Steuart Pringle

Norman Hamilton Pringle and his son Sir Steuart were recognised as the 9th and 10th Pringle Baronets of Nova Scotia, respectively, during their lifetimes; however, questions had been raised in the family as to whether Norman was the biological child of Sir Norman Robert Pringle, 8th Baronet (1871–1919). The 8th Baronet had married Florence Madge Vaughan on 16 October 1902 but she gave birth to Norman only seven months later, on 13 May 1903, leading to questions of legitimacy that were not resolved until more than a century later.[13]

In 2009, Sir Steuart agreed to DNA testing for a project launched by his first cousin Murray Pringle (born 1941), an accountant who was attempting to restore a clan chief to Clan Pringle, which has been an armigerous clan since 1737. The results indicated that Sir Steuart's paternal DNA was not consistent with that of other Pringles, but Murray heeded advice that the issue of the legitimate claimant to the baronetcy should not be contested during Sir Steuart's lifetime. After he died in 2013, both Simon (Sir Steuart's eldest son) and Murray attempted to claim the baronetcy. In 2016, a court agreed Murray Pringle was the rightful heir to the baronetcy instead of his first cousin once removed Simon, as DNA evidence demonstrated that Sir Steuart's father was not the biological son of Sir Norman Pringle, 8th Baronet. There were two younger sons – Ronald Steuart (1905–1968; Murray Pringle's father), and James Drummond (1906–1960). Norman Hamilton was proven with a "high degree of probability" to be fathered by someone outside the Pringle clan, and Sir Steuart and his father were removed posthumously from the Official Roll of the Baronetage. Murray Pringle was declared the 10th Baronet and his father the de jure 9th Baronet.[4][14] However, as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, Sir Steuart was still styled as Sir.[3][15]