The Duke of Rothesay also holds other Scottish titles, including Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland.

David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay, the son of Robert III of Scotland, first held the dukedom from its creation in 1398.

Thereafter, the heir apparent to the Scottish Crown held the dukedom; an Act of the Parliament of Scotland passed in 1469 confirmed this pattern of succession.

Between the 1603 union of the crowns and Edward VII's time as heir apparent, the style "Duke of Rothesay" appears to have dropped out of usage in favour of "Prince of Wales".

Queen Victoria mandated the title for use to refer to the eldest son and heir apparent when in Scotland, and this usage has continued since.

[citation needed] Another of the non-peerage titles belonging to the heir apparent, that of Lord of the Isles, merits special mention.

The ambitious John MacDonald II, fourth Lord of the Isles, made a secret treaty in 1462 with King Edward IV of England, by which he sought to make himself an independent ruler.

The eldest son of the British Sovereign, as Duke of Rothesay, had the right to vote in elections for Scottish representative peers from 1707.