Marquess of Zetland is a title in thePeerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 22 August 1892 for the formerLord Lieutenant of Ireland,Lawrence Dundas, 3rd Earl of Zetland. Zetland is an archaic form ofShetland. The Dundas family descends from the wealthyScottish businessman andMember of Parliament,Lawrence Dundas. In 1762 he was created aBaronet, of Kerse in theCounty of Linlithgow, in theBaronetage of Great Britain.^[2] The title was created with remainder, failing heirs male of his own, to his brother Thomas Dundas and the heirs male of his body. He was succeeded by his son, the second Baronet. He representedRichmond andStirling in theHouse of Commons and also served asLord Lieutenant of Orkney and Shetland. In 1794 he was createdBaron Dundas, ofAske in theNorth Riding of theCounty of York, in thePeerage of Great Britain.^[3] Lord Dundas notably purchased the right to the earldom of Orkney and lordship of Zetland fromJames Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton.

Marquessate of Zetland
Arms: Argent, a Lion rampant within a Double Tressure flory counterflory Gules, all within a Bordure Azure.Crest: A Lion's Head affrontée proper, crowned with an Antique Crown Or, encircled by a Chaplet of Oak Vert, fructed Or.Supporters: On either side a Lion proper, crowned with an Antique Crown Or, and gorged with a Chaplet of Oak Vert, fructed Or, pendent therefrom an Escutcheon, the dexter being Argent, a Saltire and Chief Gules, on a Canton Argent, a Lion rampant Azure(for Bruce); and the sinister being lozengy Azure and Gules(for FitzWilliam).[1]
Creation date	22 August 1892
Created by	Queen Victoria
Peerage	Peerage of the United Kingdom
First holder	Lawrence Dundas, 3rd Earl of Zetland
Present holder	Lawrence Mark Dundas, 4th Marquess
Heir apparent	Robin Lawrence Dundas, Earl of Ronaldshay
Remainder to	the 1st Marquess'of the body lawfully begotten
Subsidiary titles	Earl of Zetland Earl of Ronaldshay Baron Dundas Baronet 'of Kerse'
Status	Extant
Seat(s)	Aske Hall
Motto	ESSAYEZ(Try)[1]

His son, the second Baron, was a Member of Parliament forRichmond and also served asLord Lieutenant ofOrkney and Shetland. In 1838 he was createdEarl of Zetland in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.^[4] He was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Earl. He also represented Richmond and York in Parliament and served asLord Lieutenant of the North Riding of Yorkshire. On his death, the titles passed to his nephew, the third Earl. At first aLiberal, he held minor office in the second administration ofWilliam Ewart Gladstone but later joined theConservative Party and served from 1889 to 1892 as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. The latter year he was honoured when he was madeEarl of Ronaldshay, in theCounty of Orkney andZetland, andMarquess of Zetland.^[5] The Earl of Ronaldshay is thecourtesy title of the eldest son and heir of the Marquess. He was succeeded by his son, the second Marquess. He was also a prominent politician and served asGovernor of Bengal and asSecretary of State for India. As of 2016^[update] the titles are held by his grandson, the fourth Marquess, who succeeded his father in 1989.

The family seat isAske Hall,Richmond, North Yorkshire.

• Sir Lawrence Dundas, 1st Baronet (1710–1781)
• Sir Thomas Dundas, 2nd Baronet (1741–1820) (createdBaron Dundas in 1794)

• Thomas Dundas, 1st Baron Dundas (1741–1820)
• Lawrence Dundas, 2nd Baron Dundas (1766–1839) (createdEarl of Zetland in 1838)

Other titles (1st Earl onwards): Baron Dundas (GB 1794)

• Lawrence Dundas, 1st Earl of Zetland (1766–1839)
• Thomas Dundas, 2nd Earl of Zetland (1795–1873)
• Lawrence Dundas, 3rd Earl of Zetland (1844–1929) (createdMarquess of Zetland in 1892)

Other titles (1st Marquess onwards): Earl of Zetland (UK 1838), Earl of Ronaldshay (UK 1892), Baron Dundas (GB 1794)

• Lawrence Dundas, 1st Marquess of Zetland (1844–1929)
• Lawrence John Lumley Dundas, 2nd Marquess of Zetland (1876–1961)
• Lawrence Aldred Mervyn Dundas, 3rd Marquess of Zetland (1908–1989)
• Lawrence Mark Dundas, 4th Marquess of Zetland (b. 1937)

Theheir apparent is the present holder's eldest son Robin Lawrence Dundas,styled Earl of Ronaldshay (b. 1965).

• The heir apparent'sheir presumptive is his brother James Edward Dundas (b. 1967).
  • The heir apparent's heir presumptive's heir apparent is his son Milo James Dundas (b. 1998).

• Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors).Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
• Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages^{[self-published source][better source needed]}

• Aske Hall