John Leslie


(7th Earl and 1st Duke of Rothes)

1630 - 1681

Noble. Leslie's parents died when he was a child and he acceded to the Earldom of Rothes in 1641. He was a Royalist and was captured at the Battle of Worcester in 1651 and held in the Tower of London. He was one of the first nobles to welcome King Charles II back to Britain in 1660 and carried the sword of state at Charles' coronation the following year. He was appointed Lord High Treasurer of Scotland, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland, Lord Chancellor of Scotland and President of the Privy Council of Scotland. This status and wealth allowed him to construct Leslie House in the grandest of styles as his family home. Charles created him Duke of Rothes in 1680. Leslie died at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh and his funeral was an elaborate occasion, one of the grandest ever seen in Britain, which effectively bankrupted the family.


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