Earl of Seafield

Earl of Seafield is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1701 for James Ogilvy, who in 1711 succeeded his father as Earl of Findlater. The titles remained united until the earldom of Findlater became extinct in 1811. The earldom of Seafield is extant, however. This branch of the Ogilvy family descended from Sir Walter Ogilvy, whose brother Sir John Ogilvy was the ancestor of the Earls of Airlie. Walter's descendant and namesake, Sir Walter Ogilvy, was created Lord Ogilvy of Deskford in the Peerage of Scotland in 1616. His son, the second Lord, was created Earl of Findlater in the Peerage of Scotland in 1638. Three years later, in 1641, he obtained a new patent with remainder to his daughter Elizabeth and her husband Sir Patrick Ogilvy. Lord Findlater was succeeded by his son-in-law Sir Patrick while Elizabeth was granted the style and title of Countess of Findlater as though she held the title in her own right.

Their son, the fourth Earl, was a prominent statesman and served as Secretary of State for Scotland, as President of the Scottish Parliament, as Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, as Lord Chancellor of Scotland, as Lord Chief Baron of the Court of the Exchequer in Scotland and as a Scottish Representative Peer. In 1698, thirteen years before he succeeded his father, he was raised to the Peerage of Scotland in his own right as Lord Ogilvy of Cullen and Viscount of Seafield, with remainder, failing heirs male of the body, to heirs of entail. In 1701, he was further honoured when he was created Lord Ogilvy of Deskford and Cullen, Viscount of Reidhaven and Earl of Seafield, also in the Peerage of Scotland and with the same remainder. In 1711, he succeeded as fourth Earl of Findlater.

The titles remained united for the next hundred years. However, on the death of his great-grandson, the seventh and fourth Earl respectively, the lordship of Ogilvy and Deskford and earldom of Findlater became extinct. The earldom of Seafield and its subsidiary titles were inherited by the late Earl's second cousin Sir Lewis Alexander Grant, 9th Baronet, of Colquhoun (see Colquhoun baronets for earlier history of the Grant family). He was the grandson of Lady Margaret Ogilvy, daughter of the first Earl of Seafield. On his succession to the earldom, he assumed the additional surname of Ogilvy. His younger brother and successor, the sixth Earl, reversed the order of the surnames. In 1858, the latter's son, the seventh Earl, was created Baron Strathspey, of Strathspey in the Counties of Inverness and Moray, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The barony became extinct on the death of his son, the eighth Earl, in 1884, while the Scottish titles were passed on to the Earl's uncle, the ninth Earl. The barony of Strathspey was revived for him only a few months after he succeeded his nephew.

On the death of his grandson, the eleventh Earl, in 1915, the baronetcy and barony of Strathspey separated from the earldom. The baronetcy and barony, which only could be passed on to male heirs, were inherited by the late Earl's younger brother, the fourth Baron (see the Baron Strathspey for later history of these titles). The earldom and the other subsidiary titles, which could be inherited be females, were passed on to the Earl's daughter and only child, the twelfth Countess. As of 2010, the titles are held by her only son, the thirteenth Earl, who succeeded in 1969.

The family seat is Cullen House, near Cullen, Moray.