The roots of Clan Ogilvy reach deep into Scotland's medieval past. In 1163, King William the Lion granted a barony to Gillebride, Earl of Angus, who bestowed the lands of Ogilvy in Glamis Parish, Forfarshire, upon his son Gilbert — and from these lands the family took its name. Over the generations that followed, the Ogilvies steadily accumulated power, titles and territory across eastern Scotland.
A pivotal figure in the family's rise was Sir Walter Ogilvy of Wester Powrie and Auchterhouse, who became Hereditary Sheriff of Angus in the 14th century. His descendant Sir Patrick Ogilvy paid homage to King Edward I of England in 1296, though his sons later threw their support behind Robert the Bruce in the Wars of Independence. By the 1430s, the family's military prestige was such that Sir Patrick Ogilvy of Auchterhouse commanded the Scottish forces fighting alongside Joan of Arc in France, where he was styled Vicomte d'Angus.
Sir Walter Ogilvy of Lintrathen, younger son of the Sheriff's line, was appointed Lord High Treasurer of Scotland under James I in 1425. He served as ambassador to England in 1430 and accompanied Princess Margaret on her marriage to the Dauphin of France in 1434. It is from Sir Walter's two marriages that the two great branches of the Ogilvy family descend — the Ogilvies of Airlie from his elder son by his first wife, and the Ogilvies of Findlater and Deskford from his son Walter by his second wife.
The younger Walter Ogilvy of Auchleven married Margaret Sinclair around 1437. Margaret was the daughter and sole heiress of Sir John Sinclair, Baron of Deskford and Findlater, who had been killed at the Battle of Harlaw in 1411. Through this marriage, Sir Walter acquired both the baronies of Deskford and Findlater, and these became the chief titles of his family. He marked the union by adding the Sinclair arms — a cross engrailed sable — to the Ogilvy coat of arms, a combination still borne by the family's descendants today.
In 1455, Sir Walter received a royal licence from King James II to fortify Findlater Castle with embattled walls and all necessary defences, establishing it firmly as the family's principal seat and one of the most formidable strongholds on the Banffshire coast. His son, Sir James Ogilvy of Deskford, consolidated the family's position further, acquiring the constabulary of Cullen from John Hay in 1481 and accumulating extensive landholdings across Banffshire through a series of royal charters in the 1470s and 1490s.
The 16th century brought both prestige and turmoil to the Ogilvies of Findlater. Alexander Ogilvy of Findlater helped elevate Cullen parish church to collegiate status in 1543, demonstrating the family's local influence. He married Elizabeth Gordon, sister of the Earl of Huntly, as his second wife — an alliance that would prove fateful.
Under Gordon influence, Alexander disinherited his son James in favour of John Gordon, a younger son of the 4th Earl of Huntly. The dispossessed James, however, had risen to become Master of Household to both Mary of Guise and Mary, Queen of Scots. When the Gordons rose in rebellion against the Queen in 1562, it was Findlater Castle that became one of the flashpoints. Mary sent an army with artillery to besiege the castle, and after the Gordons' defeat at the Battle of Corrichie in October 1562, John Gordon was executed for treason. Queen Mary personally restored the estate to James Ogilvy of Cardell, the rightful heir, by charter under the great seal.
The Ogilvies' status continued to rise through the 17th century. In 1616, Sir Walter Ogilvy was created Lord Ogilvy of Deskford. His son James was elevated further as the 1st Earl of Findlater in 1638. The new Earl built Cullen House as a more comfortable family seat, and the ancient clifftop castle that gave the earldom its name was gradually abandoned.
The house was nearly destroyed in 1645 during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, but the family weathered the storm. Without a surviving male heir, the 1st Earl obtained a special patent in 1641 ensuring the earldom could pass to his daughter Elizabeth and her husband, Sir Patrick Ogilvy of Inchmartine — himself an Ogilvy descended from the same line.
The 4th Earl of Findlater, James Ogilvy, became one of the most powerful figures in Scotland. Trained as an advocate, he rose to serve as Solicitor General, Secretary of State, President of the Scottish Parliament, and Lord Chancellor of Scotland. He was a driving force behind the Act of Union of 1707 and was created 1st Earl of Seafield in 1701, uniting the two titles. The combined earldoms of Findlater and Seafield remained united for over a century, the family seat at Cullen House becoming one of the grandest houses in Scotland under the care of prominent architects including James Adam and Robert Adam.
The 7th Earl of Findlater and 4th Earl of Seafield, James Ogilvy, was the last of the direct line. Born in 1750, he inherited the estates and Cullen House at the age of twenty after his father's death in 1770. An amateur architect, landscape designer and philanthropist, he commissioned Robert Adam to design improvements at Cullen and spent much of his later life on the Continent. He acquired vineyards near Dresden and built a neoclassical palace overlooking the Elbe that was later described as the most beautiful family palace in the city.
When the 7th Earl died in Dresden in 1811 without legitimate heirs, the Earldom of Findlater became dormant — a status it retains to this day. The Earldom of Seafield, however, passed to his cousin Sir Lewis Alexander Grant, who adopted the surname Grant-Ogilvy. The Seafield estate, now encompassing over 84,000 acres, remains one of the largest in Scotland.
While the Findlater branch shaped the northeast, the other great line of Clan Ogilvy — the Ogilvies of Airlie — left an equally dramatic mark on Scottish history. Sir John Ogilvy of Lintrathen, elder son of the Lord High Treasurer by his first wife, received a charter for Airlie Castle and its lands in 1459. His son Sir James was appointed ambassador to Denmark and elevated to 1st Lord Ogilvy of Airlie in 1491.
The 7th Lord Ogilvy was a staunch supporter of King Charles I and was created 1st Earl of Airlie in 1639. His sons fought alongside the Marquis of Montrose during the Civil Wars, and the family suffered greatly for the Royalist cause. The eldest son, Lord Ogilvy, was captured at the Battle of Philiphaugh in 1645 and sentenced to death, but famously escaped from prison disguised in his sister's clothes.
The Ogilvies remained fiercely loyal to the Stuart dynasty. Lord Ogilvy was attainted for supporting the Old Pretender during the Jacobite Rising of 1715 — and on the Findlater side, the 5th Earl was briefly imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle as a suspected Jacobite sympathiser during the same uprising. David Ogilvy of the Airlie line raised a regiment for Prince Charles Edward Stuart during the 1745 rebellion and fought at the Battle of Culloden. After the Jacobite defeat, David fled to France. Cullen House itself was ransacked by Stuart's retreating supporters in April 1746, just days before the Duke of Cumberland arrived in pursuit.
It took over 150 years before the Airlie titles were fully restored to the family. In the modern era, the 9th and 10th Earls of Airlie each served as Lord Chamberlain to Queen Elizabeth II. In 1963, Angus Ogilvy, brother of the 13th Earl of Airlie, married HRH Princess Alexandra, granddaughter of King George V.
Beyond the earls and clan chiefs, individual Ogilvies left remarkable marks on Scottish history. John Ogilvie, born in Banff around 1579 as a cadet of the Ogilvy of Findlater family, became a Jesuit priest who entered Scotland in 1614 disguised as a soldier. He was arrested, tortured and hanged at Glasgow Cross in 1615 for upholding Papal supremacy. In 1976, he was canonised by Pope Paul VI, becoming Scotland's only post-Reformation saint.
Sir George Ogilvy of Barras earned lasting renown for his defence of Dunnottar Castle against Cromwell's forces, playing a crucial role in safeguarding the Scottish Crown Jewels — the Honours of Scotland — which were smuggled out and hidden before the castle fell. William Ogilvy of Pittensear, near Elgin, became Professor of Philosophy at King's College, Aberdeen, and published The Right of Property in Land in 1781, a work that influenced later land reform movements. Marion Ogilvie, mistress of Cardinal Beaton, bore him several children before his assassination in 1546.
The Ogilvies held an extraordinary network of castles and estates across Scotland. Airlie Castle near Kirriemuir served as the Airlie branch's main stronghold from 1430 until replaced by a mansion house in 1763. Cortachy Castle, north of Kirriemuir, has been an Ogilvy residence since the 17th century. Forter Castle in Glenshee, originally built by the clan, was destroyed in the 17th century but beautifully restored in the 1990s. Auchindoun Castle in Banffshire was held by the Ogilvies from 1482 until 1535. Winton House in East Lothian, originally built in the 12th century, came into the Ogilvy family through marriage with the Hamilton-Nisbett family in 1888.
And above them all, perched on its white cliff over the Moray Firth, Findlater Castle endures as the most dramatic and evocative of the Ogilvy strongholds — the fortress that gave an earldom its name and witnessed three centuries of the family's triumphs, feuds and fortunes.