Books by Michael John Lyon

The earls of Strathmore and their predecessors are inextricably linked to Glamis Castle, which attracts thousands of visitors each year. However, there is a danger that the earls and their predecessors are not receiving the attention they deserve. They are merely represented by the family portraits on the walls, the genealogical tree to be found at the back of the guidebook, and an occasional mention in the media. For most of their existence, they were not primarily concerned with houses and filling them with works of art, but, more interestingly, amassing and spending money; revelling in the grandeur of high status; and accumulating, wielding, and preserving power.

This book continues the various genealogies of the family published in The Lyons of Glamis 1350-1750 in 2015. From 1750 onwards, the heads of the family, the earls of Strathmore, unlike many of their aristocratic counterparts, have managed to hold of their titles and much of their estates through a helter-skelter of marriage, debt, and legal arrangements. However, the vast majority of their cadets, including the offspring of the main family, the Bowes-Lyons, have diversified socially and geographically. They have moved away from the old order and their time-honoured localities to all parts of the world.