Mark Lindley‑Highfield of Ballumbie Castle includes the territorial designation “of Ballumbie Castle” in his legal surname because he owns the historic ruins of Ballumbie Castle in Angus. This was formally recognised when the late William David Hamilton Sellar, Lord Lyon King of Arms, granted him a Coat of Arms. Territorial designations of this kind are a long‑standing feature of Scottish naming practice. In day‑to‑day life, Mark simply uses his forename.

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Ballumbie Castle is a historic site but is not habitable in its present condition, so Mark lives in a modern detached cottage.

 

Through documented family lines, Mark is a direct descendant of David I, King of Scots, and of Walter FitzAlan, the first High Steward of Scotland, placing him within the wider Stewart family. Mark has undertaken DNA testing with both AncestryDNA and MyHeritage DNA, each showing a Scottish component to his genetic ancestry.

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Mark held the Scottish feudal dignity of Baron of Cartsburn, as the 14th Baron, from 2008 to 2010. This is not a peerage title, but a Scottish baronial dignity within the Baronage of Scotland, recognised in Scots law as an incorporeal heritable property.