A snippet of the Stewart (or Stuart) Monarchy
James III
James III, King of Scots (born 1451), son of James II and Mary of Guelders
married Margaret of Denmark
at Holyrood Abbey, Edinburgh
Margaret of Denmark was the daughter of King Christian I and Queen Dorothea of Denmark
Part of Margaret’s dowry were the Orkney & Shetland Islands
The marriage produced three sons:
James IV of Scotland
James Stewart, Duke of Ross (1476 – 1504)
John Stewart, Earl of Mar (1479 – 1503)
James III died 11th June 1488.
There are varying reports on the circumstances of his death. Some say he died ‘in action’when his army were defeated at the Battle of Sauchieburn, whist others state that he was killed by enemy soldiers after by being thrown from his horse or that he was assassinated near Bannockburn after fleeing the battle.
James and Margaret are buried at Cambuskenneth Abbey near Stirling , Margaret having
pre-deceased James by 2 years.
Cambuskenneth Abbey
James IV
On the death of his father, James aged 15, heir apparent, took the throne and was crowned King
at Scone in June 1488.
James confirmed the ‘Treaty of Perpetual Peace’ with Henry VII of England Scotland and England
A part of the treaty, a marriage was agreed between James and Margaret Tudor,
Henry’s eldest surviving daughter.
James IV, King of Scots (born 1473), son of James III and Margaret of Denmark
married Margaret Tudor at Holyrood Abbey, Edinburgh
Margaret was the daughter of King Henry VII of England
The marriage produced four sons:
James, Duke of Rothesay (1507 - 1508)
Arthur, Duke of Rothesay (1509 – 1510)
James V of Scotland
Alexander, Duke of Ross (1514 – (1515)
There were also two stillborn daughters.
Fourth son Alexander, Duke of Ross was born 7 months after his father’s death
at the Battle
James was known to have had quite a few illegitimate children by (at least) four different mistresses.
One of these was Margaret Drummond (daughter of John Drummond, 1st Lord Drummond)
by whom he had a daughter, Margaret Stewart.
Margaret Drummond (and her sisters Euphemia and Sybilla) all died of food poisoning in 1501.
Theories have been suggested that James was planning or had secretly married Margaret and that her death was ‘necessary’ to allow the King to marry Margaret Tudor, but more recent suggestions support the fact that as food poisoning was common at that time, the sisters’ death was accidental.
If however, James had married Margaret Drummond instead of Margaret Tudor, Scotland may have remained as an independent country as the ‘Union of the Crowns’ would possibly never have taken place.
The three Drummond sisters were buried in front of the altar in Dunblane Cathedral.
Dunblane Cathedral
James V
James, aged 17 months, the only surviving son of James IV and Margaret Tudor, was crowned King at the Chapel Royal at Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle
He was to spend his early life under the ‘care’ of regents, amongst whom were his mother
(until her re-marriage to Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus) in 1514,
John Stewart, Duke of Albany, Alexander Ross, Duke of Ross,
Robert Maxwell, 5th Lord Maxwell
Robert Maxwell, 5th Lord Maxwell
and Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, his step-father.
When James finally assumed the role of Monarch in 1528, after having escaped the ‘care’
of Archibald Douglas, one of his first actions was to remove his step-father from the scene
and forced the Douglas family into exile.
James’ married his first wife, Madeline of Valois, daughter of Francis I of France in 1537
at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris
After their marriage, James and Madeline set forth for Scotland
arriving at Leith in May 1537, but a month later, Madeline,
who had never had good health, died of tuberculosis
at Edinburgh a month before her 17th birthday.
arriving at Leith in May 1537, but a month later, Madeline,
who had never had good health, died of tuberculosis
at Edinburgh a month before her 17th birthday.
She was buried in Holyrood Abbey.
James didn’t waste any time in re-marrying as on 18th May 1538,
only a year after Madeline’s death,
only a year after Madeline’s death,
he married (by proxy) Mary of Guise, widow of Francois II, Duke of Longuville.
The couple were married in June of 1538 at St. Andrews in the Kindgom of Fife.
Mary was crowned Queen Consort at Holyrood Abbey in February 1540.
The couple has 2 sons and a daughter:
James Stewart, Duke of Rothesay (1540 – 1541)
Robert (1541-1541)
James V died six days after the birth of their only (and last) daughter Mary
Mary, born December 1542 at Linlithgow Palace
was to become the famous (or infamous)
Mary, Queen of Scots
and we all know what happened next!!
Linlithgow Palace with St. Michael's Church in the foreground.
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