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William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
William Sinclair (1410–1484), 1st Earl of Caithness (1455–1476), 3rd Earl of Orkney (until 1470), Baron of Roslin was a Scottish nobleman and the builder of Rosslyn Chapel, in Midlothian.
He was the grandson of the explorer Henry Sinclair, 1st Earl of Orkney and son of Henry Sinclair, 2nd Earl of Orkney, for a time protector of the young James Stuart, the later James I of Scotland. He was Lord High Admiral of Scotland, and was Lord Chancellor of Scotland from 1454 to 1456.
King James III gained the Earldom of Orkney for the Scottish Crown in 1470 (see History of Orkney), and William Sinclair was thereafter Earl of Caithness alone until he resigned the Earldom in favour of his son William in 1476.
In 1471 James bestowed the castle [1] and lands of Ravenscraig, in Fife, on William Sinclair, in exchange for all his rights to the earldom of Orkney, which, by an Act of the Parliament of Scotland, passed on February 20, 1472, was annexed to the Scottish crown.
He was married twice, first to Lady Elizabeth Douglas and second to Marjory Sutherland.
He bore two known children with Lady Elizabeth Douglas. Their son (William Sinclair, 2nd Lord St. Clair) was, in the opinion of the father, a wastrel, whereby he was disinherited consequently. His family received only the Castle of Ravenscraig. Their daughter (Elizabeth Sinclair) would marry Andrew Leslie, Master of Rothes.
The earl's third son (William Sinclair, 2nd Earl of Caithness), of his second marriage became the designated heir of the Earldom of Caithness, and continued that title. The Barony of Roslin went to his second son (Sir Oliver Sinclair).
All in all, the Sinclair ancestry is well represented in Scottish and British high nobility, thanks to marriages of his daughters and other descendants.
William's daughter of his second marriage, Lady Eleanor Sinclair, married John Stewart, 1st Earl of Atholl, a relative of the kings. Lord Henry Darnley and his son James I of England descend from Eleanor, and through them, quite a many royal house of Europe. His other daughter by this marriage, Catherine Sinclair, married Alexander Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany.
| Peerage of Scotland | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Henry Sinclair |
Earl of Orkney ?–1470 |
Succeeded by Surrendered |
| Preceded by New Creation |
Earl of Caithness 1455–1476 |
Succeeded by William Sinclair |
| Military offices | ||
| Preceded by George Crichton, 1st Earl of Caithness |
Lord High Admiral of Scotland | Succeeded by David Lindsay, 5th Earl of Crawford |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by William Crichton, 1st Lord Crichton |
Lord Chancellor of Scotland 1454–1456 |
Succeeded by Andrew Stewart, 1st Lord Avandale |