The title was created in 1620 by
King James VI for
Sir Henry Cary, a member of the
Cary family. He was born in
Hertfordshire and had no previous connection to Scotland. He was made
Lord Cary at the same time, also in the Peerage of Scotland. His son, the second Viscount, was a prominent statesman. The latter's younger son, the fourth Viscount (who succeeded his elder brother), notably served as
Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire. His son, the fifth Viscount, represented several constituencies in the
House of Commons and held office as
First Lord of the Admiralty from 1693 to 1694. The
Falkland Islands in the south Atlantic are named after him. Upon his death, the line of the second Viscount failed and the titles were inherited by the fifth Viscount's second cousin, the sixth Viscount. He was the grandson of the Hon.
Patrick Cary, fifth son of the first Viscount. A lifelong adherent of the exiled Royal Family of Stuart, he was created
Earl of Falkland in the
Jacobite Peerage on 13 December 1722 by
James Francis Edward Stuart (recognised by
Jacobites as "King James VIII / III"). He also embraced the
Roman Catholic faith. His great-great-grandson, the tenth Viscount, was a colonial administrator and
Liberal politician. In 1832, he was created
Baron Hunsdon, of Scutterskelfe in the County of York, in the
Peerage of the United Kingdom (he was son-in-law of then
King William IV). This title gave him an automatic seat in the
House of Lords but became extinct on his death in 1884. The Scottish titles were inherited by his younger brother, the eleventh Viscount. He was an Admiral in the
Royal Navy. His nephew, the twelfth Viscount, sat in the House of Lords as a
Scottish representative peer from 1894 to 1922. He was succeeded by his son, the thirteenth Viscount, who also sat as a Representative Peer between 1922 and 1931. , the titles are held by the latter's grandson, the fifteenth Viscount, who succeeded his father in 1984. He was one of the ninety
hereditary peers elected to remain in the House of Lords after the passing of the
House of Lords Act 1999; he sat as a
Crossbencher until his retirement in 2023. Theoretically, all
viscountcies in the Peerage of Scotland have "of" in their titles, but as with other British viscountcies, Scottish viscounts have dropped the practice of using "of." The only exceptions to this usage are the
Viscount of Arbuthnott and, to a lesser extent, the
Viscount of Oxfuird. There is a statue of Viscount Falkland in St Stephens Hall, in the
Houses of Parliament. On 27 April 1909, a
suffragette named Marjory Hume chained herself to the statue, shouting "Deeds not words". When the chains were removed, the top half of the spur on Falkland's right boot was broken off; the damage can be seen to this day. It is a common misconception that Falkland's sword was broken during this incident. Instead, the sword broke shortly after the statue was installed in St Stephens Hall. ==Viscounts (of) Falkland (1620)==