| Earldom of Home | |
|---|---|
  | |
| Creation date | 1605 |
| Peerage | Peerage of Scotland |
| First holder | Alexander Home, 6th Lord Home |
| Present holder | Michael Douglas-Home, 16th Earl of Home |
| Heir presumptive | Alexander Sholto Douglas-Home |
| Subsidiary titles | Lord Home Lord Dunglass Baron Douglas |
| Seat(s) | The Hirsel Castlemains |
| Former seat(s) | Dunglass Castle, Hume Castle, Fast Castle, Bothwell Castle |
Earl of Home (/ˈhjuːm/ HEWM) is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1605 for Alexander Home of that Ilk, 6th Lord Home. The Earl of Home holds, among others, the subsidiary titles of Lord Home (created 1473) and Lord Dunglass (1605) in the Peerage of Scotland, and Baron Douglas, of Douglas in the County of Lanark (1875), in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Various Earls of Home have also claimed the title of Lord Hume of Berwick. The Earl is also Chief of the Name and Arms of Home and heir general to the House of Douglas.[citation needed] The title of Lord Dunglass is used as a courtesy title by the eldest son of the Earl.
The most famous recent holder of the title was the 14th Earl, Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, better known as Sir Alec Douglas-Home. After the unexpected resignation of Harold Macmillan, the 14th Earl was named Prime Minister by the monarch. For the first time in over sixty years, a sitting Prime Minister was a member of the House of Lords rather than of the House of Commons. Because he believed that it was impractical and unconventional to remain a member of the Lords, the Earl disclaimed his peerages on 23 October 1963 under the Peerage Act passed in the same year.[1] He then contested the House of Commons seat of Kinross and Western Perthshire by standing in the 1963 Kinross and Western Perthshire by-election. The seat had been vacated by the death of the previous Member of Parliament, Gilmour Leburn. As of 2022[update] the titles are held by the 16th Earl, who succeeded in that year.
The family seats are The Hirsel near Coldstream, Berwickshire, and Castlemains near Douglas, South Lanarkshire. Former seats include Douglas Castle (mostly demolished), Dunglass Castle (demolished), Tantallon Castle (ruined) and Bothwell Castle (in the care of the state).
- ^ "No. 43143". The London Gazette. 25 October 1963. p. 8770.