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In 1469, the Scots Parliament passed an Act declaring
that the eldest son of the King and heir to the throne would
hold the Earldom, along with the Dukedom of Rothesay. The
current earl is HRH Prince Charles. In 1952, Maybole Town
Council recognised this and as Maybole was the ancient
capital of Carrick sent an Address of Loyalty to the young
prince, who was born on 14th November 1948. By a strange
coincidence Maybole was created a burgh on 14th November
1516! The Address was sent from the Council to the Secretary
of State for Scotland for presentation to His Royal Highness
Prince Charles in due course. It read-
To His Royal Highness the
Prince and Steward of Scotland, Duke of Rothesay and
Cornwall, Earl of Carrick, Lord of the Isles and Baron of
Renfrew:
May it please
your Highness,
We, the
Provost, Magistrates and Councillors of the Burgh of
Maybole, in council assembled, humbly offer to your Royal
Highness, for ourselves and in the name of the people of our
Burgh, the assurance of our loyalty, with the expression of
our lively pleasure that the ancient and historic title of
earl of Carrick, belonging to the eldest son of the reigning
Sovereign, is auspiciously revived in your Royal Highness’
person.
As inhabitants
of this town, founded in the year 1516 as a Burgh of Barony
by charter from your ancestor King James the Fifth of happy
memory, and for many years the head Burgh of the former
Bailiary of Carrick, we take pride in recalling that the
earldom of Carrick is the oldest of all the titles to which
your Royal Highness has succeeded through the accession to
the Crown of your Royal Mother, Her Most Gracious Majesty,
the Queen.
The title of
Earl of Carrick has descended to your Royal Highness from
your ancestor King Robert the First, of happy and glorious
memory, whose mother, the Lady Marjory, in her own right
Countess of Carrick, brought it to the royal house of
Scotland and subsequently of Great Britain; and the
superiority of the lands of Carrick remains to this in
appanage of the Prince and Steward of Scotland.
To your Royal
Highness, as feudal superior of the earldom of Carrick in
which we live, we pledge our faithful allegiance, with the
service of our hearts, lives and fortunes. And we devoutly
pray Almighty God to bless your Royal Highness with health
and happiness in the enjoyment of this and all other titles,
dignities, and lands which are rightfully yours as Prince
and Steward of Scotland and Heir Apparent to the British
Crown.
Lastly, we
humbly desire that at some future time we may have the
felicity of renewing this assurance of our loyalty to the
earl of Carrick in person by welcoming Your Royal Highness
in this town, which the last Earl of Carrick, afterwards His
Majesty King Edward VIII was graciously pleased to visit in
1926.
Signed in our
name and by our appointment at Maybole, the 2nd day of June,
1952
James T. Gray,
Provost
Another Address of Loyalty,
also dated June 2, congratulating Her Majesty the Queen on
her accession to the Crown, was forwarded to the Secretary. |
