Richard Walter John Montagu Douglas Scott, 10th Duke of Buccleuch and 12th Duke of Queensberry (born 14 February 1954), styled as Lord Eskdaill until 1973 and as Earl of Dalkeith from 1973 until 2007, is a Scottish landholder and peer. He is the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry, as well as Chief of Clan Scott.
Buccleuch was once Scotland's largest private landowner, owning 217,000 acres (88,000 hectares) of Scottish land, but was surpassed by Anders Holch Povlsen who currently holds 221,000 acres (89,000 hectares) in the country. The Duke was appointed as Chancellor of the Order of the Thistle by Charles III on 9 December 2023.
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Early life and education
Scott was born in 1954, the son of John Scott, 9th Duke of Buccleuch, and his wife, Jane Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch, a daughter of John McNeill. He was baptised with Princess Margaret as one of his godparents. His first cousin is Ralph Percy, 12th Duke of Northumberland. His first cousins once removed are Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester and Prince William of Gloucester, members of the British royal family. He is the most senior descendant of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, the eldest illegitimate son of King Charles II, and more remotely in a direct male line from Alan of Dol, who arrived in Britain in 1066 with William the Conqueror.
He was educated at St. Mary's School, Melrose, and Eton College, and was Page of Honour to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother from 1967 to 1969. In 1973, his father inherited the Dukedoms of Buccleuch and Queensberry, and Scott took the courtesy title Earl of Dalkeith, having previously been styled Lord Eskdaill. He graduated from the University of Oxford in 1976 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.
