‘The stereotype image of a tweedy figure strutting about as lord of the manor is no longer valid; I want to show how the role can still be relevant’

allegiance of chief, cadet branches and followers, was a distinctive part of Highland culture. During the late Middle Ages, the powerful Macdonald Lordship of the Isles operated a virtually independent western kingdom that fostered a golden age of Gaelic culture. Its collapse was followed by centuries of turmoil, as Macdonalds, Campbells, Macneils, Macleods, Camerons, Mackintoshes, Macleans, Mackenzies and other clans jostled for territorial power. Their ethos, underpinned by pride in name and martial prestige, was upheld long after the old clan system had begun to disintegrate.

Suppressed after the Jacobite uprisings, clanship was then rediscovered, with all the pageantry of tartan-clad chiefs, bards and pipers, as part of the Victorian romanticisation of the Highlands. In the early 1900s, some chiefs returned and rebuilt their castles as a clan rallying point in the ancestral heartland. Then, after the Second World War, chiefs such as Dame Flora Macleod travelled widely and pioneered the modern reincarnation of the clan as an international community.

Just as other aspects of Highland culture have been subsumed into the national iconography, so too has the clan. The Standing Council of Scottish

Chiefs now has 135 members, many of whom descend from non-highland families, yet have embraced a clan identity.

It’s not difficult to see the allure of the clan as the fascination with ‘clancestry’ grows. ‘People long to know about where they come from,’ says Godfrey, Lord Macdonald and High Chief of Clan Donald. ‘We have this amazing archive at the Clan Centre in Skye and it receives an enormous amount of email inquiries. Then there are the hundreds of Macdonalds and people with one of the sept names [families that followed the clan] who visit from all over the world.’

The spin-offs for the local economy are immense, boosted by the growing number of tourism initiatives. Tour operator Scottish Clans and Castles offers ‘clan land tours’ and holidays with themes, including Mary Queen of Scots and the Outlander TV series. ‘People love getting under the skin of authentic Scottish culture and history,’ says managing director Diana Gray. ‘Clan chiefs are used to welcoming their kinsmen and other visitors from around the world and… taking time to explain their clan’s history.’ Lord Macdonald describes the role as ambassadorial: ‘I try to be visible and available.’

The death last year, aged 102, of Captain Alwyne Farquharson MC of Invercauld and Monaltrie prompted much press coverage of the life of the engaging 16th Chief of Clan Farquharson. The world of tartanry and castles captivated the public again with the recent BBC series A Very British Scandal, featuring a chief of a very different mould, whose marriage to the scandalous Margaret, Duchess of Argyll, brought a muchneeded injection of cash to prop up the ailing clan seat, Inveraray Castle. Prompted by this recent wave of interest, I set out to investigate what being a clan chief means today.

Farquharson, who was brought up at Newby Hall in Yorkshire and changed his name from Compton after inheriting the chiefship from his aunt in 1941, is believed to have been the longest ever serving clan chief. On moving to Invercauld after the war, he held many civic appointments traditionally associated with the role and for 72 years – until he reached 100 – he was also chieftain of the Ballater Highland Games.

The affection with which he was held by the community owed much to the hard work he put

CAPTAIN ALWYNE FARQUHARSON The clan chief and Ballater Games chieftain died last year

PHILIP FARQUHARSON The current clan chief works as a parish clerk