Lord Linnæus Clancharlie and Lord David Dirry-Moir

Lord Linnæus Clancharlie and Lord David Dirry-Moir were father and son separated by exile: David was born in England as his father was leaving the country and never saw him. Their connection nevertheless shaped David’s place at court and became the basis of a royal settlement of his father’s titles and rights, made amid uncertainty about whether Clancharlie had left a legitimate heir.

Birth and separation

Clancharlie had a natural son by a woman of quality. David was born in the last days of the republic, just as his father was going into exile, and therefore grew up without ever seeing him. The account places the two men in sharply different circumstances from the start: Clancharlie entered a long exile, while David was raised in England and later served at court.

David’s mother subsequently became the mistress of Charles II of England. The king’s favor brought David a place in the royal household, but it did not reunite him with his father. Clancharlie remained abroad while his son prospered under the restored monarchy, making the relationship one of acknowledged descent without personal acquaintance.

David’s courtly standing

David was styled Lord David Dirry-Moir by courtesy, his mother being a woman of quality. Charles II of England gave him the office of keeper of the stick, provided for him at the king’s expense, and thereby attached him to the Stuart court. David’s advancement continued through service among the royal guards: he was one of the hundred and seventy who wore the great sword and later joined the corps of pensioners, one of the forty who carried the gilded halberd. He also held the privilege of laying dishes on the king’s table.

These honors came through royal patronage rather than a relationship with Clancharlie. The narrative sets the son’s advancement at court against the father’s years in exile: while Clancharlie grew old abroad, David acquired status and ceremonial duties under Charles II of England. His courtly position also made him an ardent adherent of the Stuarts.

Succession and royal settlement

After Clancharlie’s death, reports circulated that he had married Ann Bradshaw, daughter of a regicide, and that she had died giving birth to a son. If true, the child would have been Clancharlie’s legitimate heir, but the reports were vague and treated as rumor rather than established fact. The possibility mattered because David, though Clancharlie’s acknowledged natural son, did not by that fact alone settle the question of legitimate succession.

King James II ended the uncertainty at the level of royal policy by declaring David the sole and positive heir in default of legitimate issue. Patents registered in the House of Lords instituted him in Clancharlie’s titles, rights, and prerogatives. The grant was conditional: David was to marry Duchess Josiana when she reached marriageable age. Thus a father whom David had never known remained central to his identity and future, while the son’s inheritance was shaped by the Crown and bound to a royal marriage arrangement.