View source for Earl of Forfar

{{short description|Title of Scottish nobility}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{about|the title|the current holder of the title|Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh}}
{{Redirect|Countess of Forfar|the current holder of that title|Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh}}
{{Infobox hereditary title
| name              = Earldom of Forfar<br /><small>''held with''</small><br />[[Earldom of Wessex]]
| image             = Coat of Arms of Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh (Scotland).svg
| image_size        = 
| alt               = 
| caption           = Arms of Prince Edward, in Scotland, the present Earl of Forfar
| creation_date     = 10 March 2019<ref name="gazette2019">{{London Gazette |issue=62588 |date=15 March 2019 | page=4737 |endpage= |supp=}}</ref>
| creation          = Second
| monarch           = [[Elizabeth II]]
| peerage           = [[Peerage of the United Kingdom]]
| baronetage        = 
| first_holder      = [[Archibald Douglas, 1st Earl of Forfar|Lord Archibald Douglas]]
| last_holder       = 
| present_holder    = [[Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh]]
| heir_apparent     = [[James, Earl of Wessex]]
| heir_presumptive  = 
| remainder_to      = the 1st Earl's [[heirs male]] [[heirs of the body|of the body]] lawfully begotten
| subsidiary_titles = <!--no subsidiary titles, since Earldom of Forfar is separate; thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/62588/page/4737-->
| status            = Extant
| extinction_date   = 
| family_seat       = [[Bagshot Park]]
| former_seat       = 
| motto             = 
| footnotes         = 
}}
'''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, Duke of Edinburgh|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 [[Earl of Ormond (Scotland)|Earldom of Ormond]]. This first creation of the title became extinct in 1715.<ref name=forfar>{{Cite web |url=https://www.royal.uk/title-earl-wessex |title=Title for the Earl of Wessex |website=The Royal Family |access-date=10 March 2019 |language=en |date=10 March 2019 |archive-date=9 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220909170952/https://www.royal.uk/new-title-earl-wessex |url-status=dead }}</ref>

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.<ref name="gazette2019">{{London Gazette |issue=62588 |date=15 March 2019 | page=4737 |endpage= |supp=}}</ref> This earldom was given in addition to the two titles ([[Earl of Wessex]] and [[Viscount Severn]])<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=55536 |date=28 June 1999 |page=7011 }}</ref> that he received on [[Wedding of Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones|his wedding day]] and afforded Prince Edward and his wife [[Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh|Sophie]] a Scottish title to use when in Scotland before they had the [[Duke of Edinburgh|Dukedom of Edinburgh]]. <ref name=forfar/> 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.{{efn|As heir apparent, [[Prince Charles]] (now Charles III) received his former Scottish titles of [[Duke of Rothesay]], [[Earl of Carrick]], [[Baron of Renfrew (title)|Baron of Renfrew]], [[Lord of the Isles]], and [[Prince and Great Steward of Scotland]] upon his mother's accession to the throne.}}

The County of Forfar, renamed [[Angus, Scotland|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.royal.uk/earl-and-countess-forfar-visit-forfar|title=The Earl and Countess of Forfar visit Forfar|website=The Royal Family|date=1 July 2019|access-date=9 March 2020}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/local/angus-mearns/926177/video-honour-to-be-named-earl-of-forfar-says-prince-edward-as-town-welcomes-him-with-bridies-tartan-and-fiddles/|title='Honour' to be named Earl of Forfar says Prince Edward as town welcomes him with bridies, tartan and fiddles|website=The Courier|location=UK|access-date=9 March 2020|first=Graham|last=Brown|date=2 July 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite tweet|user=RoyalFamily|author=The Royal Family|number=1145699686654853131|date=1 July 2019|title=His Royal Highness is presented with 'Earl of Forfar' tartan, which has been designed for Their Royal Highnesses to celebrate their new titles.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tartanregister.gov.uk/tartanDetails?ref=12595|title=Tartan Details – Earl of Forfar, The|website=The Scottish Register of Tartans|publisher=The National Records of Scotland|access-date=9 March 2020}}</ref>

The couple visited Forfar again in the summer of 2021.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Isle |first1=Jess |title=Fore! The Earl and Countess of Forfar hit the links on Scottish visit |url=https://royalcentral.co.uk/uk/fore-the-earl-and-countess-of-forfar-hit-the-links-on-scottish-visit-162523/ |website=Royal Central |date=30 June 2021 |access-date=30 July 2021}}</ref>

==Earls of Forfar, first creation (1661)==
Subsidiary title was ''Lord Wandell and Hartside'' (Peerage of Scotland, 1661).
* [[Archibald Douglas, 1st Earl of Forfar|Archibald Douglas, 1st Earl of Forfar and 2nd Earl of Ormond]] (1653–1712), younger son of the [[Archibald Douglas, 1st Earl of Ormond|1st Earl of Ormond]].
* [[Archibald Douglas, 2nd Earl of Forfar|Archibald Douglas, 2nd Earl of Forfar and 3rd Earl of Ormond]] (1692–1715), only son of the above. On his death without issue in 1715, both earldoms became extinct.

{{Earl of Ormond family tree}}

==Earls of Forfar, second creation (2019)==
{{Nobility table header|name=Earl}}
| '''[[Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh|Prince Edward]]'''<br />[[House of Windsor]]<br />2019–present<br />''<small>also: [[Duke of Edinburgh]] (2023), [[Earl of Wessex]] (1999), [[Viscount Severn]] (1999)</small>''
| [[File:Prince Edward 2022.jpg|100px|Prince Edward]]
| 10 March 1964<br />[[Buckingham Palace]], [[London]]<br />son of [[Queen Elizabeth II]] and [[Prince Philip]]
| 19 June 1999<br />[[Sophie Rhys-Jones]]<br />2 children
| {{spaced ndash}}<br /> now {{age in years and days|1964|3|10}} old
|-
|}

==Line of succession==
{{Tree list}}
* [[File:Coronet of a Child of the Sovereign.svg|15px]]  [[Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh]] (b. 1964)
** '''(1)''' [[File:Coronet of a Grandchild of the Sovereign.svg|15px]] [[James, Earl of Wessex]] (b. 2007)
{{Tree list/end}}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
<!--- See [[Wikipedia:Footnotes]] on how to create references using <ref></ref> tags which will then appear here automatically -->
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forfar}}
[[Category:Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh]]
[[Category:1661 establishments in Scotland]]
[[Category:Noble titles created in 1661]]
[[Category:1715 disestablishments in Scotland]]
[[Category:2019 establishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Noble titles created in 2019]]
[[Category:Extinct earldoms in the Peerage of Scotland]]
[[Category:Earldoms in the Peerage of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Earls of Forfar| ]]