Duke of Argyll () is a title created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1701 and in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1892. The earls, marquesses, and dukes of Argyll were for several centuries among the most powerful noble families in Scotland. As such, they played a major role in Scottish history throughout the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. The Duke of Argyll also holds the hereditary titles of chief of Clan Campbell and Master of the Household of Scotland.
Since 2001, Torquhil Campbell has been Duke of Argyll and is the thirteenth man to hold the title.
History Sir Colin Campbell of Lochow was knighted in 1280. In 1445, James II of Scotland raised Sir Colin's descendant Sir Duncan Campbell to the peerage to become Duncan Campbell of Lochow, Lord of Argyll, Knight, 1st Lord Campbell. In 1453, Colin Campbell (c. 1433–1493) succeeded his grandfather as the 2nd Lord Campbell and was created Earl of Argyll in 1457.
The 8th Earl of Argyll was created a marquess in 1641, when Charles I visited Scotland and attempted to quell the rising political crisis (and the fall-out from the event known as The Incident). With Oliver Cromwell's victory in England, the marquess became the effective ruler of Scotland. Upon the restoration, the marquess offered his services to King Charles II but was charged with treason and executed in 1661. His lands and titles were forfeited but, in 1663, they were restored to his son, Archibald, who became the 9th Earl of Argyll. In 1685, he was executed for his part in the Monmouth Rebellion.
On 21 June 1701, the 9th Earl's son, Archibald, was created Duke of Argyll, Marquess of Kintyre and Lorne, Earl of Campbell and Cowal, Viscount of Lochow and Glenyla, Lord Inveraray, Mull, Morvern, and Tiree for his services to William of Orange. His son, the 2nd Duke, was created Baron Chatham and Earl of Greenwich in 1705 as a reward for his support for the Act of Union and further elevated to the title Duke of Greenwich in 1719. Upon his death his Scottish titles passed to his brother and the English titles became extinct.
The 5th Duke sat as a member of parliament for Glasgow Burghs until his father's accession to the Dukedom in 1761 disqualified him from representing a Scottish seat. He then became the member for Dover until 1766, when he was created Baron Sundridge and obtained the right to sit in the House of Lords.
On 17 April 1892, the 8th Duke was created Duke of Argyll in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Thus, the Duke is one of only five people to hold two or more different dukedoms, the others being the Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay, the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry, the Duke of Hamilton and Brandon, and the Duke of Richmond, Lennox, and Gordon.
During the 19th century, a distant Prussian descendant of the family, Jenny von Westphalen, became the wife of the philosopher Karl Marx. In a famous story, when exiled to Paris and reduced to poverty, Marx was nearly arrested for attempting to pawn a part of Jenny's dowry: a silver dinner service bearing the coat of arms of the House of Argyll. Of the incident Marx wrote to Engels, possibly in an attempt to solicit another loan from his wealthy friend: "My wife cried all night". However, the silver was eventually sold to pay off long-standing debts incurred by the Neue Rheinische Zeitung.Ghosts on the roof: selected essays , Transaction Publishers, 1996 By Whittaker Chambers, page 180
In the late 19th century, the then current Duke of Argyll visited America. While there, he stayed at the American Hotel situated in the main square of the village of Babylon, New York. The townspeople took a liking to the duke, and festivals and parades took place while he visited there. Just before the turn of the century (1900), the township of Babylon renamed the Bythbourne Lake/Park to Argyle Lake/Park (Argyll evolved to the currently accepted Argyle) in memory of the duke's visit.
Estates and residences Family seat The family seat is Inveraray Castle beside Loch Fyne, Inveraray, Argyll. The estate, 75,000 acres, is a mixture of commercial forestry, residential property, sources of renewable energy, and a caravan park.
The principal burial place of the Dukes and Duchesses is St Munn's Parish Church, Kilmun. The 11th and 12th Dukes chose to be buried on the island of Inishail in Loch Awe.
Estates In the 1883 edition of John Bateman's The Great Landowners of Great Britain and Ireland, George Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll's estates were recorded as spanning 175,114 acres across Scotland, including 168,315 acres in Argyllshire and 6,799 acres in Dunbartonshire, which produced a combined annual income of £50,842.
London residences Argyll House, King Street
In 1706, John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll, became the inhabitant of a house on the east side of King Street, St James (Soho end), Westminster, which stood on a site occupied by the western end of Little Argyll Street. The house became known as Argyll House; in 1735 or 1736, the Duke vacated the property for redevelopment.'Argyll Street Area', in Survey of London: Volumes 31 and 32, St James Westminster, Part 2, ed. F H W Sheppard (London, 1963), pp. 284–307. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vols31-2/pt2/pp284-307 [accessed 24 September 2017]. A succession of Argyll Houses followed in the same block of streets. Following the death of John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll in 1806, the property was purchased by George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen.
In and before 1764, the family had a house near London at Ham, then in the county of Surrey, a parish historically associated with Richmond, and a nearby second holding (see map on right).
Argyll House, Chelsea John Campbell, 4th Duke of Argyll, lived briefly at 211 King’s Road, Chelsea, London in 1769-1770, and the building subsequently retained the name Argyll House, Chelsea.
Argyll Lodge, Kensington In 1854, George Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll, purchased Bedford Lodge in Campden Hill, Kensington from the estate of Georgiana, Dowager Duchess of Bedford.The Standard. (20 October 1854). Page 2. Duke of Argyll purchases Bedford Lodge in Campden Hill. Newspapers.com. Retrieved 20 April 2026, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-standard-duke-of-argyll-purchases-be/195892710/ The Duke renamed the property Argyll Lodge, and the house continued to be used as his London residence until his death in 1900. In 1901, Argyll Lodge was subsequently purchased by Walter Phillimore, 1st Baron Phillimore, who renamed the property Cam House. Cam House was eventually demolished in 1955 and the site of the property, as well as the neighbouring Moray Lodge, now forms part of Holland Park School.
Apartment 1, Kensington Palace The 8th Duke's son, John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne, had married Queen Victoria’s daughter The Princess Louise in 1871, and the couple were granted use of Apartment 1, Kensington Palace as a Grace-and-favour residence by the Queen during the early 1870s. The apartment continued to be the couple's London residence following Lord Lorne's succession as 9th Duke of Argyll in 1900.
Clarges Street, Mayfair Following the death of the childless Ninth Duke in 1914, he was succeeded by his nephew Niall Campbell, 10th Duke of Argyll. Since c. 1905, the 10th Duke had leased an apartment in a medium-sized townhouse at No. 28 Clarges Street, Mayfair,The Birmingham Post. (5 September 1913). Page 5. "Duke of Sutherland's Will. Estate of over a Million.". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 20 April 2026, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-birmingham-post-duke-of-sutherland/195894689/The Times. (8 August 1908). Page 16. "PROPERTY INVESTMENTS AND GROUND RENTS. Curzon-Street, Mayfair.". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 20 April 2026, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times-property-investments-and-grou/195894933/The Daily Telegraph. (3 June 1896). Page 12. Auction: 28 Clarges Street, Mayfair. Newspapers.com. Retrieved 20 April 2026, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-telegraph-auction-28-clarges/195895006/ that was his London residence until early 1927.The Daily Telegraph. (24 January 1927). Page 11. Duke of Argyll returning to 28 Clarges Street. Newspapers.com. Retrieved 20 April 2026, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-telegraph-duke-of-argyll-retur/195896438/ He later leased a serviced apartment at No. 2 Observatory Gardens in Kensington from June 1927The Daily Telegraph. (23 June 1927). Page 13. Duke of Argyll arrives at 2 Observatory Gardens.. Newspapers.com. Retrieved 20 April 2026, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-telegraph-duke-of-argyll-arriv/195896409/ until late 1935.The Daily Telegraph. (25 November 1935). Page 13. Court Circular - Nov. 23 1935. Newspapers.com. Retrieved 20 April 2026, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-telegraph-court-circular-nov/195897832/ As the 10th Duke never married, when he died in 1949 he was succeeded by his first-cousin-once-removed Ian Campbell, 11th Duke of Argyll.
Upper Grosvenor Street, Mayfair In 1951, the 11th Duke was married for a third time to a wealthy divorcee and heiress Margaret Sweeny, the only daughter of self-made millionaire and Celanese Corporation Chairman George Whigman. Margaret’s townhouse at No. 48 Upper Grosvenor Street, Mayfair served as the Duke’s London home until the couple separated in 1959.The Birmingham Post. (24 March 1951). Wedding of Duke of Argyll. Newspapers.com. Retrieved 20 April 2026, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-birmingham-post-wedding-of-duke-of-a/195898188/Daily Record. (19 September 1959). Page 5. "Clan Chief bans Duchess at Castle". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 20 April 2026, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-record-clan-chief-bans-duchess-at/195898572/
Subsidiary titles The Duke holds several subsidiary titles, including: Marquess of Kintyre and Lorne (created 1701), Earl of Argyll (created 1457), Earl Campbell and Cowall and Viscount Lochow and Glenyla (created 1701), Lord Campbell (created 1445), Lord Lorne (created 1470), Lord Kintyre (created 1626), Lord Inveraray, Mull, Mover and Tiry (created 1701), Baron Hamilton of Hameldon (created 1776) and Baron Sundridge (created 1766). They are in the Peerage of Scotland, except the last two, which are in the Peerage of Great Britain. The Duke is also a Baronet of Lundie (created 1627) in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia. The courtesy title for the Duke's eldest son and heir is Marquess of Lorne, shortened from Marquess of Kintyre and Lorne.
Hereditary offices Hereditary Master of the Royal Household of Scotland Hereditary High Justiciar of Argyll Admiral of the Western Coasts and Isles Hereditary Keeper of the Royal Castles of: Carrick, Dunoon, Dunstaffnage, Tarbert Hereditary High Sheriff of Argyllshire Member King's Body Guard for Scotland
The Duke of Argyll is also the chief of the Scottish clan of Campbell and in this capacity is known as MacCailein Mòr, which is Gaelic for "The Great MacColin" referring to Cailean Mór (Colin the Great) of Lochawe (Colin of Lochow) who was killed in fighting with Alexander, Lord of Lorne in 1296.
Since James IV's reign, the Duke has also held the position of Master of the Household of Scotland.
Coat of arms The heraldic blazon for the coat of arms of the dukedom is: Quarterly: 1st and 4th gyronny of eight or and sable (for Campbell); 2nd and 3rd argent, a lymphad, sails furled and oars in action sable, flags and pennants flying gules (for Lorne).
List of title holders
Lords Campbell (1445) Duncan Campbell, 1st Lord Campbell (d. 1453) Archibald Campbell, Master of Campbell (d. c. 1431–1440) (eldest son of the 1st Lord, died before his father was created a Lord of Parliament) Colin Campbell, 2nd Lord Campbell (c. 1433–1493) (created Earl of Argyll in 1457)
Earls of Argyll (1457) Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll (c. 1433–1493) (only son of the Master)