Act for annexation of Orkney and Shetland to the Crown 1669
# Act for annexation of Orkney and Shetland to the Crown 1669

The Act of Annexation 1669 was an Act of Parliament passed by the Parliament of Scotland to establish Orkney and Shetland's status as Crown Dependencies following a legal dispute with William Douglas, 9th Earl of Morton, who held the estates of Orkney and Shetland.

Titled "Act for Annexation of Orknay and Zetland to the Crown", the legislation was passed on 27 December 1669 (17 December old style) and was the last law passed by the Parliament before its adjournment six days later.

The Act made Orkney and Shetland exempt from any "dissolution of His Majesty's lands". In 1742 a further Act of Parliament, 15 Geo. 2. c. 4, returned the estates to a later Earl of Morton, despite the original act of Parliament specifically proscribing this, stating that any such change was to be "considered null, void and of no effect".

The 1669 Act specifically removed Orkney and Shetland from the jurisdiction of the Scottish Parliament and places it firmly in the care of the Crown, restoring the situation as it was 200 years prior at the time of the pawning of the islands by King Christian I of Denmark/Norway to Scotland's James III.

