Back המועצה המלכותית של סקוטלנד HE Dewan Penasihat Skotlandia ID Conselho Privado da Escócia Portuguese İskoçya Özel Konseyi Turkish
.svg) Royal coat of arms of the Kingdom of Scotland | |
| Abbreviation | Privy Council (PC) |
|---|---|
| Merged into | Privy Council of Great Britain |
| Successor | Privy Council |
| Formation | c. 1490 |
| Legal status | Advisory body to the Scottish monarch |
| Headquarters | Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh, Scotland |
Region | Kingdom of Scotland |
| Queen Anne (last) | |
Lord President | James Graham, 1st Duke of Montrose (last) |
The Privy Council of Scotland (c. 1490 — 1 May 1708) was a body that advised the Scottish monarch. During its existence, the Privy Council of Scotland was essentially considered as the government of the Kingdom of Scotland, and was seen as the most important element of central government.[1]
In the range of its functions the council was often more important than the Estates in the running the country. Its registers include a wide range of material on the political, administrative, economic and social affairs of the Kingdom of Scotland. The council supervised the administration of the law, regulated trade and shipping, took emergency measures against the plague, granted licences to travel, administered oaths of allegiance, banished beggars and gypsies, dealt with witches, recusants, Covenanters and Jacobites and tackled the problem of lawlessness in the Highlands and the Borders.[1]
The council was officially abolished in 1708 and merged with the Privy Council of England to create the newly established Privy Council of Great Britain to serve in the same advisory functions to the monarch of the newly created state, the Kingdom of Great Britain, which was established under the terms of the Treaty of Union in 1707.[1]