Millionaire goes to court to claim Earl of Arran title
24 August-
Swiss millionaire Willi Ernst Sturzenegger bought several thousand acres of Arran, and the title to Lochranza Castle in 1995
A reclusive Swiss millionaire has appealed to the Court of Session in Edinburgh to be formally recognised as the territorial Earl of Arran.
Willi Ernst Sturzenegger has asked Scotland's most senior judges to decide if he can use the aristocratic title he bought for £250,000.
The case has been brought after Mr Sturzenegger, who already styles himself online as Lord Arran, had a petition turned down by the Lord Lyon, the guardian of Scottish titles and heraldry.
The Lord Lyon was particularly surprised that anyone would want to claim the title Earl of Arran, given that it is already held by Scotland's premier peer, the Duke of Hamilton.
Mr Sturzenegger is one of many wealthy men and women who have snapped up Scotland's forgotten feudal titles.
The titles - most often baronies or lordships - are the only ones which can be bought and sold, often along with tiny parcels of Scottish land. The earldom of Arran, however, is one of the rarest of the feudal titles, the most senior it is possible to hold.
There are believed to be only around two dozen feudal earldoms, most held by aristocratic families. Few have sold, usually for very large sums indeed.
Mr Sturzenegger picked his up in 1995 along with a few thousand acres of Arran and the "caput" or title to Lochranza Castle, owned by Historic Scotland.
You can read more on this story here on the Herald website.
Follow us on: