Earl of Erroll

The title Earl of Erroll is an ancient one in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1453 for Sir William Hay. The subsidiary titles held by the Earl of Erroll are: Lord Hay (created 1449) and Lord Slains (1452), both in the Peerage of Scotland. The Earls of Erroll also hold the hereditary office of Lord High Constable of Scotland. The office was once associated with great power. The Lord High Constable was, after the King, the supreme officer of the Scottish army. He also performed judicial functions as the chief judge of the High Court of Constabulary. The Court, presided over by the Earl or by his deputies, was empowered to judge all cases of rioting, disorder, bloodshed and murder if such crimes occurred within four miles of the King, the King's Council, or the Scottish Parliament. He also held several honourific privileges, such as the right to sit on the right side of the King when he attended Parliament, custody of the keys to Parliament House, the ceremonial command of the King's bodyguards, and precedence above all Scotsmen except the members of the Royal Family and the Lord Chancellor of Scotland. Most of the powers, however, disappeared when Scotland and England combined into Great Britain under the Act of Union 1707. The office, nonetheless, continues as a ceremonial one.

Earls of Erroll (1453)

\n*William Hay, 1st Earl of Erroll (d. c. 1462)\n*Nicholas Hay, 2nd Earl of Erroll (d. 1470)\n*William Hay, 3rd Earl of Erroll (d. 1507)\n*William Hay, 4th Earl of Erroll (d. 1513)\n*William Hay, 5th Earl of Erroll (d. 1541)\n*William Hay, 6th Earl of Erroll (c. 1521-1541)\n*George Hay, 7th Earl of Erroll (d. 1573)\n*Andrew Hay, 8th Earl of Erroll (d. 1585)\n*Francis Hay, 9th Earl of Erroll (d. 1615)\n*William Hay, 10th Earl of Erroll (d. 1636)\n*Gilbert Hay, 11th Earl of Erroll (d. 1675)\n*John Hay, 12th Earl of Erroll (d. 1704)\n*Charles Hay, 13th Earl of Erroll (d. 1717)\n*Mary Hay, 14th Countess of Erroll (d. 1758)\n*James Hay, 15th Earl of Erroll (1726-1778)\n*George Hay, 16th Earl of Erroll (1767-1798)\n*William Hay, 17th Earl of Erroll (1772-1819)\n*William George Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll (1801-1846)\n*William Harry Hay, 19th Earl of Erroll (1823-1891)\n*Charles Gore Hay, 20th Earl of Erroll (1852-1927)\n*Victor Alexander Sereld Hay, 21st Earl of Erroll (1876-1928)\n*Josslyn Victor Hay, 22nd Earl of Erroll (1901-1941)\n*Diana Denyse Hay, 23rd Countess of Erroll (1926-1978)\n*Merlin Sereld Victor Gilbert Moncreiffe, 24th Earl of Erroll (b. 1948)\nErroll