It was created in 1681 for Sir John Campbell, 5th Baronet, of Glenorchy, who had previously been deprived of the title Earl of Caithness.

[2] Sir John, as a principal creditor, had acquired the estates of George Sinclair, 6th Earl of Caithness who had died heavily in debt and without issue in 1670.

Thus deprived by parliament of the Caithness earldom, Sir John Campbell was created Lord Glenorchy, Benederaloch, Ormelie and Weick, Viscount of Tay and Paintland, and Earl of Breadalbane and Holland, with the precidency of the last, on 13 August 1681 as compensation.

Colin Campbell was granted Glenorchy and other lands by his father, Duncan, and built Kilchurn Castle on Loch Awe in Argyll.

The land around Loch Tay formed Breadalbane, creating the association between the area and Sir Colin's descendants.

He was succeeded by his son by his first marriage, the aforementioned Sir John Campbell, the fifth Baronet, who was created Earl of Breadalbane and Holland in 1681.

John Campbell, 2nd Earl of Breadalbane and Holland sat in the House of Lords as a Scottish representative peer between 1736 and 1747.

In 1806 he was created Baron Breadalbane, of Taymouth Castle in the County of Perth, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, which entitled him to an automatic permanent seat in the House of Lords.

In 1873 he was created Baron Breadalbane, of Kenmure in the County of Perth, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, which entitled him to an automatic seat in the House of Lords.

Charles Campbell, 9th Earl of Breadalbane and Holland sat in the House of Lords as a Scottish Representative Peer between 1924 and his death in 1959.

John was severely wounded while serving with the Black Watch in the Second World War and he died childless in 1995 when the titles became dormant.

There are claims that Hungarian-born Huba Campbell (born 1945) petitioned the Lord Lyon for recognition of his right to the Earldom of Breadalbane and Holland, together with the subsidiary titles, and to the undifferenced arms.

[3] However, an extensive search in the records of the Lyon Office and discussions with the lawyer involved shows that no such petition was ever made.