The clan chief then took service with the Swedish armies under Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden during the Thirty Years' War. The direct line of the chiefs of Clan Skene died out in 1827 and the estates passed to a nephew, James Duff, 4th Earl Fife. Another prominent branch of the Clan Skene were the Skenes of Rubislaw. James Skene of Rubislaw was a close friend of the novelist Walter Scott, and is said to have provided Scott with some inspiration for both "Quentin Durward" and "Ivanhoe". William Forbes Skene is a celebrated Scottish writer and historian who was appointed historiographer royal for Scotland in 1881. Skene Castle was the seat of the chiefs of Clan Skene until the main line died out in 1827 and it passed to the Earl of Fife. On 17 February 1994 Danus George Moncrieff Skene of Skene was recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms as Chief of the Name and Arms of Skene. His son, Dugald, was also recognised in the matriculation as the heir apparent. Danus Skene had matriculated his arms as Skene of Halyards in 1992. In 1672 John Skene of Halyards had matriculated his arms in the Lord Lyon's register and it was established that he was lineally descended from chief James Skene of that Ilk who died in around 1604. In Danus Skene's petition to the Lord Lyon he argued that upon the death of Alexander Skene in 1827 with no male issue, the succession passed to the next most senior line, the Skenes of Halyards, which the Lord Lyon accepted. After his death in 2016, his only son Dugald became chief. Septs of the Clan Skene include: Cariston, Dyce, Hallyard and Carnie.