nether) (forfeit 1614)

4 Earls of Orkney, Third Creation ( 1696The year 1696 had the earliest equinoxes and solstices for 400 years in the Gregorian calendar, because this year is a leap year and the Gregorian calendar would have behaved like the Julian calendar since March 1500 had it have been in use that long.)

• George Hamilton, 1st Earl of OrkneyGeorge Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney ( February 9, 1666 January 29, 1737) was a British soldier. He was first trained by his uncle, Lord Dumbarton, in military service of the 1st Regiment of Foot (then known as His Majesty's Royal Regiment of Foot . In 168 ( 1666Events September 2 Great Fire of London: A large fire breaks out in London in the house of Charles II's baker on Pudding Lane near London Bridge. The fire burns for three days destroying 10,000 buildings including St. Paul's Cathedral, but only 16 people- 1737Events 12 February The San Carlo, the oldest working opera house in Europe, is inaugurated. Benjamin Franklin created the Philadelphia police force the first city-paid force. In Britain the Theatrical Licensing Act requires plays to be submitted to the Lo)
• Anne O'Brien, 2nd Countess of Orkney (d. 1756)
• Mary O'Brien, 3rd Countess of Orkney (c. 1721- 1791)
• Mary Fitzmaurice, 4th Countess of Orkney ( 1755- 1831)
• Thomas John Hamilton Fitzmaurice, 5th Earl of Orkney ( 1803- 1877)
• George William Hamilton Fitzmaurice, 6th Earl of Orkney ( 1827- 1889)
• Edmond Walter Fitzmaurice, 7th Earl of Orkney ( 1867- 1951)
• Cecil O'Bryen Fitzmaurice, 8th Earl of Orkney ( 1919- 1998)
• Oliver Peter St John, 9th Earl of Orkney (b. 1938)