The heir apparent or heir presumptive to a Scottish peerage is known as a Master or a Mistress. The heir's style is "The Master of [Peerage]" or "The Mistress of [Peerage]".
If the master is an heir apparent, and the peerage has a subsidiary title that could be used as a courtesy title, then the styling of Master is usually forgone. However, if the person is an heir presumptive, or if the peerage has no subsidiary title, then Master/Mistress is a common styling. However, because the word Mistress is quite archaic, many women choose not to use the style Mistress and instead use the regular styling, e.g. Lady Mary Smith or The Honourable Mary Smith.
Although regarded today as a form of courtesy title, the Mastership is a noble dignity in its own right, and originally conferred rights of attendance in the Parliament of Scotland. As a result, Masters were ineligible for election to the British House of Commons for Scottish constituencies after the Acts of Union 1707. Masters whose elections were declared void on this basis included four elected in the 1708 British general election, who each briefly attended parliament. Members of Parliament would be disqualified upon becoming the eldest (living) son of a Scottish peer, and a by-election would be held for the vacant seat. Therefore, they were denied the right to sit in both houses of the British Parliament. This practice was ended by the Scottish Reform Act 1832, and the Masters could be elected MPs like their English counterparts thereafter.
Members of British Parliament disqualified for being a Master
MP disqualified Constituency Father Year of election Year of disqualification NotesWilliam, Lord Haddo Aberdeenshire George Gordon, 1st Earl of Aberdeen 1708 1708 James, Lord Johnstone Dumfriesshire & Linlithgowshire William Johnstone, 1st Marquess of Annandale 1708 1708 Returned by two constituencies; disqualified for bothJohn, Master of Sinclair Dysart Burghs Henry St Clair, 10th Lord Sinclair 1708 1708 William, Lord Strathnaver Tain Burghs John Gordon, 16th Earl of Sutherland 1708 1708 Charles, Earl of Drumlanrig Dumfriesshire Charles Douglas, 3rd Duke of Queensberry 1747 1754 Disqualified upon becoming the eldest living son of his fatherJohn, Marquess of Lorne Glasgow Burghs John Campbell, 4th Duke of Argyll 1744 (by election) 1761 Disqualified when his father succeeded to the peerage; later returned as MP for DoverFrancis, Lord Elcho Haddington Burghs Francis Wemyss Charteris, soi disant 7th Earl of Wemyss 1780 1787 Disqualified when his father assumed the peerage; later it was found out that the title was under forfeiture and his father not a Scottish peer at all
People who currently hold the dignity of Master or Mistress Lord Alistair Hay, Master of Tweeddale, heir presumptive to the Marquessate of Tweeddale (Cited at thePeerage.com, which accessed 29 July 2020) Susan of Mar, Mistress of Mar, heir presumptive to the Earldom of Mar (Cited at thePeerage.com, which accessed 29 July 2020) Alexander David Erskine, Master of Mar and Kellie, heir presumptive to the Earldom of Mar and Kellie (Cited at thePeerage.com, which accessed 29 July 2020) Geoffrey Charles Murray, Master of Dunmore, heir presumptive to the Earldom of Dunmore (Cited at thePeerage.com, which accessed 29 July 2020) Alexander Cary, Master of Falkland, heir apparent to the Viscountcy of Falkland (Cited at thePeerage.com, which accessed 29 July 2020) Christopher Keith Arbuthnott, Master of Arbuthnott, heir apparent to the Viscountcy of Arbuthnott (Cited at thePeerage.com, which accessed 29 July 2020) Neil Malcolm Ross Forbes, Master of Forbes, heir apparent to the Lordship of ForbesBurke's Peerage, 107th edition, volume 1, page 1450 Alexander Fraser, Master of Saltoun, heir apparent to the Lordship of SaltounBurke's Peerage, 107th edition, volume 3, page 3510 Jack Fraser, Master of Lovat, heir presumptive to the Lordship of LovatBurke's Peerage, 107th edition, volume 2, page 2415 Francis Sempill, Master of Sempill, heir apparent to the Lordship of SempillBurke's Peerage, 107th edition, volume 3, page 3567 Jago Alexander Elphinstone, Master of Elphinstone, heir presumptive to the Lordship of ElphinstoneNotices, The Telegraph, London, UK, 26 August 2011 (Cited at thePeerage.com, which accessed 29 July 2020) Laetitia Bruce-Winkler, Mistress of Burleigh, heir presumptive to the Lordship of Balfour of BurleighPeerage News, no page specified (Cited at thePeerage.com, which accessed 29 July 2020) Lewis Edward Palmer, Master of Dingwall, heir apparent to the Lordship of Dingwall (also Great Britain Baron Lucas of Crudwell)Burke's Peerage, 107th edition, volume 2, page 2426 William Alexander Hugh Napier, Master of Napier, heir apparent to the Lordship of NapierBurke's Peerage, 107th edition, volume 2, page 2859 Alexander Shimi Markus Mackay, Master of Reay, heir apparent to the Lordship of ReayNotices, The Telegraph, London, UK, date not cited (Cited at thePeerage.com, which accessed 29 July 2020) Frederick Carmichael Arthur Hamilton, Master of Belhaven, heir apparent to the Lordship of Belhaven and StentonBurke's Peerage, 107th edition, volume 1, page 326 James David William Rollo, Master of Rollo, heir apparent to the Lordship of RolloBurke's Peerage, 107th edition, volume 3, page 3383NEWS > Year 2003 > April (Retrieved 24 June 2005; archived 26 May 2005 and accessed 29 July 2020) William Henry Hepburne-Scott, Master of Polwarth, heir apparent to the Lordship of PolwarthBurke's Peerage, 107th edition, volume 3, page 3167
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