DEN HAAG vandaag: Lijst van Koningen van Schotland

A Much Harassed Semi-Royal Lass From The Past: The Life Of Lady Arbella Stuart

Lady Arbella Stuart

XI.1575 – 27.IX.1615

“I should have adjudged my selfe unworthy of life

if I had degenerated from the most renowned stocke

whearof it is greatest honour to be a branch.”

Lady Arbella Stuart To Queen Elizabeth Of England

History tells us that Lady Arbella Stuart was a noblewoman from Renaissance England, who due to her role in the often harsh realities of political life at the time and based on the fact that for some time she was considered as a possible successor to Queen Elizabeth I on the English throne, led a tumultuous life, unenvied then as much as now.

Arbella was a woman born to privilege, yet doomed to life as a prisoner, deprived of any semblance of joy, all because of her birthright! In her final days, as a prisoner in the Tower of London, Arbella, refused to eat, fell ill, and died on September 27, 1615. She was buried in Westminster Abbey on September 29, 1615. Ironically, in spite of all that was thought and leveled against her when it came to a possible succession to the throne of St. George, in reality she never aspired to the English throne.

In fact, there is no evidence that Arbella ever actually wanted to be queen. What plots she hatched were merely attempts to escape her guardians and marry. All her life she was manipulated in the intrigues of others, notably her maternal grandmother Bess of Hardwick. The relationship between grandmother and granddaughter gradually deteriorated as Arbella grew more and more frustrated at the prison-like isolation in which she lived. She was never allowed freedom or a family of her own, as her blood made her such a focus and catalyst for political ambition.

Bess Of Hardwicke

Through her father, Arbella was a direct descendant of King Henry VII of England, first king of the House of Tudor. As the only child of Charles Stuart, Earl of Lennox, and Elizabeth Cavendish, paternally she was a grandchild of Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox, and Lady Margaret Douglas, who was, in turn, the daughter of Princess Margaret Tudor and Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus and therefore a granddaughter of Henry VII of England. Arbella's maternal grandparents, although slightly less blue blooded, were Sir William Cavendish and Bess of Hardwick.

Not long before Arbella’s birth, one of the shrewdest and most erstwhile women of the Tudor Age, Bess of Hardwick, Countess of Shrewsbury, found it prudent once again to arrange yet another dynastic match that benefitted her own elevated position in society as well as that of the future positions of her children.

One of the greatest Elizabethan Dynast’s of her time, Bess of Hardwick was brilliant and ambitious, vastly wealthy, and a personal friend of Queen Elizabeth I. As a result, she always scanned the candidates queuing in the noble marriage market for the best available match, intent on creating her own noble dynasty through spectacular marriages with the older more established families of the realm. Having weighed her options, Lady Shrewsbury decided to engineer a marriage between her daughter by her second husband, Sir William Cavendish, Elizabeth Cavendish, and Charles Stuart, the brother of Mary, Queen of Scots' husband, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley.

In 1574 Bess took advantage of a visit from the Countess of Lennox, niece of King Henry VIII and mother to Charles Stuart, the younger son of the Lennoxes, to bring her plans to fruition. As was her intention, the couple brought together by the political maneuverings of a powerful Elizabethan lady, was to serve a purpose, and that purpose was to place a member of her own family on the English throne. Thus, she engineered a marriage between her daughter Elizabeth Cavendish and Charles Stuart.

A young Charles Stuart With His Brother, Lord Darnley

A rather hurried marriage it was, arranged at Rufford Abbey in Nottinghamshire. Perhaps the “hushed up” nature of this event was an indication that all the parties involved were fully aware of the risk they were taking in not only promoting but legally securing such a match. The marriage ceremony even took place without the knowledge of Bess’s husband Lord Shrewsbury, who although was well aware of the suggested match some time prior to the event, declined to accept any responsibility in the matter after the marriage contract was signed.

At the time of this marriage, between the noble houses of Stuart and Cavendish, the Tudor succession sweepstakes were in full swing, with satellite members of the Tudor family jockeying for position in the lineup. No matter how tenuous the familial connection, everyone wanted a stake. As such, the Lennox family had a claim to the throne, therefore, the marriage was considered potentially treasonable as no royal assent had been obtained. To show her royal displeasure, Queen Elizabeth had the Countess of Lennox, mother of the bridegroom, sent to the Tower for several months, and sensing Bess as the instigator behind the match, ordered her to London to face an official inquiry, but surprisingly, Bess ignored the summons pleading ill health, and remained in Sheffield until the row died down. Bess’s grandchild born of this surreptitiously arranged marriage was Lady Arbella Stuart, who upon her birth had a claim to the thrones of Scotland and England.

The Earl & Countess Of Lennox

Bess must have been disappointed when her royal grandchild turned out to be a girl. Even so, the new baby had formidable family connections, which meant enormous importance as a political bargaining chip.

It has been suggested by historians that Bess very much desired Arbella to eventually become Queen, the ultimate dream of this dynastically driven matron. However, it is fact that Bess was forced by order of Queen Elizabeth to keep her granddaughter as far away from Court as possible and so Arbella remained within her grandmother’s household and was closely supervised in rural Derbyshire.

Later in life, Arbella blamed her grandmother for this turn of events, and the two fell out irrevocably when Arbella attempted to run away and marry a man who also had claim to the throne. In retaliation, Bess cut Arbella from her will and begged the Queen to take her granddaughter off her hands. Interestingly, although Arbella's royal claim was never officially recognized, it would take several hundred years before Bess eventually ended up with a descendant on the throne of England when Queen Elizabeth II succeeded in February of 1952.

In the autumn of the year of her birth, Arbella was baptized in the tiny village of Edensor. As was the expected custom of the time, and prescribed only to those of high rank, she was christened, not in the private chapel of the family home, but publicly with all the ceremony befitting the rank of the child. Edensor was the nearest parish church to the imposing Chatsworth House, one of the estates of her maternal grandmother Bess. With the many guests from Court, and representatives of neighboring families, it would not have been a surprise to have found mingling amongst the celebrants that day, a few of Sir Francis Walsingham's spies. The naming of the infant would have proceeded in the manner proper to her semi-royal state with Arbella lying in the arms of one of her sponsors, Lady Mary Talbot, step-daughter of Bess. Charles Cavendish, one of Arbella's uncles, recorded the event; “Arbella whimpered as a fine, white vestment, called a 'chrysome', was laid over her and she was carried, with due solemnity, to the font in the centre of the nave. “ Beside Lady Mary stood another of Arbella's uncles, William Cavendish, these two are the only sponsors recorded, but in the tradition of the age, there were probably three or four others as well. The child was splashed with holy water and anointed with oil. The sponsors offered gifts of gold and silver which were in turn blessed by the priest. When the christening service was over, Lady Arbella Stuart was very rarely, if ever, seen again by the public until she was twelve years old. Margaret Lennox took both parents and child back to London with her.

Granted, Arbella’s family connections were impressive; first cousin of the future King James VI of Scotland; niece of Mary, Queen of Scots; cousin-german of Queen Elizabeth of England; heiress of the earldom of Lennox in her own right, and sixth in succession to the English throne. Initially however, having gotten over her initial disappointment that Arbella was not the long for boy; she was the undisputed favorite granddaughter of the Countess of Shrewsbury and the 'jewel' of that formidable lady's eye.

When Arbella’s father, Charles Stuart, Earl of Lennox, succumbed to the destruction of his lungs in April 1576, not surprising to some, since he had been plagued his entire life with ill health; he was only twenty-one years old and had been married about eighteen months. Charles’ sudden death started a family wrangle, which involved Arbella, which was to eventually last for some time.

At the time of Charles's untimely death, both King James VI of Scotland and the Regent Morton, disregarded Arbella as the rightful heir of the Lennox title, and subsequently pronounced the title extinct. As would be expected this caused a great furor and considerable consternation in the household of the two Lady Lennoxes.

Arbella’s grandmother, Margaret Lennox wrote at once to the Scottish Council demanding that the earldom be given back to her granddaughter. So sure was the doting Margaret that she was in the right, she had a portrait painted of the “little countess” at twenty-three months old. In the portrait Arbella is propped upright and dressed as a miniature adult. A plump child's face gazes solemnly from the canvas. In her tightly gripped hand she clutches a doll which perhaps she could not be induced to surrender. Bracelets, a necklace and a pearl-encrusted coronet adorn the baby figure. In the top left-hand corner of the painting is inscribed 'Arbella Comttessa Levinae', arrogantly insisted upon by Margaret Lennox, that this infant was, in fact, the rightful Countess of Lennox. Margaret's demand, the Regent Morton tartly replied that, as James had been a minor when the title was granted to the child's father, it could be revoked at any time. To add further, since the claimant was a female, and a child to boot, this was as good a time to do it as any.

The Young Arbella

Desperate at this response, Margaret turned to James VI’s mother, Queen Mary Stuart to enlist her aid in getting her son to disgorge the title. Mary, who supported the child, drafted a codicil to her will, dated February 1577, in which she commanded James to relinquish the title in favor of Arbella. The following year Mary repeated her wishes to the Bishop of Glasgow. This, in turn, had not the slightest effect, and in May 1578 King James VI conferred the Earldom of Lennox upon Robert Stuart, Bishop of Caithness, Arbella’s great uncle, brother to her grandfather Mathew Stuart, the 4^th Earl of Lennox.

While one grandmother approached Mary, Queen of Scots with entreaties of help, Bess felt less kindly towards Mary after Arbella's birth. When the Countess of Lennox died in 1578, Queen Elizabeth seized the English estates of the departed Countess. At the same time she let it be known that the child, Arbella, was now under her protection, whereupon she became the ward of William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley.

George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury

Bess and her husband the Earl of Shrewsbury both solicited Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, to remind the Queen of the exigency of Lady Lennox and her infant. For this purpose Bess had declared a temporary truce in her quarrel with Shrewsbury. However, Bess who was far too shrewd did not rely solely upon the Queen of England to succor her grandchild. In an about face, she had changed her approach to the deposed Scottish queen, and at that time she was on good terms with her husband's prisoner, Mary Stuart, whose aid she enlisted in an attempt to procure for Arbella any of the deceased Countess's possessions, not yet seized by the Crown.

One item of interest that Arbella inherited when the Countess of Lennox died was her grandmother’s casket with jewels, left into the hands of Mr. Thomas Fowler, to be delivered to the Lady Arbella at the age of fourteen:

1. A jewel set with a fair table diamond, a table ruby, and an emerald with a fair great pearl.

2. A cross all set with fair great diamonds, with a square linked chain.

3. A jewel set with a ballast and a fair table diamond set be-neath it.

4. A H (shaped) of gold set with rock ruby.

5. A burrish set with a fair diamond.

6. A rose set with fair diamonds.

7. A carcenet set with table diamonds.

8. A girdle set with table diamonds.

9. A border set with table diamonds.

10. A fair pearl chain.

11. A chain set with rock rubies, pillar wise.

12. A chain of small turquoise set upon a three-square pillar.

13. A clock set in crystal with a wolf of gold upon.

14. Buttons of rock rubies to set on a gown.

15. Table diamonds to set upon a sleeve.

16. Two tablets of gold, the one with two agates with divers small turquoise; the other enamelled the form of a globe.

17. Bracelets, two pair; one of agate, and the other of plain gold with other things that be not yet in memory.

At Bess's prompting, Mary issued a warrant wrote in her own hand, dated September 19, 1579, addressed to Thomas Fowler, Esq., executor of the will:

'...Be it known that we, Mary, by the grace of God, Queen of Scotland... do will and require Thomas Fowler, sole executor to our dearest mother-in-law and aunt... to deliver into the hands and custody of our right well-beloved cousin, Elizabeth, Countess of Shresbury, all and every such jewels... for the use of the Lady Arbella Stuart, her grandchild, if God send her life til fourteen years of age; if not then, for the use of our dear and only son the prince of Scotland...'

Mary, Queen Of Scots

Admitting failure, it was determined that Leicester did not do so well with Elizabeth, as Bess had hoped when he broached the queen on the subject of an allowance of the widowed countess and her baby, Arbella. Elizabeth, knowing the full reality of Bess’s financial situation, knew that Bess could well afford their upkeep, and therefore was not disposed to subsidize the bereaved in a life of luxury. Only because 'Sweet Robin' was the supplicant, Elizabeth grudgingly bestowed a pension of £400 a year on the Countess of Lennox and £200 for Arbella. As for the jewelry, Elizabeth did not even get a glimpse of them. Thomas Fowler, before the warrant reached him, had returned to Scotland taking the casket with him. Soon after his arrival in Scotland, Fowler died and the jewels were seized by the Crown. Later, Fowler's son, acting on behalf of Arbella, tried unsuccessfully to get the Scots to hand them back. As with her Lennox title, the jewels were hers by right, but James had them both and meant to keep them.

With no other recourse, Arbella and her mother came to live with Bess. Entirely dependent upon Bess, Arbella's mother had no alternative but to yield to the old lady's positive ideas on the upbringing of her daughter. Arbella was a confident, intelligent girl who had inherited her grandmother’s determination, her surviving letters, even those she wrote in childhood, are passionate and articulate. By the time the little girl was six years old, an educational routine had been established from which the child was not allowed to deviate. At seven, she was fluent in French and Latin and well-versed in Italian. Chubby fingers could sew a fine seam, but she found embroidery with stiff silver and gold thread difficult. Long hours were spent mastering the virginals and the lute; and to comport herself with grace in the intricate dances of the period. She was not considered a pretty child but she bore herself well with an excellent carriage inculcated by Bess, herself noted for her splendid straight-backed figure. There were no children of her own age at Chatsworth or Sheffield with whom she could play, or even share her lessons with. Her mother, still grieving for her lost husband, paid but scant attention to her only child. The Earl of Shrewsbury was an austere and remote figure to Arbella, preoccupied as he was with the problem of Mary Stuart, now confined a close prisoner in the Turret House of Sheffield Castle. During the Twelfth Night celebrations at Sheffield, in the year 1582, Arbella's mother complained of feeling unwell. Elizabeth Cavendish, Countess of Lennox, died in 1582, at twenty seven years old, leaving the child in the entire care of Bess.

"Princess" Arbella

During most of her childhood she lived in the protective isolation of Hardwick Hall with her maternal grandmother, the redoubtable Bess. There were, apparently, periodic visits to the court of Elizabeth I of England and to London, including one that lasted for a few years, from September 1589 to July 1592. Historian David Durant has suggested that, during this period, "In effect Bess was moving the operational center of her business empire from Derbyshire to London".

Bess, whose proven mien had been one of progress, promotion and with an ever calculating eye to the future, now wished to discredit Mary Stuart from her right to the English throne, essentially so that her granddaughter would move up a peg and be closer to the position. While imprisoned, Queen Mary spent a great deal of time with Arbella and became fond of the child. It was not too long before she found out Bess's plans for Arbella to possibly inherit the English throne; as a result, the relationship between the two women became very bitter.

It was about this time that Bess, succumbed to the building bug, which she was prone to do, and replaced the old house with what is known as Hardwick Hall, with construction beginning from 1585. With a distance of four hundred and twenty-five years, it is perhaps easy to surmise that she had it built and furnished for a future Queen of England, which she hoped Arbella to be. However, to be given their due, others say that she built this house to be "a cradle to her birth place". A grand monument to herself and her achievements! To whatever school of thought you subscribe, Bess wanted her house to be unlike any before or after it. While Queen Elizabeth was childless and would, with certainty, remain so, Bess felt justified in giving orders to the household staff to address the Lady Arbella as 'Your Highness'. Bess insisted that her granddaughter was, henceforth, to be treated as royalty; served first at table, after the food had been tasted for poison; given precedence over everyone, and curtsies to her were to be as low as those to the queen. In spite of the position accorded to her in her grandmother’s home, Arbella herself was kept firmly at her books.

In an unending game of politics, which left everyone guessing, Queen Elizabeth remained obstinately silent on the subject of her successor. Despite Bess's optimism, she concluded that matters must be pushed a step further and was determined that Arbella make a suitable marriage. Drawing from her past, Bess, experienced match-maker that she was, cast about for a husband for her 'jewel'. After much thought, her choice for Arbella was the Earl of Leicester's son, Lord Denbigh, who was just two years old. Leicester saw in the marriage arrangement a way of staying close to the throne, should Arbella have succeeded to the throne he would been in the enviable position of being the queen's father-in-law. Shades of her own parent’s quietly arranged match were at the fore when Arbella and Robert, Lord Denbigh were formally betrothed. Arbella sent a present to the little boy together with a miniature of herself. Her new status as a future bride aside, she listened gravely as her grandmother explained that it would be some years before she was wed, and then trotted obediently back to her regimen of studies.

Robert Dudley, Earl Of Leicester

Predictably, and in a repeat of her reaction to the Stuart/Cavendish marriage of some ten years before, Elizabeth was outraged when she received the news of the betrothal. Promptly, Leicester was ordered from the Court. Unfortunately, Lord Denbigh died in July 1584 and for the time being, no other marriage agreements were undertaken after this as to not tempt fate.

Queen Elizabeth Of England

Finally convinced that she had no other option, in January of 1587, Elizabeth scrawled her ornate signature on Mary's death-warrant and a few weeks later Mary died horribly at Fotheringay. While the population of London danced in the streets in celebration of the ghastly event, it is rumored that Arbella, eleven years old, wept for the memory of the lady she had known all her life. It is unlikely that the child thought of the dead woman as another barrier removed from her path to the throne. James, King of Scotland was now assumed to be heir-presumptive to the throne of England, but it remained for Elizabeth to name her successor. Arbella's claim was as valid as James's; but with one important qualification. Arbella had been born in England, while James was of alien birth and, by English law; this fact debarred him from succeeding.

Intent on what he considered his birthright, King James VI insisted upon a written document ensuring his succession. To add further, he had had the impertinence to haughtily request that Elizabeth see to it that the other claimant did not contract a marriage that might strengthen her position. Any talk of the succession presupposed Elizabeth's death, and this was one subject the Queen could not bear to contemplate.

King James

Wily politician that she was and to perhaps teach James a lesson for daring to presume too far, Elizabeth promptly, and openly, acknowledged that there was another in the running. As a result, Arbella was invited to the Court for the first time. Temporarily under a cloud of royal displeasure, because of her marital dispute with Shrewsbury, Bess did not accompany the child to Court but sent her in the care of her son, Charles Cavendish. During the summer of 1587, Arbella was staying in London with Mary Talbot at Shrewsbury House. In August of 1587, at the age of twelve years she went to Court and dined with the Queen Elizabeth. At Court, Arbella found to her delight that she was treated with all the deference due to her rank and, as the only Princess of the Blood in England, took precedence over all the other ladies.

In the following year, 1588, Arbella once again was invited to return to Court. However, Arbella over estimated her importance in the bigger picture and was forced to leave in disgrace. Apparently, she had insisted that she was more important than others in the Queen's presence, which caused conflicts and succeeded with her being ordered from Court by the Master of Ceremonies.

An extant note in French, written to Lord Burghley in Arbella's Italic hand and addressed on the eve of the Spanish Armada battles, was dated July 13, 1588 and "postmarked" from the Talbots' Coleman Street Residence in London. It is certain proof of the London visits.

About 1589, one "Morley" became Arbella's "attendant" and "reader," as reported in a dispatch from Bess of Hardwick to Lord Burghley, dated September 21, 1592. Bess recounts "Morley's" service to Arbella over "the space of three years and a half." She also notes he requested a lifetime stipend from Arbella based on the fact he had "been much damnified by leaving the University"; this has led to speculation that 'Morley' was the poet Christopher Marlowe.

Christopher Marlow

With the beginning of the new decade, great changes started to occur in the lives of both Arbella and her grandmother. In 1590, Lord Shrewsbury died and Bess regained all her lands, Wingfield Manor, its iron works, smithies and glass works, Bolsover Castle and its coal pits, the parks at Alveton in Staffordshire, Shirland in Derbyshire and Over Uden in Yorkshire for their pastures. Minerals and timbers in her tenure were exploited and she gained a large widow's jointure. She was now the richest woman, other than the Queen, in England.

Owing to Arbella's status as a possible heir to the throne, there was discussion of many appropriate marriages for her throughout her childhood. Various well-born men were considered as prospective husbands for Arbella. Anyone who married her would gain enormous political power, and might well become King of England. This was too great a prize for any faction to allow its rival; thus Arbella was never allowed to stay engaged to anyone for long.

In 1588, it was proposed to King James VI of Scotland that Esmé Stuart, 2nd Duke of Lennox should be married to Arbella, but nothing seems to have come of this suggestion. It would have suited the Roman Catholic Church for her to marry a member of the House of Savoy and then take the English throne. Things started to look up in 1592, when the marriage of Arbella to Raunutio Farnese, the eldest son of Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma and Maria of Portugal, was discussed. Parma wished to see a likeness of this important young lady. Two miniatures of Arbella, by Hilliard, were in existence and one was obtained for the Duke to see. According to the Curiosities of Literature by Isaac D'Israeli, this scheme originated with the Pope, who eventually settled on his own brother, a cardinal, as a suitable husband for Arbella; the Pope defrocked his brother, freeing him to marry "Arbelle", as the Italians spelled her name and thus claim the Kingdom of England. Nothing came of this plan, and in fact there is no direct evidence that Arbella was either a believing Catholic or a Protestant. Unfortunately, the Duke of Parma, steward of the Farnese marriage plan, died shortly after, leaving all plans of marriage for Arbella shattered once again. In 1604, Sigismund III Vasa, King of Poland sent an ambassador to England to ask for Arbella to be his queen. This offer too was rejected.

Around this time in English history, it also coincided that there were many plots hatched and attempted to reinstate the Catholic Church on the throne via Arbella. A rumor sprang up purporting that Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland, a powerful catholic nobleman, sought Arbella for his wife. The Percy’s wielded great influence in the North, where the nobles had been known to be sympathetic to Mary, Queen of Scots. Queen Elizabeth knew the Percy’s as potential trouble makers with a family history of plotting and double-dealing not calculated to inspire confidence. Henry Percy had no cause to love the Protestant ruler of England. Sensing it best to play her cards close to the chest, Bess assured the Queen of England that this would not happen.

With Arbella not getting any younger and wanting a much longed for marriage to gain her freedom, in 1602, she began to plot her own marriage to Edward Seymour, the eldest grandson of the Earl of Hertford and Lady Catherine Grey. She could not have tried harder to find a more unacceptable future bridegroom, especially in the eyes of the queen, since both Arbella and Edward were claimants to the throne. The Earl of Hertford apparently didn't gain sympathy for young lovers through his own experience with the queen’s cousin. His eldest son, Edward, having married Honora Rogers, a girl far below his station; Hertford did everything he could to end the marriage and his son threatened to commit suicide rather than return to Hertford's home.

The plot was a simple one, a servant named Dodderage, was sent by Arbella on a horse provided by Henry Cavendish, with a message regarding the marriage of Edward Seymour and Arbella Stuart. On December 30, 1602, Dodderage was held in the gatehouse jail at Westminster for being involved in a plot against the Queen of England. All the while, Arbella awaited the return of Dodderage and Edward Seymour her future husband. The marriage plans of the young couple had been thwarted, when the supposed groom's grandfather, Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford, reported the plan to the queen.

On January 7, 1603, Sir Henry Bronker, the Queen of England's right-hand man, arrived at Hardwick and gave a letter to Bess and asked to speak to Arbella in private. Arbella was made to write her confession on paper, not happy with her attempted confession, a disappointed Bronker eventually wrote the confession himself and she signed it. Arbella begged pardon from the queen.

A concerned Bess asked that her granddaughter be placed elsewhere to learn to be more considerate or to bestow her in marriage. However, Queen Elizabeth wished for her to stay at Hardwick and have gentlemen and gentlewomen watch over her actions. To which Bess replied, informing the Queen that she could not guarantee the “good carriage” of Arbella.

Sensing the possibility of freedom, Arbella refused to eat until she was removed from her grandmother’s care at Hardwick. Again Bronker returned and Arbella told a story of promised marriage and love which was untrue and had to be pardoned once again. Soon after, Arbella started to write many incoherent letters to Bronker and it was concluded that she was insane. Bess was asked to make sure that her granddaughter stopped the letters. In retaliation, to an even stricter existence imposed upon her due to her loose cannon actions, Arbella rebelled and violent scenes followed between the two women.

On March 10, 1603, Henry Cavendish and Henry Stapleton, a catholic, planned to help Arbella escape from Hardwick. Sadly, this attempted escape was not planned well. The liberators went to Ault Hucknall to watch from the church tower for Arbella to take her exercise in front of Hardwick. However, they were unable to obtain the key from the Vicar. It seems that Bess did not allow Arbella to pass through the porter's lodge on any occasion, and as a result, the grounds of Hardwick were the extent of her freedom.

Hardwick Hall

With no other options, Henry Cavendish and Henry Stapleton, a bit more emboldened went to Hardwick directly and asked to speak to Arbella. Henry Cavendish, known as the bad son, was allowed into the house, but Stapleton was not. It seems that Arbella talked with Henry and walked to the porter's lodge with him. Bess's servants, under strict orders from their mistress, did not allow Arbella's passage through the lodge, as it had become known that a party of thirty to forty men waited for them at Hucknall Village.

Even in old age and poor health, the queen was aware of the going’s on in her kingdom, especially in relation to errant family members and she soon heard of the attempted escape and threats on her life, In retaliation, Elizabeth sent Arbella to West Park, Bedfordshire, house of the Earl of Kent and to her relief, Bess was left in peace.

Soon afterwards, March 24, 1603, Queen Elizabeth died and dashing Arbella’s hopes, named as her successor, King James VI of Scotland.

At some point in 1603, after James's ascension to the English throne, there was a plot, in which Sir Walter Raleigh was alleged to being involved to overthrow him and put Arbella on the throne; but when she was invited to participate by agreeing in writing to King Philip III of Spain, she reported the plan to James.

During the remaining years of her long life, Bess of Hardwick still planned, plotted and schemed with the marriages of her remaining grandchildren. In 1605, Arbella visited Bess when William Cavendish was raised to the peerage, on behalf of James VI. In return, she was given £300 in cash and a gold cup. Early in 1608, Bess was reported to be so ill her maid could not leave her bedside, day or night. This dynamic old matriarch, an almost iconic symbol of Tudor Womanhood, died on February 13, 1608. In control to the last and with the “last word”, Bess did not include her son, Henry Cavendish or her granddaughter, Arbella, in her will.

On June 22, 1610, in a secret ceremony at Greenwich, when she was 35, Arbella made the most dangerous of possible marriages with William Seymour, known as Lord Beauchamp, who later succeeded as 2nd Duke of Somerset. William was the younger brother of the Edward Seymour she tried to marry in 1602, Arbella was thirteen years his senior. Predictably the marriage was most certainly disapproved of by King James I of England, since the marriage of two potential Tudor pretenders to the throne, combined with two lines of descendants of both sisters of Henry VIII being united, who were fourth and sixth in line to the English throne respectively, could only be seen as a threat to the ruling dynasty.

William Seymour, 2nd Duke Of Somerset

So great was the panic at court at the prospect of a new and threatening dynasty that they were deliberately separated shortly after their marriage. Arbella was placed under house arrest in Sir Thomas Perry's house in Lambeth and Seymour was sentenced to be imprisoned for life in the Tower of London, thus becoming the fourth of five generations of Seymour’s to spend time in the Tower.

Initially, the couple had some liberty within their captivity, and some of Arbella's letters to Seymour and to King James during this period survive. When the king learned of her letters to Seymour, however, he ordered Arbella's transfer to the custody of William James, Bishop of Durham. Arbella claimed to be ill, so her departure for Durham was delayed.

Ever resourceful, the couple used that delay to plan their escape. Arbella dressed as a man and escaped to Lee, in Kent, but Seymour did not meet her there before their getaway ship was to sail for France, bad weather and other circumstances having prevented their meeting. However, Seymour did escape from the Tower, but by the time he reached Lee, Arbella was gone, so he caught the next ship to Flanders. Arbella's ship was overtaken by King James's men just before it reached Calais, France, and she was returned to England and imprisoned in the Tower of London. She never saw her husband again and starved herself to death in the Tower in 1615, without ever being reunited with her husband. William managed to reach safety abroad at Ostend.

Seymour, who succeeded his grandfather as Earl of Hertford in 1621, became a prominent member of the opposition to King Charles I in the House of Lords, supporting the Petition of Right of 1628, and co-signing the letter of the 12 Peers of 1640, along with his brother-in-law the Earl of Essex.

However, Hertford parted company with the more radical opponents of the King in the Long Parliament in 1641, and was created Marquess of Hertford by the king. In the Civil War, Hertford, along with such figures as Sir Edward Hyde, was a moderate royalist, and throughout sought a compromise settlement, continuing unofficial negotiations with his brother-in-law Essex, who became the Parliamentary commander, throughout the war. He was nevertheless a trusted supporter of the king, who made him guardian of his son the Prince of Wales, and who undertook several important military commands in royalist service over the course of the war, commanding troops from South Wales.

After the end of the First Civil War and the king's imprisonment, Hertford was the most prominent nobleman to remain alongside the king throughout his captivity, and was with him up until his execution in 1649. During the Interregnum, Hertford largely kept himself away from both politics and royalist conspiracies, believing that the monarchy would be restored given time, and that conspiracies would only delay the restoration.

When the Restoration came in 1660, Hertford was restored to all his former positions and his services in the Royalist cause was further recognized by King Charles II who restored Hertford to his great-grandfather's dukedom of Somerset which had been forfeited in 1552. He died at Essex House, London and was buried on November 1, 1660 at Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire.

The Quarterings Of A Tudor Heiress

Lady Arbella Stuart

1 – Lady Arbella Stewart

1575-1615

Parents:

2 - Charles Stewart, Earl of Lennox.

1555-1576

3 - Elizabeth Cavendish.

1555-1582

Grandparents:

4 - Matthew Stewart, Earl of Lennox.

1516-1571

5 – Lady Margaret Douglas.

1515-1578

6 – Sir William Cavendish.

1505-1557

7 - Elizabeth Hardwick.

1521-1608

Great Grandparents:

8 - John Stewart, Earl of Lennox.

ca 1495-1526

9 - Elizabeth Stewart.

ca 1491-1529

10 - Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus.

ca 1489-1557

11 – Lady Margaret Tudor.

1489-1541

12 - Thomas Cavendish. d. 1523

13 - Alice Smith. d. 1515

14 - John Hardwick.

1495-1528

15 - Elizabeth Leake.

1499-ca 1570

Great Great Grandparents:

16 - Matthew Stewart, Earl of Lennox. d. 1513

17 - Elizabeth Hamilton. d. 1531

18 - John Stewart, Earl of Atholl.

ca 1440-1512

19 - Eleanor Sinclair. d. 1518

20 - George Douglas.

ca 1469-1513

21 - Elizabeth Drummond. d. 1514

22 - Henry VII Tudor, King of England.

1457-1509

23 – Lady Elizabeth Plantagenêt.

1466-1503

24 - Thomas Cavendish. d. 1477

25 - Katherine Scudamore. d. 1499

26 – John Smith.

27 – Alice Brecknock.

28 - John Hardwick. d. 1470

29 - Elizabeth Pinchbeck.

30 – Thomas Leake.

31 – Margaret Fox.

Great Great Great Grandparents:

32 - John Stewart, Earl of Lennox. d. 1495

33 - Margaret Montgomerie. d. 1493

34 - James, Lord Hamilton.

ca 1415-1479

35 - Mary Stewart.

ca 1453-1488

36 - James Stewart. d. 1451

37 - Lady Joan Beaufort.

ca 1407-1445

38 - William, Lord Sinclair. 1480

39 - Marjory Sutherland. d. 1476/1480

40 - Archibald "Bell-the-Cat" Douglas, Earl of Angus.

1449-1513

41 - Elizabeth Boyd. d. 1497

42 - John, Lord Drummond.

1446-1519

43 - Elizabeth Lindsay. d. 1509

44 - Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond.

ca 1430-1456

45 – Lady Margaret Beaufort.

1443-1509

46 - Edward IV of Rouen Plantagenêt, King of England.

1442-1483

47 - Elizabeth Woodville.

ca 1437-1492

48 – William Cavendish.

49 – Joan Staventon.

50 – John Scudamore.

51 – Joan Parry.

52 – John Eley Smith.

53 – Joan Brooks.

54 - John Brecknock.

55 – Lettice Spignurel.

56 - John Hardwick. d. 1451

57 - Elizabeth de Bakewell.

58 - Thomas Pinchbeck. d. ca 1492

59 - Ann Greene.

60 – William Leake.

61 – Catherine Chaworth.

62 – William Fox.

63 – Untraced.

Great Great Great Great Grandparents:

64 - Alan Stewart, Seigneur d'Aubigny-sur-Nère.

ca 1408-1438

65 - Catherine Seton.

ca 1410-1468/1477

66 - Alexander Montgomerie. d. 1452

67 - Elizabeth Hepburn.

68 - James Hamilton, Lord of Cadzow.

ca 1390-/1441

69 - Janet Livingstone. d. 1439

70 - James II Stewart, King of Scotland.

1430-1460

71 - Marie van Egmond.

ca 1432-1463

72 - John Stewart, Lord of Innermeath.

ca 1360-1421

73 - Isabel of Argyll, Lady of Lorn. d.1439

74 - John Beaufort, Earl of Somerset.

ca 1371-1410

75 – Lady Margaret Holland.

1385-1429/1439

76 - Henry Sinclair, Earl of Orkney.

ca 1375-1410

77 - Jill Douglas.

ca 1390-1438/

78 - Alexander Sutherland.

ca 1395-/1458

79 - Catherine Chalmer.

80 - George Douglas, Earl of Angus. d. 1463

81 - Isabel Sibbald. d. ca 1501

82 - Robert, Lord Boyd. d. 1482

83 - Mariota Maxwell. d. 1473

84 - Malcolm Drummond. d. 1461

85 - Mariota Murray.

86 - Alexander Lindsay, Earl of Crawford. d. 1453

87 - Margaret Dunbar. d. ca 1498

88 - Owen Tudor.

ca 1400-1461

89 – Princess Catherine of France.

1401-1437

90 - John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset.

1404-1444

91 - Margaret de Beauchamp.

ca 1410-1482

92 - Richard Plantagenêt, Duke of York.

1411-1460

93 – Lady Cecily Nevill.

1415-1495

94 - Richard Woodville, Earl Rivers.

ca 1415-1469

95 - Jacqueline de Luxembourg.

ca 1416-1472

96 – John Cavendish.

97 – Joan Clopton.

98 – John Staventon.

99 – Untraced.

100 – John Scudamore.

101 – Alice Glendower.

102 – John Parry.

103 – Untraced.

104 – Roger de la Ya.

105 – Johanna Coffin.

106 –107 Untraced.

108 – David Brecknock.

109 – Untraced.

110 –111 Untraced.

112 - Roger Hardwick

113 - Nicola Barlow

116 - Richard Pinchbeck

117 - Margaret Tailboys

118 - Thomas Greene 1400-/1462

119 - Marina Bellers +1489

120 – John Leek.

121 – Alice de Grey.

122 – Thomas Chaworth.

123 – Isabel Aylesbury.

124-127. Untraced.

Note: Many of our articles have direct quotes from sources you can cite, within the Wikipedia article! This article doesn't yet, but we're working on it! See more info or our list of citable articles.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Royal Coat of Arms of Scotland, as used before 1603

The monarch of Scotland was the head of state of the Kingdom of Scotland. According to tradition, the first King of Scots was Kenneth MacAlpin (Cináed mac Ailpín), who founded the state in 843. The distinction between the Kingdom of Alba/Scotland and the Kingdom of the Picts is rather the product of later medieval myth and confusion from a change in nomenclature, i.e. Rex Pictorum (King of the Picts) becomes ri Alban (King of Alba) under Donald II when annals switched from Latin to vernacular around the end of the 9th century, by which time the word Alba in Gaelic had come to refer to the Kingdom of the Picts rather than Britain (its older meaning).^{[citation needed]}

The Kingdom of the Picts just became known as Kingdom of Alba in Gaelic, which later became known in English as Scotland; the terms are retained in both languages to this day. By the late 11th century at the very latest, Scottish kings were using the term rex Scotorum, or King of Scots, to refer to themselves in Latin. The title of King of Scots fell out of use in 1707 when the Kingdom of Scotland merged with the Kingdom of England to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. Thus Queen Anne became the last monarch of Scotland (and concurrently, the last monarch of England) and the first monarch of Great Britain. The two kingdoms had shared a monarch since 1603 (see Union of the Crowns), and Charles II was the last Scottish monarch to actually be crowned in Scotland, at Scone in 1651.

Coronation Oath

The Coronation Oath sworn by every King of Scots from James VI to Charles II was approved by the Parliament of Scotland in 1567:

'I, N.N., promise faithfully, in the presence of the eternal, my God, that I, enduring the whole Course of my Life, shall serve the same Eternal, my God, to the utmost of my Power, accordingly as he required in his most Holy Word, revealed and contained in the New and Old Testament; and according to the same Word shall maintain the true Religion of Jesus Christ, the preaching of his Holy Word, and due and right administration of his Sacraments, now received and practised within this Realm; and shall abolish and oppose all false Religion contrary to the same; and shall rule the People committed to my Charge, according to the Will and Command of God, revealed in his foresaid Word, and according to the lovable Laws and Constitutions received in this Realm, in no way repugnant to the said Word of the Eternal, my God; and shall procure to my utmost to the Kirk of God and whole Christian people true and perfect Peace in all times coming; the Rights and Rents, with all just privileges of the Crown of Scotland, I shall preserve and keep inviolate, neither shall I transfer nor alienate the same; I shall forbid and repress in all Estates and all Degrees theft, Oppression and all kind of Wrong; in all Judgements, I shall command and procure that Justice and Equity be kept to all creatures without exception, as he be merciful to me and you that is the Lord and Father of all Mercies; and out of all my lands and empire I shall be careful to root out all Heresy and Enemies to the true Worship of God, that shall be convicted by the true Kirk of God of the foresaid Crimes; and these Things above-written I faithfully affirm by my solemn Oath.'

The Coronation Oath sworn by Mary II, William II and Anne was approved by the Parliament of Scotland on 18 April 1689. ^[1] The oath was as follows:

'WE William and Mary, King and Queen of Scotland, faithfully promise and swear, by this our solemn Oath, in presence of the Eternal God, that during the whole Course of our Life we will serve the same Eternal God, to the uttermost of our Power, according as he has required in his most Holy Word, revealed and contained in the New and Old Testament; and according to the same Word shall maintain the true Religion of Christ Jesus, the preaching of his Holy Word, and the due and right Ministration of the Sacraments, now received and preached within the Realm of Scotland; and shall abolish and gainstand all false Religion contrary to the same, and shall rule the People committed to our Charge, according to the Will and Command of God, revealed in his aforesaid Word, and according to the laudable Laws and Constitutions received in this Realm, no ways repugnant to the said Word of the Eternal God; and shall procure, to the utmost of our power, to the Kirk of God, and whole Christian People, true and perfect Peace in all time coming. That we shall preserve and keep inviolated the Rights and Rents, with all just Privileges of the Crown of Scotland, neither shall we transfer nor alienate the same; that we shall forbid and repress in all Estates and Degrees, Reif, Oppression and all kind of Wrong. And we shall command and procure, that Justice and Equity in all Judgments be kept to all Persons without exception, us the Lord and Father of all Mercies shall be merciful to us. And we shall be careful to root out all Heretics and Enemies to the true Worship of God, that shall be convicted by the true Kirk of God, of the aforesaid Crimes, out of our Lands and Empire of Scotland. And we faithfully affirm the Things above-written by our solemn Oath.'

List of monarchs of Scotland

House of Alpin (848–1034)

Portrait	Traditional modern English regnal name (with modern Gaelic equivalent)	Medieval Gaelic name	Dynastic Status	Reign	Title	Nickname
	Kenneth I (Coinneach mac Ailpein)^[2]	Cináed mac Ailpín Ciniod m. Ailpin	son of Alpin king of Dal Riata	843/848 - 13 February 858	Rex Pictorum ("King of the Picts")	An Ferbasach, "The Conqueror"^[3]
—	Donald I (Dòmhnall mac Ailpein)	Domnall mac Ailpín	son of Alpin king of Dal Riata, and brother of Kenneth I	858 – 13 April 862	Rex Pictorum ("King of the Picts")
	Constantine I (Còiseam mac Choinnich)	Causantín mac Cináeda	Son of Kenneth I	862–877	Rex Pictorum ("King of the Picts")	An Finn-Shoichleach, "The Wine-Bountiful"^[4]
—	Áed (Aodh mac Choinnich)	Áed mac Cináeda	Son of Kenneth I	877–878	Rex Pictorum ("King of the Picts")
—	Giric (Griogair mac Dhunghail)	Giric mac Dúngail	Son of Donald I	878–889		Mac Rath, "Son of Fortune"^[5]
—	Eochaid	Eochaid mac Run	† grandson of Kenneth I	*878–889?	—	—
	Donald II (Dòmhnall mac Chòiseim)	Domnall mac Causantín	Son of Constantine I	889–900	Rí Alban ("King of Scotland") Rì nan Albannaich ("King of Scots")	Dásachtach, the "Madman" or "Psycho"^[6]
	Constantine II (Còiseam mac Aoidh)	Causantín mac Áeda	Son of Áed	900–943	Rí Alban	An Midhaise, "the Middle Aged".^[7]
	Malcolm I (Maol Chaluim mac Dhòmhnaill)	Máel Coluim mac Domnaill	Son of Donald II	943–954	Rí Alban	An Bodhbhdercc, "the Dangerous Red"^[8]
	Indulf^[9]	Ildulb mac Causantín	Son of Constantine II	954–962	Rí Alban	An Ionsaighthigh, "the Aggressor"^[10]
—	Dub (Dubh or Duff) (Dubh mac Mhaoil Chaluim)	Dub mac Maíl Choluim	Son of Malcolm I	962–967	Rí Alban	Dén, "the Vehement"^[11]
—	Cuilén (Cailean)	Cuilén mac Ilduilb	Son of Indulf	967–971	Rí Alban	An Fionn, "the White"^[12]
—	Amlaíb (Amhlaigh)	Amlaíb mac Ilduilb	Son of Indulf	* 973x–977	Rí Alban
	Kenneth II (Coinneach mac Mhaoil Chaluim)	Cináed mac Maíl Choluim	Son of Malcolm I	971 x 977–995	Rí Alban	An Fionnghalach, "The Fratricide"^[13]
	Constantine III (Còiseam mac Chailein)	Causantín mac Cuiléin	Son of Cuilén	995–997	Rí Alban
	Kenneth III (Coinneach mac Dhuibh)	Cináed mac Duib	Son of Dub	997 – 25 March 1005	Rí Alban	An Donn, "the Chief"/ "the Brown".^[14]
	Malcolm II (Maol Chaluim mac Choinnich)	Máel Coluim mac Cináeda	Son of Kenneth II	1005–1034	Rí Alban / Rex Scotiae	Forranach, "the Destroyer";^[15]

House of Dunkeld, 1034–1286

Duncan succeeded to the throne as the maternal grandson of Malcolm II. After an unsuccessful reign, Duncan was killed in battle by Macbeth, who had a long and relatively successful reign. In a series of battles between 1057 and 1058, Duncan's son Malcolm III defeated and killed Macbeth and Macbeth's stepson and heir Lulach, and claimed the throne. The dynastic feuds did not end there: on Malcolm's death in battle, his brother Donald Ban claimed the throne, expelling Malcolm's sons from Scotland; a civil war in the family ensued, with Donald Ban and Malcolm's son Edmund opposed by Malcolm's English-backed sons, led first by Duncan II and then by Edgar. Edgar triumphed, sending his uncle and brother to monasteries. After the reign of David I, the Scottish throne was passed according to rules of primogeniture, moving from father to son, or where not possible, brother to brother.

Portrait	Traditional modern English regnal name	Medieval Gaelic name	Dynastic Status	Reign	Title	Nickname
	Duncan I (Donnchadh mac Crìonain)	Donnchad mac Crínáin	Grandson of Malcolm II	1034–1040	Rí Alban	An t-Ilgarach, "the Diseased" or "the Sick".^[16]
	Macbeth (MacBheatha mac Fhionnlaigh)	Mac Bethad mac Findláich	Son of Mormaer Findláech, Grandson of Malcolm II and husband of granddaughter of Kenneth III	1040–1057	Rí Alban	Rí Deircc, "the Red King"^[17]
—	Lulach (Lughlagh mac Gille Chomghain)	Lulach mac Gille Comgaín	Great-grandson of Kenneth III	1057–1058	Rí Alban	Tairbith, "the Unfortunate"^[17] - Fatuus, "the Foolish"^[18]
	Malcolm III (Maol Chaluim mac Dhonnchaidh)	Máel Coluim mac Donnchada	Son of Duncan I	1058–1093	Rí Alban/ Scottorum basileus	? Cenn Mór ("Canmore") "Great Chief"^[19]
—	Donald III (Dòmhnall mac Dhonnchaidh)	Domnall mac Donnchada	Son of Duncan I	1093–1097	Rí Alban	Bán, "the Fair".
	Duncan II (Donnchadh mac Mhaoil Chaluim)	Donnchad mac Maíl Choluim	Son of Malcolm III	1094	Rí Alban/ Rex Scottorum
	Edgar (Eagar mac Mhaoil Chaluim)	Étgar mac Maíl Choluim	Son of Malcolm III	1097–1107	Rí Alban/ Rex Scottorum	Probus, "the Valiant"^[20]
	Alexander I (Alasdair mac Mhaoil Chaluim)	Alaxandair mac Maíl Choluim	Son of Malcolm III	1107–1124	Rí Alban/ Rex Scottorum	"The Fierce"^[21]
	David I (Dàibhidh mac Mhaoil Chaluim)	Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim	Son of Malcolm III	1124–1153	Rí Alban/ Rex Scottorum	"The Saint"^[22]
	Malcolm IV (Maol Chaluim mac Eanraig)	Máel Coluim mac Eanric	Grandson of David I	1153–1165	Rí Alban/ Rex Scottorum	Virgo "The Maiden" - Cenn Mór, "Great Chief"^[23]
	William I "the Lion" (Uilleam mac Eanraig)	Uilliam mac Eanric	Grandson of David I	1165–1214	Rí Alban/ Rex Scottorum	"The Lion" - Garbh, "the Rough"^[24]
	Alexander II (Alasdair mac Uilleim)	Alaxandair mac Uilliam	Son of William I	1214–1249	Rí Alban/ Rex Scottorum
	Alexander III (Alasdair mac Alasdair)	Alaxandair mac Alaxandair	Son of Alexander II	1249–1286	Rí Alban/ Rex Scottorum

House of Fairhair (1286–1290), disputed

The last King of the House of Dunkeld was Alexander III. His wife had borne him two sons and a daughter; but by 1286 his sons were dead and his daughter, Margaret, had borne only a single daughter, also named Margaret, to her husband Eric II of Norway before herself dying. Alexander had himself remarried, but in early 1286 he died in an accident while riding home. His wife, Yolande of Dreux, was pregnant; but by November 1286 all hope of her bearing a living child had passed. Accordingly, in the Treaty of Salisbury, the Guardians of Scotland recognised Alexander's granddaughter, Margaret of Norway, as Queen of Scots. Margaret remained in her father's Kingdom of Norway until Autumn 1290, when she was dispatched to Scotland. However, she died on the journey in Orkney, having never set foot on Scottish soil, and without being crowned at Scone. She is thus sometimes not considered Queen.

Portrait	Name	Dynastic Status	Birth	Ruled From	Coronation	Ruled Until	Death
—	Margaret the Maid of Norway	granddaughter of Alexander III	early 1283	25 November 1286 disputed	Never crowned	September/October 1290

First Interregnum (1290–1292)

Main article: Guardian of Scotland

House of Balliol (1292–1296)

The death of Margaret of Norway began a two-year interregnum in Scotland caused by a succession crisis. With her death, the descent of William I went extinct; nor was there an obvious heir by primogeniture. Thirteen candidates presented themselves; the most prominent were John de Balliol, great-grandson of William I's younger brother David of Huntingdon, and Robert de Brus, Lord of Annandale, David of Huntingdon's grandson. The Scottish Magnates invited Edward I of England to arbitrate the claims; he did so, but forced the Scots to swear allegiance to him as overlord. Eventually, it was decided that John de Balliol should become King; he proved weak and incapable, and in 1296 was forced to resign by Edward I, who then attempted to annex Scotland into the Kingdom of England.

Portrait	Name	Dynastic Status	Birth	Ruled From	Coronation	Ruled Until	Death
	John de Balliol Toom Tabard ("Empty Cloak") (Iain Balliol)	great-grandson of David of Huntingdon (brother of William I)	c.1249	17 November 1292	30 November 1292	10 July 1296 Abdicated	November 1314

Second Interregnum (1296–1306)

Main article: Guardian of Scotland

House of Bruce (1306–1371)

For ten years, Scotland had no King of its own. The Scots, however, refused to tolerate English rule; first William Wallace and then, after his execution, Robert the Bruce (the grandson of the 1292 competitor) fought against the English. Bruce and his supporters killed rival for the throne, John III Comyn, Lord of Badenoch on 10th February 1306 at Greyfriars Church in Dumfries. Shortly after in 1306, Robert was crowned King of Scots at Scone. His energy, and the corresponding replacement of the vigorous Edward I with his weaker son Edward II, allowed Scotland to free itself from English rule; at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, the Scots routed the English, and by 1329 the English had agreed by treaty to accept Scottish independence. Robert's successor, his son David, was a child at his succession. The English renewed their war with Scotland, and David was forced to flee the Kingdom by Edward Balliol, son of King John, who managed to get himself crowned King of Scots and to give away Scotland's southern counties to England before being driven out again. David spent much of his life in exile, first in freedom with his ally, France, and then in gaol in England; he was only able to return to Scotland in 1357. Upon his death, childless, in 1371, the House of Bruce came to an end.

Portrait	Name	Dynastic Status	Birth	Ruled From	Coronation	Ruled Until	Death
	Robert I the Good (Roibert a Briuis)	great-great-grandson of David of Huntingdon (brother of William I)	11 July 1274	25 March 1306		7 June 1329
	David II (Dàibhidh Bruis)	son of Robert I	5 March 1324	7 June 1329	November 1331	22 February 1371

House of Stewart/Stuart

Stewart (1371–1567)

Robert the Stewart was a grandson of Robert I by the latter's daughter, Marjorie. Having been born in 1316, he was older than his uncle, David II; consequently, he was at his accession an old man, unable to reign vigorously, a problem also faced by his son Robert III, who had suffered lasting damage in a horse-riding accident. These two were followed by a series of regencies, caused by the youth of the succeeding kings. Consequently, the Stewart era saw periods of royal inertia, during which the nobles usurped power from the crown, followed by periods of personal rule by the monarch, during which he or she would attempt to address the issues created by their own minority and the long-term effects of previous reigns. Governing Scotland became increasingly difficult, as the powerful nobility became increasingly intractable; James I's attempts to curb the disorder of the realm ended in his assassination; James III was killed in a civil war between himself and the nobility, led by his own son; when James IV, who had governed sternly and suppressed the aristocrats, died in the Battle of Flodden, his wife Margaret Tudor, who had been nominated regent for their young son James V, was unseated by noble feuding, and James V's own wife, Marie de Guise, succeeded in ruling Scotland during the regency for her young daughter Mary I only by dividing and conquering the noble factions, and by distributing French bribes with a liberal hand. Finally, Mary I, the daughter of James V, found herself unable to govern Scotland faced with the surliness of the aristocracy and the intransigence of the population, who favoured Calvinism and disapproved of her Catholicism; she was forced to abdicate, and fled to England, where she was executed for treason against the English queen Elizabeth I. Upon her abdication, her son, fathered by a junior member of the Stewart family, became King.

Name	Dynastic Status	Birth	Ruled From	Coronation	Ruled Until	Death
Robert II the Steward, (Roibert II Sdíbhard)	grandson of Robert I	2 March 1316	22 February 1371	26 March 1371	19 April 1390
Robert III (born John Stewart) the Lame King (Roibert III Sdíbhard, An Righ Bhacaigh)	son of Robert II	c.1340	19 April 1390	14 August 1390	4 April 1406
James I, (Seumas I Stiùbhairt)	son of Robert III	10 December 1394	4 April 1406	2/21 May 1424	21 February 1437
James II Fiery Face, (Seumas II Stiùbhairt)	son of James I	16 October 1430	21 February 1437	1437	3 August 1460
James III, (Seumas III Stiùbhairt)	son of James II	1451/52	3 August 1460	10 August 1460	11 June 1488
James IV, (Seumas IV Stiùbhairt)	son of James III	17 March 1473	11 June 1488	24 June 1488	9 September 1513
James V, (Seumas V Stiùbhairt)	son of James IV	15 April 1512	9 September 1513	21 September 1513	14 December 1542
Mary I, Queen consort of France (Mairi Stiùbhairt)	daughter of James V	8 December 1542	14 December 1542	9 September 1543	24 July 1567	8 February 1587

Stuart (1567–1651)

The Stewarts of Lennox were a junior branch of the Stewart family; they were not, however, direct male line descendants of Robert II, the first Stewart who became King of Scots, but rather that of his ancestor Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland. In the past, through the means of the Auld Alliance with France, they had adapted their surname to the French form, Stuart. Consequently, when the son of the Earl of Lennox, Henry, Lord Darnley, married the Queen of Scots, Mary I, their son, as the first King of the Lennox branch of the Stewart family, ruled as a Stuart.

James VI also became King of England and Ireland as James I in 1603, when his cousin Elizabeth I died; thereafter, although the two crowns of England and Scotland remained separate, the monarchy was based chiefly in England.

Charles I, James's son, found himself faced with Civil War; the resultant conflict lasted eight years, and ended in his execution. The English Parliament then decreed their monarchy to be at an end; the Scots Parliament, after some deliberation, broke their links with England, and declared that Charles, son and heir of Charles I, would become King. He ruled until 1651; however, the armies of Oliver Cromwell occupied Scotland and drove him into exile.

Name	Dynastic Status	Birth	Ruled From	Coronation	Ruled Until	Death
James VI (also James I of England and Ireland) (Seumas VI Stiùbhairt)	son of Mary I by Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley	19 June 1566	24 July 1567	29 July 1567	27 March 1625
Charles I (also Charles I of England and Ireland) (Teàrlach I Stiùbhairt)	son of James VI	19 November 1600	27 March 1625	8 June 1633	30 January 1649 executed
Charles II (also Charles II of England and Ireland) (Teàrlach II Stiùbhairt)	son of Charles I	29 May 1630	30 January 1649	1 January 1651	1651 removed by conquest	6 February 1685

House of Stuart (restored) (1660–1707)

With the Restoration, the Stuarts became Kings of Scotland once more. But Scotland's rights were not respected: the Scottish Parliament was, during the reign of Charles II, dissolved, and his brother James was appointed Governor of Scotland. James himself became James VII in 1685; his Catholicism was not tolerated, and he was driven out of England after three years. In his place came his daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange, the ruler of the Dutch Republic; they were accepted as monarchs of Scotland after a period of deliberation by the Scottish Parliament, and ruled together as William II and Mary II.

An attempt to establish a Scottish colonial empire through the Darien Scheme, in challenge to that of England, failed, leaving the Scottish state bankrupt. This coincided with the accession of Queen Anne, daughter of James VII. Anne had multiple children but none of these survived her, and on her death her nearest heir was her halfbrother, James, in exile in France. The English favoured the Protestant Sophia of Hanover (a granddaughter of James VI) as heir; the Scots preferred Prince James, who as a Stuart was a Scot by ancestry, and threatened to break the Union of Crowns between England and Scotland by choosing him for themselves. To preserve the union, the English elaborated a plan whereby the two Kingdoms of Scotland and England would merge into a single Kingdom, the Kingdom of Great Britain, ruled by a common monarch, and with a single Parliament. Both national parliaments agreed to this (the Scots albeit reluctantly, motivated primarily by the national finances), and the Kingdom of Scotland was merged with England and came to an end. Thereafter, although monarchs continued to rule over the nation of Scotland, they did so first as monarchs of Great Britain, and then of the United Kingdom.

Name	Dynastic Status	Birth	Ruled From	Coronation	Ruled Until	Death
Charles II (restored) (Teàrlach II Stiùbhairt)	son of Charles I	29 May 1630	29 May 1660 restored to power	1 January 1651	6 February 1685
James VII (also James II of England and Ireland) (Seumas VII Stiùbhairt)	son of Charles I	14 October 1633	6 February 1685		11 April 1689	16 September 1701
Mary II (also Mary II of England and Ireland) (Mairi II Stiùbhairt)	daughter of James VII	30 April 1662	11 April 1689 with William II		28 December 1694
William II, (also William III of England and William I of Ireland) (Uilleam Orains, "William of Orange")	grandson of Charles I, husband of Mary II	14 November 1650	11 April 1689 with Mary II until 1694		8 March 1702
Anne (also Anne of England and Ireland) (Anna Stiùbhairt)	daughter of James VII	6 February 1665	8 March 1702		1 May 1707 Acts of Union, creation of Great Britain	1 August 1714

From 1707, the titles King of Scots and Queen of Scots are incorrect. Hence, this list runs up to 1707; for monarchs after that date, see List of British monarchs.

Jacobite claimants

Main article: Jacobite succession

James VII continued to claim the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland. When he died in 1701, his son James inherited his father's claims, and called himself James VIII of Scotland and III of England and Ireland. He would continue to do so all his life, even after the Kingdoms of England and Scotland were ended by their merging as the Kingdom of Great Britain. In 1715, a year after the death of his sister, Queen Anne, and the accession of their cousin George of Hanover, James landed in Scotland and attempted to claim the throne; he failed, and was forced to flee back to the Continent. A second attempt by his son, Charles, in 1745, also failed. Both James's children died without issue, bringing the Stuart family to an end.

James VIII (Seumas VIII), also known as The Old Pretender, son of James VII, was claimant from 1701 until his death in 1766.
Charles III (Teàrlach III), also known as The Young Pretender and often called Bonnie Prince Charlie, son of James VIII, was claimant from his father's death until his own death in 1788.
Henry I (Eanraig I), brother of Charles III and youngest son of James VIII. Died in 1807 without offspring.

After 1807, the Jacobite claims passed first to the House of Savoy (1807–1840), then to the Modenese branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine (1840–1919), and finally to the House of Bavaria (since 1919). The current heir is Franz, Duke of Bavaria. Neither he nor any of his predecessors since 1807 have pursued their claim.

Other claimants

Idi Amin, President of Uganda 1971–1979, proclaimed himself King of Scotland in 1975 (died in exile 2003).
Michel Roger Lafosse has since 1979 claimed to be Prince of Albany and heir to the Scottish throne.

Timeline of Scottish Monarchs

Acts of Union

Notes

^ Scottish Parliament Project.
^ Properly speaking, Coinneach should actually be Cionaodh, since Coinneach is historically a separate name. However, in the modern language, both names have converged.
^ Skene, Chronicles, p. 83.
^ Skene, Chronicles, p. 85.
^ Skene, Chronicles, p. 87.
^ Hudson, Celtic Kings, p. 58.
^ Skene, Chronicles, p. 91; Hudson, Celtic Kings, p. 65.
^ Skene, Chronicles, p. 93.
^ His name is a Gaelicization of the Norse name Hildufr (or perhaps English Eadulf); it occurs in various contemporary Gaelic forms, such as Iondolbh, found in the the Duan Albanach; Ildulb is used because by some historians because it correctly represents the name Hildulfr in Gaelic orthography; Eadwulf would perhaps be Idulb, hence that form is also used sometimes. The name never came into wider use in the Scottish world, or the Gaelic world more generally, and has no modern form. The name "Indulf" is a spelling produced by later medieval French influence; Hudson, Celtic Kings, p, 89.
^ Skene, Chronicles, p. 94.
^ Duan Albanach, 23 here; as Dub means "Black", "Dub the Black" is tautologous.
^ Skene, Chronicles, p. 95.
^ Skene, Chronicles, p. 96.
^ Former probable because later English (speaking) sources called him "Grim"; Old Irish donn has similar meaning to Old Irish greimm, which means "power" or "authority"; see Skene, Chronicles, p. 98; Hudson, Celtic Kings, p. 105.
^ Skene, Chronicles, pp. 99–100.
^ Skene, Chronicles, p. 101.
^ ^a ^b Skene, Chronicles, p. 102.
^ Anderson, Early Sources, vol. i, p. 603.
^ This name was probably only originally applied to Mael Coluim IV, Mael Coluim III's grandson, and then later confused; see Duncan, Kingship of the Scots, pp. 51–52, 74–75; Oram, David I, p. 17, note 1. Cenn Mór certainly means "great chief" rather than "big head", as sometimes thought.
^ Anderson, Early Sources, vol. ii, p. 141.
^ This nickname however is not attested for another three centuries, in the work of Andrew of Wyntoun.
^ Later nickname. Latin Sanctus also means simply "Holy". David was never canonised.
^ See Duncan, Kingship of the Scots, pp. 51–52, 74–75; Oram, David I, p. 17, note 1. Cenn Mór certainly means "great chief" rather than "big head", as sometimes thought.
^ Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1214.6; Annals of Loch Cé, s.a. 1213.10.
^ Welcome parliament.uk, accessed 7 October, 2008

References

Anderson, Alan Orr, Early Sources of Scottish History: AD 500–1286, 2 Vols, (Edinburgh, 1922)
Hudson, Benjamin T., Kings of Celtic Scotland, (Westport, 1994)
Skene, W. F. (ed.), Chronicles of the Picts, Chronicles of the Scots and other Early Memorials of Scottish History, (Edinburgh, 1867)

Scotland topics

History	Timeline · Prehistoric · Roman times · Kingdom · High Middle Ages · Davidian Revolution · Wars of Independence · Late Middle Ages · Reformation · Colonisation of the Americas · Acts of Union 1707 · Enlightenment · Jacobitism · Highland Clearances · Lowland Clearances

Geography	Geology · Climate · Demographics · Mountains and hills · Islands · Lochs · Waterfalls · Fauna · Flora · Highlands · Lowlands · Central Belt · Anglo-Scottish border

Economy	Companies · Bank of Scotland · Royal Bank of Scotland · North Sea oil · Whisky · Tourism · Harris Tweed · Renewable energy · Transport · Saltire Foundation

Law	Courts · Lord President · Crown Office · Lord Advocate · Solicitor General · Procurator Fiscal · Udal law

People	List of Scots (Actors · Inventors · Musicians · Scientists · Writers)

Politics	Political parties · Elections · Parliament · Government · First Minister · Secretary of State · Scotland Office · Local government · Monarchs · Military · Independence · Unionism

Religion	Church of Scotland · General Assembly · Roman Catholicism · Judaism · Scottish Episcopal Church · Islam · Hinduism

Languages	Scottish Gaelic · Scots · Scottish English · Highland English · Royal National Mod

Culture	Clans · Cuisine · Education · Flags · Coat of arms · Anthem · Hogmanay · Innovations · Literature · Music · Sport · World Heritage Sites · Nationalism

Portal

Hidden categories: All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements from March 2008

DEN HAAG vandaag

Pagina's

Lijst van Koningen van Schotland

A Much Harassed Semi-Royal Lass From The Past: The Life Of Lady Arbella Stuart

Related top topics

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Contents

Coronation Oath

List of monarchs of Scotland

House of Alpin (848–1034)

House of Dunkeld, 1034–1286

House of Fairhair (1286–1290), disputed

First Interregnum (1290–1292)

House of Balliol (1292–1296)

Second Interregnum (1296–1306)

House of Bruce (1306–1371)

House of Stewart/Stuart

Stewart (1371–1567)

Stuart (1567–1651)

House of Stuart (restored) (1660–1707)

Jacobite claimants

Other claimants

Timeline of Scottish Monarchs

Acts of Union

See also

Acts of Union

See also

Notes

References

Related topics

Over mij