The office of Hereditary Standard Bearer of Scotland is held jure sanguinis, and cannot therefore be bought, sold, or adjudged. If the blood fails the grant is spent and the office becomes extinct.
The pursuer in an action of declarator of right to the office of Hereditary Standard Bearer of Scotland founded upon (1) a charter in his predecessor’s favour granted by Charles II as ultimus haeres of John Scrymgeour Earl of Dundee, in whom the office had been vested, and (2) a decree of the Court of Session in 1671 in an action in which the defender’s predecessor had been cited, declaring, inter alia, that the office belonged to his (the pursuer’s) ancestor-the grantee of the charter referred to.
Held that, as the office in question was in its nature inalienable, the pursuer had acquired no title thereto.
Judges:
Lord Chancellor (Loreburn), The Earl of Halsbury, Lord Atkinson, Lord Collins, and Lord Shaw
Citations:
[1910] UKHL 532, 47 SLR 532
Links:
Jurisdiction:
Scotland
Wills and Probate, Constitutional
Updated: 26 March 2022; Ref: scu.619787