LONDON — A Hungarian former taxi driver living in Budapest has emerged as the heir to a Scottish earldom, according to the genealogist who unearthed his claim.
Huba Andras Campbell, 55 — who grew up in poverty in rural communist Hungary and is now a haulier and car importer — is next in line to the earldom of Breadalbane and Holland, genealogist Robert Noble told the Daily Telegraph on Tuesday.
The Hungarian's noble lineage stems from his great-grandfather's marriage to a descendant of the Marquess of Huntly in 1873 while he was building bridges across the Danube, the genealogist said.
"The family knew of the Scottish connection but had no idea that they were now the most senior line," he said.
But even if it is successful, Campbell's claim, being prepared by a Scottish peerage lawyer, will yield only the title of the earldom, which dates back to 1681.
The Campbell clan were once one of the biggest landowners in Scotland, but their wealth and lands declined over the years, and the last of the clan's estate was sold off in the 1980s.