An Australian pensioner is planning to shell out more than £50,000 to reclaim an aristocratic Scottish title he says his family were “cheated” out of.
Max Macalister, 79, claims a devious ancestor stole the “Lord of Strathwordille” barony and sold on the land that came with it two centuries ago.
He believes he would eventually have inherited the title and has now put down a £5,600 deposit with an agent to reserve it.
“The barony began with a predecessor, Alexander Macalister, who bought 18,500 acres on Skye some years after the Battle of Culloden,” said Max, a former wool worker turned actor, who lives in Melbourne, Australia.
“But when he died in 1832 the cunning grandson of a second wife claimed it, cut us out and sold on the land. I’m very bitter and it’s my ambition to right that wrong and get back the title. It’ll be worth every penny.”
Max currently heads up the Clan Macalister society in the Australian state of Victoria. He has traced his family back to 11th century Scotland.
Among his ancestors, he claims, is the heroine Flora MacDonald, who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie escape the Duke of Cumberland’s forces after Culloden.
“My family came over to Australia around 1817 when my great, great grandfather arrived to work as a doctor,” the kilt-wearing dad-of-four explained. “We were never allowed to forget our roots though, and have been steeped in our Scottish heritage.”
Max says he fell in love with Skye when he visited Scotland for the Scottish Clan Gathering in Edinburgh in 2009. Once the deal for the Lord of Strathwordille title goes through Max plans to design a new coat of arms for the family.
A Scottish barony is one of the few remaining historical titles available for purchase in the world. The average price is £75,000, according to Brian Hamilton of Scottish Barony Titles in Dumfries.
He said buyers are typically descendants of exiles who are desperate to reclaim their Scottish heritage. But they do not have to be of Scottish descent or resident in Britain.
“I have sold to Australians, Russians and English,” added Brian, who has been dubbed the Raider of the Lost Titles. “I am not handling Max’s purchase but wish him good luck in achieving his dream.”
Barony powers were largely abolished after the 1745 Jacobite rebellion, led by Bonnie Prince Charlie.
And since 2004, and the abolition of feudalism in Scotland, the titles have been separated from the land.
In 2002 the Barony of Macdonald in Skye was reputedly sold for £1 million while the Earldom of Arran changed hands several years earlier for £250,000.
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