Of the five Ayr burghs, Inverary and Campbeltown were controlled by the dukes of Argyll, and Rothesay by the earls of Bute, allied by the 2nd Earl’s marriage to the 2nd Duke’s sister in 1711. The predominant partners in this alliance were the dukes of Argyll, especially after the death of the 2nd Earl of Bute in 1723, when the 2nd Duke of Argyll and his brother, Lord Ilay, became the guardians of their nephew, the 3rd Earl of Bute, then aged 10. Throughout the period Argyll-Bute nominees were returned without opposition.