Two Chiefs
On 1 May 1984, by decree of the Court of the Lord Lyon, the 21st Lady Saltoun, a member of the Royal Family, was made "Chief of the name and arms of the whole Clan Fraser". Lord Lovat, Simon Christopher Joseph Fraser, was reported to have not given any heed to the decision, dismissing the matter as being beneath him. Since this decree, there has been much confusion as to who is the Chief of the Clan Fraser.
Many believe that this decree made the Lady Saltoun the chief of the Clan. However, the Lord Lyon did not grant the chiefship of the Clan Fraser, just a description of "Chief of the name and arms." The Lord Lyon does not have power over the Chief of a Highland Clan. What the decree did was reinforce the Lady Saltoun's claim to being the head of the senior branch of the wider Fraser family, and granted her the use of the plain and undifferenced Fraser arms (three strawberry flowers on a field of blue). The current Lord Lovat, Simon Fraser retains the chiefship.
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The Arms of Lady Saltoun as Head of the Name & Arms of Fraser. – Azure three fraises Argent.
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The Arms of Fraser of Lovat – Quarterly 1st & 4th Azure three fraises Argent 2nd & 3rd Argent three antique crowns Gules.
Read more about this topic: Clan Fraser
Famous quotes containing the word chiefs:
“If you tie a horse to a stake, do you expect he will grow fat? If you pen an Indian up on a small spot of earth, and compel him to stay there, he will not be contented, nor will he grow and prosper. I have asked some of the great white chiefs where they get their authority to say to the Indian that he shall stay in one place, while he sees white men going where they please. They can not tell me.”
—Chief Joseph (c. 1840–1904)
““Hear me,” he said to the white commander. “I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. Our chiefs are dead; the little children are freezing. My people have no blankets, no food. From where the sun stands, I will fight no more forever.””
—For the State of Montana, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)