Editing Earl of Wemyss (section)

==History==
{{For|Earls of March before 1823|Earl of March}}
In 1625 [[John Wemyss, 1st Earl of Wemyss|John Wemyss]] was created a '''Baronet''', of [[Wemyss, Fife|Wemyss]] in the County of Fife, in the [[Baronetage of Nova Scotia]]. In 1628 he was raised to the Peerage of Scotland as '''Lord Wemyss of Elcho''', and in 1633 he was further honoured when he was made '''Lord Elcho and Methel''' and '''Earl of Wemyss''', also in the Peerage of Scotland. He later supported the Scottish parliament against [[Charles I of England|Charles I]], and died in 1649. He was succeeded by his son David, the second Earl.<ref name="EB1911"/>

In 1672 David resigned his peerages to the Crown in return for a new patent with original precedency and extending the limitation to his daughters. Lord Wemyss had no male issue and on his death in 1679 the baronetcy became extinct. He was succeeded in the peerages according to the new patent by his daughter Margaret, the third Countess of Wemyss. She married as her first husband her third cousin twice removed Sir James Wemyss, Lord Burntisland. He was the son of General Sir James Wemyss of Caskieberry, grandson of James Wemyss, younger brother of Sir John Wemyss, great-grandfather of the first Earl of Wemyss. She was succeeded by her son from her first marriage, David, the fourth Earl. He served as [[Lord High Admiral of Scotland]] and sat in the [[House of Lords]] as a [[List of Scottish representative peers|Scottish representative peer]] from 1707 to 1710. Lord Wemyss married Lady Anne Douglas, daughter of [[William Douglas, 1st Duke of Queensberry]] and sister of William Douglas, 1st [[Earl of March]] (see below).

On his death the titles passed to his second but eldest surviving son James, the fifth Earl. He married the great heiress Janet Charteris, daughter of Colonel [[Francis Charteris (Scottish aristocrat)|Francis Charteris]], who had made a large fortune by gambling and was noted for the rape of Anne Bond. Their eldest son [[David Wemyss, Lord Elcho|David]], Lord Elcho, was implicated in the [[Jacobite risings|Jacobite rising]] of 1745, and was consequently [[Attainder|attainted]].<ref name="EB1911"/> On his father's death in 1756 he was not allowed to succeed to the peerages, but nonetheless assumed the title of Earl of Wemyss. Lord Elcho died childless and the peerages would have but for the attainder devolved upon his younger brother Francis, the ''soi disant'' seventh Earl, who nevertheless assumed the title. He assumed the surname of Charteris in lieu of Wemyss on being made heir his maternal grandfather Colonel Charteris's estate. His successor was his grandson Francis, the ''soi disant'' eighth Earl (the son of [[Francis Charteris, Lord Elcho]]).

In 1790 the family commissioned a large townhouse at 64 [[Queen Street, Edinburgh]], a bay wider than the already large adjacent townhouses.<ref>Buildings of Scotland: Edinburgh by Gifford, McWilliam and Walker</ref>

{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Baron Wemyss Restoration Act 1826
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act to restore Francis Baron Wemyss and others from the Effects of the Attainder of David Wemyss, commonly called Lord Elcho.
| year                  = 1826
| citation              = [[7 Geo. 4]]. c. ''49'' {{small|Pr.}}
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 26 May 1826
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
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| collapsed             = yes
}}
In 1810, upon the death of [[William Douglas, 4th Duke of Queensberry|William Douglas, 4th Duke of Queensberry and 3rd Earl of March]], Francis Wemyss-Charteris succeeded as fourth Earl of March, fourth Viscount of Peebles and fourth Lord Douglas of Neidpath, Lyne and Munard as the lineal heir male of the aforementioned Lady Anne Douglas, sister of the first Earl of March (see below). On his accession to these titles he assumed the surname of Charteris-Wemyss-Douglas. In 1821 he was created '''Baron Wemyss''', of Wemyss in the County of Fife, in the [[Peerage of the United Kingdom]]. In 1826 he also obtained a reversal of the attainder of the earldom of Wemyss via the '''{{visible anchor|Baron Wemyss Restoration Act 1826}}''' ([[7 Geo. 4]]. c. ''49'' {{small|Pr.}}) and became the eighth Earl of Wemyss.

[[Image:Elcho castle.jpg|thumb|Elcho Castle]]
[[File:Townhouse at 64 Queen Street, Edinburgh.jpg|thumb|Townhouse at 64 Queen Street, Edinburgh]]
He was succeeded by his son, the ninth Earl of Wemyss and fifth Earl of March. He served as [[Lord-Lieutenant of Peeblesshire]] from 1853 to 1880. When he died the titles passed to his son, the tenth Earl. He represented [[Gloucestershire (UK Parliament constituency)|Gloucestershire]] and [[Haddingtonshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Haddingtonshire]] in the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]] for many years. He was succeeded by his fifth but eldest surviving son, the eleventh Earl. He sat as [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] [[Member of Parliament]] for Haddingtonshire and [[Ipswich (UK Parliament constituency)|Ipswich]] and served as Lord-Lieutenant of Haddingtonshire from 1918 to 1937. {{As of|2014}} the titles are held by the thirteenth Earl of Wemyss and ninth Earl of March, who succeeded in 2008. He is also Chief of [[Clan Charteris]].

Several other members of the Wemyss, later Charteris, family, have also gained distinction. [[William Wemyss]] (1760–1822), son of the Hon. [[James Wemyss (1726–1786)|James Wemyss]] (1726–1786), third son of the fifth Earl, was a [[Lieutenant-General]] in the Army. His elder son [[James Erskine Wemyss]] (1789–1854) was a [[Rear-Admiral]] in the [[Royal Navy]] and the grandfather of [[Admiral of the Fleet]] [[Rosslyn Erskine-Wemyss, 1st Baron Wester Wemyss]] (12 April 1864{{snd}}24 May 1933), known as Sir Rosslyn Wemyss between 1916 and 1919. William Wemyss (1790–1852), younger son of the aforementioned William Wemyss, was a Lieutenant-General in the Army. William Binfield Wemyss (1810–1890), son of James Wemyss (1778–1849), younger son of the aforementioned the Hon. James Wemyss, was a General in the Army. The Hon. Frederick William Charteris (1833–1887), third son of the ninth Earl, was a [[Captain (naval)|captain]] in the Royal Navy. The Hon. Sir Evan Edward Charteris (1864–1940), sixth son of the tenth Earl, was a historian, biographer and barrister and notably published biographies of [[John Singer Sargent]] and of [[Edmund Gosse]]. The Hon. [[Martin Charteris, Baron Charteris of Amisfield|Martin Michael Charles Charteris]], second son of the aforementioned Captain Hugo Francis Charteris, Lord Elcho, eldest son of the eleventh Earl, was private secretary to [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth II]] and was created a [[life peer]] as Baron Charteris of Amisfield in 1978. [[Hugo Charteris]] (1922–1970), grandson of the eleventh Earl, was a renowned post-war novelist and screenwriter. His son, [[Jamie Charteris]], became a successful cartoonist.

The family seat is [[Gosford House]] near [[Longniddry]], [[East Lothian]]. The family also owns [[Stanway House]] in [[Gloucestershire]], [[Neidpath Castle]] near [[Peebles]] and [[Elcho Castle]] near [[Perth, Scotland|Perth]].