Our titles are very confusing but as I understand it the history is as
follows. The first Earl was Rognvald in 871 and he was of the Norse line.
The history is a little confused at times but the Earldom was in the Athol
line, the Angus line and the Stratherne line before becoming the Sinclair
line. It is important to remember that for much of this period Caithness was
ruled by Norway not Scotland which accounts for some of the difficulties. In
1455 William St. Clair, Earl of Orkney (still ruled by Norway) was granted
the Earldom of Caithness by King James II of Scotland by letters patent and
thus became the 1st Earl but was the 39th holder of the title. George IV was
the sixth Earl under Scottish law but the forty fourth holder of the title.
Malcolm Caithness
Clan Chief
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