tartans

[macwilkin]

I'm not sure where this idea that the Dutch Mackay tartan is for Dutch nobility only, or that it belongs to a Dutch branch of the clan alone. According to Phillip Smith and Gordon Teal's "District Tartans", The Dutch Mackay tartan was designed by one John Cargill for the Scottish Tartans Society in 1965 to honour Baron Aeneas Mackay, who was Prime Minister of the Netherlands in the 1880's. Baron Mackay was the grandfather of Lord Reay, who was the Chief of the Mackays. It was also designed in honour of the Mackay Regiment, which fought for the Dutch in the Thirty Year's War, and General Hugh Mackay, who was a general in the army of William of Orange. Baron Hugo Mackay was a Dutch Submarine commander during the Second World War.

Whilst the tartan was designed in honour of Dutch nobility, and the Mackays that served and in some cases immigrated to the Netherlands, no where is it implied that this is a restricted tartan to only members of the Dutch nobility or for Dutch Mackays only.

In a similar vein, the Prince of Orange tartan, is a commemorative tartan of an individual, in this case, William, Prince of Orange, and is not restricted to only the Dutch royal family. In fact, according to Zaczek's "World Tartans", it was designed in Canada and is a modern trade tartan for "clients with Scottish and Dutch connections".

There are a number of "personal" tartans of royal personages that are worn by anyone; for example, the Duke of Fife tartan has now become the Fife District tartan. The Earl of St. Andrew's tartan, which was designed for the Duke of Kent (and Earl of St. Andrew) in the 1930's has also become a district tartan as well.

Regards,

Todd