 In 1449, Alexander was raised to the peerage and created the first Earl of Huntly by King James II of Scotland, sometime before 3 July of that year when he witnessed a charter to James Hamilton, 1st Lord Hamilton under that title.Later in the year he was present at the gates of Arbroath Abbey when the Ogilvies and Lindsays were disputing their claims to the office of justiciary of that abbey; where the Ogilvies were defeated and Earl Alexander, there in support of that family, had to flee the field himself.He was embroiled in struggles against the Douglases, against the Lords of the Isles, and against the Lindsay earls of Crawford while being closely aligned with William Crichton, the Chancellor.