Earl Scots or , Cornish . An earl has the title "Earl of [X]" when the title originates from a placename, or "Earl [X]" when the title comes from a surname. In either case, he is referred to as "Lord [X]", and his wife as "Lady [X]". A countess who holds an earldom in her own right also uses "Lady [X]", but her husband does not have a title (unless he has one in his own right). The eldest son of an earl, though not himself a peer, is entitled to use a courtesy title, usually the highest of his father's
Earl of Wharncliffe Earl of Wharncliffe Earl of Wharncliffe, in the West Riding of the County of York, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The title was created in 1876 for Edward Montagu-Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie, 3rd Baron Wharncliffe. He was a descendant of Edward Wortley Montagu (grandson of Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich,) and his wife, the author Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. Their daughter, Mary, married the future Prime Minister John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute (see the Marquess of Bute for earlier history of the Stuart family). Their second son, the Hon. James, succeeded to the Wortley estates in