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Blair Castle (in Scottish Gaelic: Caisteil Bhlàir) stands in its grounds near the village of Blair Atholl in Perthshire in Scotland. It is the ancestral home of the Clan Murray, and was historically the seat of their chief, the Duke of Atholl, though the current chief, the 12th Duke of Atholl, lives in South Africa, where he was born and raised.
The siege of Blair Castle was a conflict that took place in Scotland in March 1746 and was part of the Jacobite rising of 1745. [2] It was fought between Scottish forces loyal to the British-Hanoverian government of George II of Great Britain, which defended Blair Castle near the village of Blair Atholl in Perthshire, and Scottish Jacobite forces loyal to the House of Stuart.
Blair Atholl's most famous feature is Blair Castle (NN 865 662), one of Scotland's premier stately homes, and the last castle in the British Isles to be besieged, in 1746 during the last Jacobite rising. The Castle was the traditional home of the Earls (later Marquesses, now Dukes) of Atholl.
The following properties are associated with both Blair families: [8] Ardblair Castle, Blairgowrie, Perthshire. Balthayock Castle, near Perth. Blair Castle, Dalry, Ayrshire. Above the drawbridge, carved on a stone arch, is the stag of the Blair crest. Blairquhan, Straiton, Maybole, Ayrshire. Carberry Tower, near Musselburgh, East Lothian.
The castle is in fact now a large white-washed mansion that incorporates part of an old thirteenth century castle. [2] The Clan Comyn once had a stronghold at Blair Castle and the property was then owned by the Stewart Earls of Atholl, but in 1629 it passed by marriage to the Murrays who became Earls, Marquesses and Dukes of Atholl. [2]
William Dundas of Kincavel was the ancestor of the Dundas of Blair Castle branch of the clan. [3] He was a Jacobite who was imprisoned for his part in the Jacobite rising of 1715. [3] Sir David Dundas was born in Edinburgh in 1735 and went on to become commander-in-chief of the British Army in 1809. [3]
Following the First World War, parades of the regiment became fewer, although it did provide guards when the Crown Prince of Japan and King Faisal of Iraq visited Blair Castle in 1921 and 1933 respectively. [9] After many years of inactivity the regiment remained in abeyance until in 1966, when it was reformed by Iain Murray, 10th Duke of Atholl.
The commander of British forces in Scotland, Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, was confident that there was no chance of friendly forces being surprised, even though a man who had recently escaped from Jacobite captivity reported that the Jacobites were planning on attacking the outposts held by the Campbells that were covering Blair Atholl and Castle Menzies. [1]