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| William I of Scotland |
King of Scotland
1165-1214
Husband of Ermengarde de Beaumont, mar 1186
His lovers were:
1. Isabel d'Avenel
2. Unnamed daughter of Adam de Hythus]
1. Isabel d'Avenel
2. Unnamed daughter of Adam de Hythus]
"Unusually for a king in this period, by 1180 William had been on the throne for fifteen years and was still unmarried. He had several illegitimate children, including a daughter, Isabella, who was married to Robert de Brus, heir to the lordship of Annandale, in 1183. Another daughter, Ada, was married to Patrick, Earl of Dunbar and a son, Robert of London, was endowed with royal lands. However, until he married, William's heir was his younger brother, David. With this in mind, in 1184, William was at King Henry's court to discuss a possible marriage with Henry's granddaughter, Matilda of Saxony. The match was forbidden by the pope on the grounds of consanguinity. In May 1186, during a council at Woodstock, King Henry suggested Ermengarde de Beaumont as a bride for King William." (Connolly. Ladies of Magna Carta: Women of Influence in Thirteenth Century England)
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| David II of Scotland |
(1324-1371)
King of Scots
1329-1371
Son of: Robert I of Scotland & Elizabeth de Burgh.
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| David II & Joan of England |
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| Joan of England |
Husband of:
1. Joan of England (1321-1362), mar 1328, daughter of Edward II of England & Isabelle de France.
2. Margaret Drummond (1340-1375), a.k.a. Margaret Logie, mar 1364, div 1369, widow of Sir John Logie of that Ilk; daughter of Sir Malcolm Drummond, 10th Thane of Lennox & Margaret Graham, Countess of Menteith.
King David's marriages and mistresses.
"David's 'second reign' commenced rather badly. Still without an heir he suffered from the fundamental weakness that came with a lack of dynastic security. He further alienated his queen by returning from England with a mistress, Katherine Mortimer. Insult was added to injury, for David flaunted his relationship with Katherine and gave her access to power and an exalted position within his household. Within a year the offended Joan retreated to England, remaining estranged from David until her death in 1362, despite the treacherous murder of Katherine in 1360. In 1363 David married Margaret Drummond, but they divorced without issu in 1369. He was in negotiations for a third marriage to Agnes Dunbar when he died in 1371. . . ." (Power and Propaganda: Scotland 1306-1488: 32)
David II's lovers were:
1) Agnes of Dunbar (fl. late 1300s)
David II's lovers were:
1) Agnes of Dunbar (fl. late 1300s)
Lover in 1369.
"Agnes Dunbar (fl. late 14th century) was a mistress of King David II of Scotland (son of Robert the Bruce). She was the niece (and possibly fosterling) of Agnes Randolph, Countess of Dunbar and March. She was first married to a man called Robert, and they had children. She appears to have became a mistress of King David II around 1369, as payments to her began then. A payment of 1000 marks, a very large sum at that time, was arranged for her a month before the king died suddenly in February 1371, which indicates that he had been very likely planning to marry her. On 21 November 1372 she married Sir James Douglas, Lord of Dalkeith. Their great-grandson was James Douglas, 1st Earl of Morton." (Wikipedia)
"It looks as if, after a while, David gave up hope of fathering a son -- at least by Margaret Drummond. In 1369 he introduced another twist to the saga by abruptly starting divorce proceedings against her. He had another mistress now -- Agnes Dunbar, sister of the Earl of March. She, too, had children from a previous marriage; and David was still in the prime of his life, in his mid-forties. Agnes was clearly going to be David's next queen; he put through large sums of money for her upkeep, and promoted her kinsmen as was now his wont. He also insisted on a marriage between Agnes's brother, John Drummond, and another Stewart daughter: David was still hedging his bets -- and the Steward was helpless to stop him. And, then, on 23 February 1371, everything changed: practically on the eve of his wedding to Agnes the king suddenly died in Edinburgh Castle. . . ." (Scotland: the Story of a Nation: 208)
"Catherine (sic) Mortimer, a ‘beloved of Davie Bruise’, mistress of King David II, was buried in the walls of the Abbey – standing upright! In 1360, she was stabbed to death at Soutra by a valet called Richard Hulle, as she was travelling from London. David II was besotted with her and Catherine’s influence over him was great." (Newbattle Abbey College)
"David II was unfortunate to have been king at the same time as Edward III, who was a capable and distinguished king. At age four David was married to Edward III's sister Joan, this was a loveless and also barren marriage. In 1362 Joan died and only a year later David married his mistress, Margaret Logie, a widow who already had a child from her first marriage. Probably due to David's infertility this marriage did not produce any children so David applied to Rome for a divorce so he could marry yet another mistress, Agnes of Dunbar. The matter was never settled as David died at age 46, heirless." (Scotland's Past)
2) Katherine Mortimer (d.1360)
"After they parted, David took as his mistress Katherine Mortimer, described by Sir Thomas Gray of Heton as 'a young lady of London', but she was murdered in the summer of 1360, stabbed to death on the road near Soutra, at the instigation of the jealous lords." (Scottish Queens, 1034-1714: 38)
The murder of Katherine: "On his (David II) return, a domestic tragedy of a very shocking nature awaited him. His favourite mistress, Catherine Mortimer, whom he had loved during his captivity, had afterwards accompanied him into Scotland, and from some causes not now discernible, became an object of jealousy and hatred to the Earl of Angus and others of the Scottish nobles. At their instigation, two villains, named Hulle and Dewar, undertook to murder her, and having sought her residence under a pretense that they came from the king with instructions to bring her to court, prevailed upon the unsuspecting victim to intrust herself to their guidance. They travelled on horseback, and on the desolate moor between Melrose and Soutra, where her cries could bring none to her assistance, Hulle stabbed her with his dagger and dispatched her in an instant. David instantly imprisoned the Earl of Angus in Dumbarton Castle, where he fell a victim in the plague, and commanded his unfortunate favourite to be buried with all honour in the abbey of Newbattle." (History of Scotland, Volume 2: 130)
" . . . On his release in 1357, she accompanied him to Scotland, but soon after, being insulted by David's preference for his mistress, Katherine Mortimer, she returned to Edward III's court, and refused to return to her husband even when her rival was murdered in 1360. . . ." (Pulling, p. 630)
"King David's wife, Joan of England, had come back to Scotland with him in 1357 after his release, but only briefly; within a few weeks she had gone back to England, where she stayed until her death in 1362. The marriage was childless, and during her absence the king consoled himself with an English mistress, Katherine Mortimer; but Katherine was assassinated in 1360 by 'certain great men of Scotland'." (Scotland: the Story of a Nation: 206)
" . . . David’s unfaithfulness to Queen Joan, sister of Edward III, was so infamous that his mistress, Katherine Mortimer, was stabbed to death on the road to Soutra in 1360. . . ." (The MacDonald Era)
3) Margaret Drummond, Queen of Scotland (1340-1375)
Lover in 1361/62.
mar 1364, div 1369.
a.k.a. Margaret Logie.
Daughter of: Sir Malcolm, 1st Lord Drummond, 10th Thane of Lennox.
Wife of: Sir John Logie of Logie & Margaret Graham, Countess of Menteith.
"Catherine (sic) Mortimer, a ‘beloved of Davie Bruise’, mistress of King David II, was buried in the walls of the Abbey – standing upright! In 1360, she was stabbed to death at Soutra by a valet called Richard Hulle, as she was travelling from London. David II was besotted with her and Catherine’s influence over him was great." (Newbattle Abbey College)
"David II was unfortunate to have been king at the same time as Edward III, who was a capable and distinguished king. At age four David was married to Edward III's sister Joan, this was a loveless and also barren marriage. In 1362 Joan died and only a year later David married his mistress, Margaret Logie, a widow who already had a child from her first marriage. Probably due to David's infertility this marriage did not produce any children so David applied to Rome for a divorce so he could marry yet another mistress, Agnes of Dunbar. The matter was never settled as David died at age 46, heirless." (Scotland's Past)
2) Katherine Mortimer (d.1360)
"After they parted, David took as his mistress Katherine Mortimer, described by Sir Thomas Gray of Heton as 'a young lady of London', but she was murdered in the summer of 1360, stabbed to death on the road near Soutra, at the instigation of the jealous lords." (Scottish Queens, 1034-1714: 38)
The murder of Katherine: "On his (David II) return, a domestic tragedy of a very shocking nature awaited him. His favourite mistress, Catherine Mortimer, whom he had loved during his captivity, had afterwards accompanied him into Scotland, and from some causes not now discernible, became an object of jealousy and hatred to the Earl of Angus and others of the Scottish nobles. At their instigation, two villains, named Hulle and Dewar, undertook to murder her, and having sought her residence under a pretense that they came from the king with instructions to bring her to court, prevailed upon the unsuspecting victim to intrust herself to their guidance. They travelled on horseback, and on the desolate moor between Melrose and Soutra, where her cries could bring none to her assistance, Hulle stabbed her with his dagger and dispatched her in an instant. David instantly imprisoned the Earl of Angus in Dumbarton Castle, where he fell a victim in the plague, and commanded his unfortunate favourite to be buried with all honour in the abbey of Newbattle." (History of Scotland, Volume 2: 130)
" . . . On his release in 1357, she accompanied him to Scotland, but soon after, being insulted by David's preference for his mistress, Katherine Mortimer, she returned to Edward III's court, and refused to return to her husband even when her rival was murdered in 1360. . . ." (Pulling, p. 630)
"King David's wife, Joan of England, had come back to Scotland with him in 1357 after his release, but only briefly; within a few weeks she had gone back to England, where she stayed until her death in 1362. The marriage was childless, and during her absence the king consoled himself with an English mistress, Katherine Mortimer; but Katherine was assassinated in 1360 by 'certain great men of Scotland'." (Scotland: the Story of a Nation: 206)
" . . . David’s unfaithfulness to Queen Joan, sister of Edward III, was so infamous that his mistress, Katherine Mortimer, was stabbed to death on the road to Soutra in 1360. . . ." (The MacDonald Era)
3) Margaret Drummond, Queen of Scotland (1340-1375)
Lover in 1361/62.
mar 1364, div 1369.
a.k.a. Margaret Logie.
Daughter of: Sir Malcolm, 1st Lord Drummond, 10th Thane of Lennox.
Wife of: Sir John Logie of Logie & Margaret Graham, Countess of Menteith.
"The king's new mistress was a beautiful widow who had proved her fertility by producing a son; her name was Margaret Drummond, the widow of Sir John Logie. By 1363 it was clear that David, by then a widower, was planning to marry her; he showered her and her family with titles, lands and offices -- all at the expense of Robert Stewart and his family." (Scotland: the Story of a Nation: 206)
"David II was unfortunate to have been king at the same time as Edward III, who was a capable and distinguished king. At age four David was married to Edward III's sister Joan, this was a loveless and also barren marriage. In 1362 Joan died and only a year later David married his mistress, Margaret Logie, a widow who already had a child from her first marriage. Probably due to David's infertility this marriage did not produce any children so David applied to Rome for a divorce so he could marry yet another mistress, Agnes of Dunbar. The matter was never settled as David died at age 46, heirless." (Scotland's Past)
"Malcolm’s granddaughter married John de Logie and she was mistress to Robert Bruce’s heir, later David II, possibly the reason that her husband was executed for treason. She became Queen Margaret, and history depicts her as beautiful, but also arrogant and grasping, so much so that the King divorced her and she retired to France." (Scotland Magazine)
"Ignoring the general discontent, David openly acknowledged his interest in Margaret by making a grant of lands to her on 20 January 1363, and he may well have forced the Steward to pass various lands and offices to Maurice Drummond... He married Margaret in April 1363, at Inchmurdoch, a Fife manor house of the Bishop of St. Andrews, and so she became Queen of Scots. Predictably, David then showered favours upon her relatives, granting them lands and finding them important marriage partners. Margaret already had a son by her first husband, but she had no children by the King...." (Marshall, 2003, pp. 38-39)
"David II was unfortunate to have been king at the same time as Edward III, who was a capable and distinguished king. At age four David was married to Edward III's sister Joan, this was a loveless and also barren marriage. In 1362 Joan died and only a year later David married his mistress, Margaret Logie, a widow who already had a child from her first marriage. Probably due to David's infertility this marriage did not produce any children so David applied to Rome for a divorce so he could marry yet another mistress, Agnes of Dunbar. The matter was never settled as David died at age 46, heirless." (Scotland's Past)
"Malcolm’s granddaughter married John de Logie and she was mistress to Robert Bruce’s heir, later David II, possibly the reason that her husband was executed for treason. She became Queen Margaret, and history depicts her as beautiful, but also arrogant and grasping, so much so that the King divorced her and she retired to France." (Scotland Magazine)
"Ignoring the general discontent, David openly acknowledged his interest in Margaret by making a grant of lands to her on 20 January 1363, and he may well have forced the Steward to pass various lands and offices to Maurice Drummond... He married Margaret in April 1363, at Inchmurdoch, a Fife manor house of the Bishop of St. Andrews, and so she became Queen of Scots. Predictably, David then showered favours upon her relatives, granting them lands and finding them important marriage partners. Margaret already had a son by her first husband, but she had no children by the King...." (Marshall, 2003, pp. 38-39)
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| Robert II of Scotland @Wikipedia |
(1316-1390)
King of Scotland
1371-1390
Son of Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland & Marjorie Bruce, daughter of King Robert the Bruce & Isabella of Mar.
Husband of:
1. Elizabeth Mure of Rowallan (1315-1355), mar 1347, daughter of Sir Adam Mure, 1st of Rowallan and Janet Mure.
"Logan and other whigs told the story thus. Robert II had first married Euphemia, daughter of the Earl of Ross, by whom he had three children, including Walter Earl of Athol and David Earl of Strathern. But long before their marriage he had fallen in love with Elizabeth Mure, daughter of Sir Adam Mure, by whom he had had three sons and two daughters, of whom the eldest, John, eventually succeeded him as Robert III. . . Elizabeth Mure later married a Lothians noble called Gifford, who died at about the same time as Queen Euphemia Ross, prompting Robert II to marry again -- to this woman who had already borne him children. He bestowed honours on her children, making John Earl of Carrick and his brothers Earls of Monteith and of Buchan. Further, he asked the parliament to pass over his sons by Euphemia Ross and to legitimise his eldest but bastard son John as the heir to the throne." (Subverting Scotland's Past: 90)
2. Euphemia de Ross (d.1387), mar 1355, daughter of Aodh de Ross, 4th Earl of Ross and Margaret Graham.
"ELIZABETH MURE, the 1st wife (though never queen) of Robert II, is a shadowy figure of whom little is known. Her father was Sir Adam Mure of Rowallan and she was probably born in about 1315, the year after Bannockburn. She and Robert lived together for some years before their marriage, during which time she bore him 9 children. They finally married by special dispensation of Pope Clement VI, 22 November 1347, by which all their children were legitimated per subsequens matrimonium. At this time Robert was still only Earl of Strathearn; thus, although Elizabeth became Countess of Strathearn, she was never queen of Scots, since she died before her husband ascended the throne. From the fact that Robert married again in 1355, we must infer that Elizabeth had died by that date." (Electric Scotland)
" . . . But long before their marriage he had fallen in love with Elizabeth Mure, daughter of Sir Adam Mure, by whom he had had three sons and two daughters, of whom the eldest, John, eventually succeeded him as Robert III. . . Elizabeth Mure later married a Lothians noble called Gifford, who died at about the same time as Queen Euphemia Ross, prompting Robert II to marry again -- to this woman who had already borne him children. He bestowed honours on her children, making John the Earl of Carrick and his brothers Earls of Menteith and of Buchan. Further, he asked the parliament to pass over his sons by Euphemia Ross and to legitimise his eldest but bastard son John as the heir to the throne." (Subverting Scotland's Past: 90)
"The late Mr. John Riddell, in a letter to the editor, dated 1859, says 'King Robert II of Scotland, when very young, took as mistress Elizabeth More, or Mure, daughter of Sir Robert More, of Rowallan, in the county of Ayr. Becoming pregnant by Gifard, a distant relation of her own, she, on the birth of the child, persuaded Robert II that it was his child. She, however, in her dying confession, attested before a legal authority, declared the father to be the Gifard aforesaid. In the meanwhile King Robert II had had by her Robert, Duke of Albany, who married Margaret, grandchild and heiress of Alan, Earl of Menteith, and other children. But the King becoming tired of Elizabeth More, married her to Gifard aforesaid, and married himself Euphemia, daughter of Hugh, Earl of Ross, by whom he had David, Earl of Caithness and Strathern, and Walter, Earl of Atholl. Queen Euphemia and Gifard dying before King Robert II, Elizabeth More persuaded the King to marry her to legitimise her children, and get John declared his successor, by which he disinherited his sons by the Queen. One of the claims of the Earls of Menteith was that they represented the eldest branch of King Robert II's descendants.' According to the contention of Mr. Riddell, John Gifard, eldest son of Elizabeth More, was not even the King's illegitimate son, although he succeeded as King Robert III. The documentary evidence for this is conclusive. The Scotch historians suppressed it. In the reign of King Henry IV, the documents of this case were removed to England for safety, and have never been brought back to Scotland. Lord Brougham, in his opinion of the claims of Duke Archibald, cites this evidence at full length. J. Montgomery." (The Pedigree of Her Royal and Most Serene Highness the Duchess of Mantua, Montferrat and Ferrara: xxx)
Robert II's family & descendants.
"Fertile like the rest of them, King Robert II fathered many children -- almost more than anyone could be bothered to count. By his first wife, Elizabeth Mure, he had ten offspring who reached adulthood. His second wife was Euphemia de Ross and she gave him four more. As if those legitimate children we're not enough, he sired as many bastards with any number of mistresses. One of those, Moira Leitch, bore him just one, born around 1399. This was John Stewart, later known as the Black Stewart on account of his dark hair and complexion." (The Story of the British Isles in 100 Places)
Robert II's lovers were:
1) Mariota de Cardney (1320-1355)
"King Robert II of Scotland had issue by Mariota de Cardney. She is said to have been a daughter of Sir John de Ross, son of the Earl of Ross, who assumed the name of Cardney on obtaining from Robert II the lands of Cardney, 19th June 1375, in which charter he is styled dilectus consanguinus noster, the king having married Euphemia Ross. Mariota got charters of various lands from the king, and bore him four sons. Mariota de Cardney is mentioned in the Treasurer's accounts for various sums of money in 1380 for buying napery for her use, and sums are also allowed for her son James for fees at St. Andrews College, 1384. Robert Cardney, Bishop of Dunkeld, was brother to Mariota." (The Scottish Antiquary, Or, Northern Notes & Queries, Volumes 5-7: 103)
" . . . As for the remaining four (including a third John), they were all born to Mariota Cardney, daughter of a Perthshire laird and presumably Robert II's favourite mistress. Soon after Robert became king, he gave Mariota herself two grants of lands, to be held hereditarily by her and the children begotten or to be begotten between them, failing whom, by any future legitimate heirs of her body (a more sympathetic stipulation than for the fourth earl of Douglas's mistress). And on 15 January 1383 their first three sons (the fourth was not yet born) all received individual gifts of smallish estates -- though one of them had already, with the king's help, acquired the barony of Unverlunan (Forfar sheriffdom). Overall, therefore, Robert II was certainly not ungenerous to his bastards, but on no more lavish a scale than that shown by the second earl of Douglas; and although Mariota's brother's links with the royal family led to his becoming bishop of Dunkeld under Robert III, she was clearly not a grasping royal mistress like her famous English contemporary Alice Perrers." (Royal & Magnate Bastards in the Later Middle Ages: the View from Scotland @eprints)
2) Moira Leitch (1320-1358)
Daughter of Robert le Leche, Laird of Ardmaleish, Bute, Surgeon, Physician and Christian le Leche.
"Moira was the daughter of Robert le Leche, Laird of Ardmaleish, Bute, a Physician on the Island. Moire Leche was married to Robert Stewart, however, due to his first marriage not being fully recognised by the church, he had to re-marry his first wife in 1348, and legitimize the 4 sons and five daughters from his first marriage to Elizabeth Mure. Moire was the mother of John Stewart "The black Stewart", on account of his dark complexion. This family gave line of descent to the Earls of Bute and Orkney, and ultimately John Steward, 1st and last Earl of Carrick. Moire Leitch lived on the island of Bute with her family for a time, and also with the Mure family of Rowallan castle in Kyle, Ayrshire, as this is about 8 miles from Robert Stewart’s home in Dundonald,Ayrshire. She was originally from Eggleston, near Durham. This is approximately 25 miles from Neville's Cross. X X X Moire would have been around 26 years of age at this time, and there is a high probability, she met the Stewarts here. She lived, after 1340, with Robert at Dundonald Castle, in Dundonald, Ayrshire (Carrick at that time). She became ill in 1356, and was taken to Paisley Abbey, where she died shortly after. Given Moire died in 1356, and is buried at Paisley Abbey, she is clearly not the same person as Christian Leche (or Christian Moira), (often confused with Moira) , who was alive between c.1445-1450, and mentioned in the 'The Stewarts of Ballintoy'." (geni)
2) Moira Leitch (1320-1358)
Daughter of Robert le Leche, Laird of Ardmaleish, Bute, Surgeon, Physician and Christian le Leche.
"Moira was the daughter of Robert le Leche, Laird of Ardmaleish, Bute, a Physician on the Island. Moire Leche was married to Robert Stewart, however, due to his first marriage not being fully recognised by the church, he had to re-marry his first wife in 1348, and legitimize the 4 sons and five daughters from his first marriage to Elizabeth Mure. Moire was the mother of John Stewart "The black Stewart", on account of his dark complexion. This family gave line of descent to the Earls of Bute and Orkney, and ultimately John Steward, 1st and last Earl of Carrick. Moire Leitch lived on the island of Bute with her family for a time, and also with the Mure family of Rowallan castle in Kyle, Ayrshire, as this is about 8 miles from Robert Stewart’s home in Dundonald,Ayrshire. She was originally from Eggleston, near Durham. This is approximately 25 miles from Neville's Cross. X X X Moire would have been around 26 years of age at this time, and there is a high probability, she met the Stewarts here. She lived, after 1340, with Robert at Dundonald Castle, in Dundonald, Ayrshire (Carrick at that time). She became ill in 1356, and was taken to Paisley Abbey, where she died shortly after. Given Moire died in 1356, and is buried at Paisley Abbey, she is clearly not the same person as Christian Leche (or Christian Moira), (often confused with Moira) , who was alive between c.1445-1450, and mentioned in the 'The Stewarts of Ballintoy'." (geni)
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| Robert III of Scotland @Stewart Society |
(1337-1406)
King of Scotland
1390-1406
Husband of: Annabella Drummond, mar 1367, daughter of Sir John Drummond of Stobhall, 11th Thane of Lennox & Chief of Clan Drummond, and Mary Montifex, daughter of Sir William Montifex.
His lover was:
Unnamed mistress.
"He also had at least two older illegitimate children: John Stewart of Ardgowan and Blackhall, (b. 1364 - d. 1412) who was an ancestor to the Shaw-Stewart baronets; & James Stewart of Kilbride" (Wikipedia)
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| James IV of Scotland |
(1473-1513)
King of Scotland
1488-1513
Husband of Margaret Tudor of England, mar 1503, daughter of Henry VII of England & Elizabeth of York.
" . . . [F]or all that he (James IV) was certainly a sexually charged being, he was also an intelligent one. Henry VII's and Elizabeth of York's fears that James might damage their daughter by demanding his conjugal rights before her full maturity seem to have been misplaced. Whether or not it was due to continued abstinence on James's part, Margaret did not give birth to a child -- sadly a short-lived son -- until 21 February 1507, a good three and a half years after the marriage. Margaret was there for duty; as for pleasure, he could take that elsewhere, involving, not exclusively, Janet Kennedy. . . ." (Fatal Rivalry: Flodden, 1513: Henry VIII and James IV: 52)
Margaret was married again after the death of James IV to:
2. Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, mar 1514; div. 1527
3. Henry Stewart, 1st Lord Methven,mar 1528
"Twenty-three years old, alone and yet again pregnant, she became romantically involved with the young 6th Earl of Angus, Archibald, whose father, George the Master of Angus, had perished at Flodden with 200 Douglases. Their plans to marry were arranged in the summer of 1514, and Margaret was so caught up with her intentions that she informed neither the government of Scotland nor her royal brother. They married in secret on 6 August 1514. . . The impulsive marriage can be seen as being a combination of personal choice and a strategic alliance with the head of the most notably pro-English families of the Lowlands. It also immediately set most of the nobility against Margaret and led them to invite James IV's exiled cousin, John, Duke of Albany to govern the country. (The Afterlife of King James IV: Otherworld Legends Of The Scottish King)
James IV's physical appearance & personal traits.
" . . . And it is to Pedro de Ayala that we owe the detailed description of James IV that brings him very much to life: 'He is of noble stature, neither tall nor short, as handsome in complexion and shape as a man can be. His address is very agreeable. He speaks the following languages: Latin (very well), French, German, Flemish, Italian and Spanish. He likes, very much, to receive Spanish letters. His own Scotch language is as different from English as Aragonese from Castilian. The king speaks, besides, the language of the savages who live in some part of Scotland and on the islands. It is as different from Scots as Biscayan is from Castilian. His knowledge of languages is wonderful. He is well read in the Bible and in some other devout books. He is a good historian. He has read many Latin and French histories and profited by them, as he has a very good memory. Hever cuts his hair or beard. It becomes him very well." (Crown of Thistles)
Delighted in the physical pleasures of life, especially women.
"James IV was a man of huge energy and drive. He took delight in the physical pleasures of life – music, poetry, gambling, tournaments and rich food. This enjoyment of the physical included a love of women. He was well-known for having a string of mistresses. These women were not, however, just passing fancies (although there were some of those) but were also political statements. A mistress could rise and fall with her family and a change in the King's companion could signal a change in his policy. It seems that unmarried Scottish ladies of good birth were prepared to enter into relationships with the King, or other nobles – which was rather different from England, where such affairs would be considered disgraceful." (Tudor Times)
An inveterate womanizer.
"Despite his status as one of Europe's more eligible unmarried kings, there was no rush to find a bride for James IV. The search for a wife could prove useful diplomatically and, meanwhile, there were other ways in which it could be helpful to politicians at home, since the young man himself seemed more interested in romantic liaisons with attractive young women of the court than in finding a queen. His parents married young and he had seen for himself theirs was not the happiest of unions. The obligations of kingship were serious enough for a teenage king without the added responsibility of a wife. There was no shortage of ladies willing to share the king's bed among the daughters of the Scottish nobility, eager to gain the favour of their monarch. James was to become an inveterate womanizer, his growing charisma and natural charm, allied to a rugged manliness and physicality, bringing him many conquests. He was also the centre of an increasingly cultured court, where poetry, plays, storytelling and music provided a focus for entertainment and the opportunity for dalliance to flourish. Nor were all of these with ladies of prominent families. James had broad tastes in women throughout his reign, as payments to one 'Jane Bare Arse' unashamedly illustrate." (Crown of Thistles)
Reputation as a womanizer not undeserved.
"The reputation of James IV as a womanizer is not undeserved. He managed to devote some of his formidable energy to keeping a considerable string of mistresses, the first recorded being Marion Boyd, niece to Archibald, 5th earl of Angus, who bore him two illegitimate children, Alexander (later archbishop of St. Andrews) and Catherine. Margaret Drummond appears to have succeeded Marion Boyd as royal mistress in 1496, bearing the king a daughter, also called Margaret. Although the liaison was over by 1497 and James had embarked on a long-running affair with Janet Kennedy in 1498, he continued to make payments to her and had his daughter brought from Drummond castle to Stirling following her mother's death in 1502. Janet Kennedy had been the mistress of Archibald, earl of Angus, but her affair with James IV lasted for some years, even following his marriage, and produced a son, James, earl of Moray, born around 1500. The king's pilgrimages to Tain in the early 1500s generally involved stops at Darnaway castle where Janet Kennedy was installed, and she was even brought to Bothwell in Lanarkshire to brighten the king's journey to Whithorn in 1503.A later liaison with Isabel Stewart, daughter of James, earl of Buchan, produced a daughter, Janet, while Bessie Bertram and the picturesquely named Janet 'bare-ars' both received royal gifts, recorded in the Treasurer's Accounts, for services not hard to presume! . . . ." (Stewarts: Kings and Queens of Scotland 1371-1625)
Delighted in the physical pleasures of life, especially women.
"James IV was a man of huge energy and drive. He took delight in the physical pleasures of life – music, poetry, gambling, tournaments and rich food. This enjoyment of the physical included a love of women. He was well-known for having a string of mistresses. These women were not, however, just passing fancies (although there were some of those) but were also political statements. A mistress could rise and fall with her family and a change in the King's companion could signal a change in his policy. It seems that unmarried Scottish ladies of good birth were prepared to enter into relationships with the King, or other nobles – which was rather different from England, where such affairs would be considered disgraceful." (Tudor Times)
An inveterate womanizer.
"Despite his status as one of Europe's more eligible unmarried kings, there was no rush to find a bride for James IV. The search for a wife could prove useful diplomatically and, meanwhile, there were other ways in which it could be helpful to politicians at home, since the young man himself seemed more interested in romantic liaisons with attractive young women of the court than in finding a queen. His parents married young and he had seen for himself theirs was not the happiest of unions. The obligations of kingship were serious enough for a teenage king without the added responsibility of a wife. There was no shortage of ladies willing to share the king's bed among the daughters of the Scottish nobility, eager to gain the favour of their monarch. James was to become an inveterate womanizer, his growing charisma and natural charm, allied to a rugged manliness and physicality, bringing him many conquests. He was also the centre of an increasingly cultured court, where poetry, plays, storytelling and music provided a focus for entertainment and the opportunity for dalliance to flourish. Nor were all of these with ladies of prominent families. James had broad tastes in women throughout his reign, as payments to one 'Jane Bare Arse' unashamedly illustrate." (Crown of Thistles)
Reputation as a womanizer not undeserved.
"The reputation of James IV as a womanizer is not undeserved. He managed to devote some of his formidable energy to keeping a considerable string of mistresses, the first recorded being Marion Boyd, niece to Archibald, 5th earl of Angus, who bore him two illegitimate children, Alexander (later archbishop of St. Andrews) and Catherine. Margaret Drummond appears to have succeeded Marion Boyd as royal mistress in 1496, bearing the king a daughter, also called Margaret. Although the liaison was over by 1497 and James had embarked on a long-running affair with Janet Kennedy in 1498, he continued to make payments to her and had his daughter brought from Drummond castle to Stirling following her mother's death in 1502. Janet Kennedy had been the mistress of Archibald, earl of Angus, but her affair with James IV lasted for some years, even following his marriage, and produced a son, James, earl of Moray, born around 1500. The king's pilgrimages to Tain in the early 1500s generally involved stops at Darnaway castle where Janet Kennedy was installed, and she was even brought to Bothwell in Lanarkshire to brighten the king's journey to Whithorn in 1503.A later liaison with Isabel Stewart, daughter of James, earl of Buchan, produced a daughter, Janet, while Bessie Bertram and the picturesquely named Janet 'bare-ars' both received royal gifts, recorded in the Treasurer's Accounts, for services not hard to presume! . . . ." (Stewarts: Kings and Queens of Scotland 1371-1625)
" . . . To ordinary Scots the king's amorous adventures were a proof of his potency and understandable humanity. And while the monarch was no intellectual, a fact pertinently noted by the scholar George Buchanan, he did have an array of imaginative interests which led to active involvement in the spheres of surgery, alchemy, poetry, and naval and military technology." (Coleman. The Afterlife of King James IV: Otherworld Legends Of The Scottish King)
James IV's mistresses.
"The court of the adult James IV witnessed another decline in the fortunes of the fifth earl of Angus. In 1497, due largely to the continuing pro-English stance, the earl was replaced as chancellor by George Gordon, second earl of Huntly, and his fortunes began a downward spiral. Even Angus's mistress, Janet Kennedy, daughter of Lord Kennedy, deserted him in 1498 -- for no less a personage than James IV. James had tired of his 1496-87 mistress, Margaret Drummond, daughter of Lord Drummond, even though she had given him another daughter, Margaret Stewart. Janet Kennedy was probably the most influential of the king's mistresses. She bore the king another son, James Stewart, earl of Moray, and continued to entertain James IV after his marriage. This was despite Margaret Tudor being described as 'a woman of an honest behaviour, a cumlie countenance or singular beautie and perfyt portratour'. The last recognized mistress was Isabel Stewart, daughter of the earl of Buchan, who provided the king with another daughter, Janet Stewart. This did not, however, signify the end of James's overactive libido. A woman known only as 'Janet bare ars' evidently amused the king during 1508-12." (The Scottish People, 1490-1625: 207)
A succession of mistresses.
"James had a succession of mistresses, whose presence in the royal bed helped their families prosper, and he acknowledged five illegitimate progeny. He had four successive, more or less open favourites: Marion Boyd, Margaret Drummond, Janet Kennedy and Isabel Stewart -- all of whom bore him children. There was a later story that James's advisers had Margaret Drummond poisoned in 1502, together with the two sisters with whom she was dining; in order, so it was claimed, to remove her from the King's affections and clear the way for Margaret Tudor. This was, however, a late seventeenth-century invention of William Drummond, made 1st Viscount Strathallan by King James II and VII, and nothing more than an attempt to 'sex up' the family history. Whatever the caise of Margaret Drummond's death, James had already begun his long-standing relationship with Janet Kennedy four years previously, having imprisoned Janet's former lover, Archibald Douglas Earl of Angus." (Fatal Rivalry: Flodden, 1513: Henry VIII and James IV : 52)
James IV's lovers were:
James IV's mistresses.
"The court of the adult James IV witnessed another decline in the fortunes of the fifth earl of Angus. In 1497, due largely to the continuing pro-English stance, the earl was replaced as chancellor by George Gordon, second earl of Huntly, and his fortunes began a downward spiral. Even Angus's mistress, Janet Kennedy, daughter of Lord Kennedy, deserted him in 1498 -- for no less a personage than James IV. James had tired of his 1496-87 mistress, Margaret Drummond, daughter of Lord Drummond, even though she had given him another daughter, Margaret Stewart. Janet Kennedy was probably the most influential of the king's mistresses. She bore the king another son, James Stewart, earl of Moray, and continued to entertain James IV after his marriage. This was despite Margaret Tudor being described as 'a woman of an honest behaviour, a cumlie countenance or singular beautie and perfyt portratour'. The last recognized mistress was Isabel Stewart, daughter of the earl of Buchan, who provided the king with another daughter, Janet Stewart. This did not, however, signify the end of James's overactive libido. A woman known only as 'Janet bare ars' evidently amused the king during 1508-12." (The Scottish People, 1490-1625: 207)
A succession of mistresses.
"James had a succession of mistresses, whose presence in the royal bed helped their families prosper, and he acknowledged five illegitimate progeny. He had four successive, more or less open favourites: Marion Boyd, Margaret Drummond, Janet Kennedy and Isabel Stewart -- all of whom bore him children. There was a later story that James's advisers had Margaret Drummond poisoned in 1502, together with the two sisters with whom she was dining; in order, so it was claimed, to remove her from the King's affections and clear the way for Margaret Tudor. This was, however, a late seventeenth-century invention of William Drummond, made 1st Viscount Strathallan by King James II and VII, and nothing more than an attempt to 'sex up' the family history. Whatever the caise of Margaret Drummond's death, James had already begun his long-standing relationship with Janet Kennedy four years previously, having imprisoned Janet's former lover, Archibald Douglas Earl of Angus." (Fatal Rivalry: Flodden, 1513: Henry VIII and James IV : 52)
James IV's lovers were:
1) Agnes Stewart (1470-1557)
Lover 1509.
Daughter of: James Stewart, 1st Earl of Buchan & Mrs. Margaret Murray.
Wife of:
1. Adam Hepburn, 2nd Earl of Bothwell, mar 1511
2. Alexander Home, 3rd Lord Home, mar 1514
3. Robert Maxwell, 4th Lord Maxwell, mar 1520/1525.
4. Cuthbert Ramsay, mar 1549
[Cyberancestors]
Natural offspring:
1. Janet Stewart.
"Margaret Murray and her daughter Agnes must have been very attractive women. At an early age Agnes Stewart attracted the attention of her cousin King James IV of Scotland, and she bore him a daughter, Janet Stuart (Stewart) (1508-1563) who also seems to have inherited the family beauty, and especially the libido. Agnes married four times after this affair with James IV. . . . " (Some Royal Bastards with Magna Carta Roots)
2) Bessie Bertram.
Lover in 1504.
"The old Pedlars’ Way from Edinburgh to the South West of Scotland is one of the oldest roads in the country, with Biggar as one of the principal stopping off places for all who travelled thereon Kings and Queens, Cadgers and Hawkers. One of the earliest innkeepers catering for travellers in Biggar, whose name has been recorded, was one Bessie Bertram who provided a good nights "belcher" to King James IV in 1504. The King returned on many occasions and was entertained sometimes by a piper and a fiddler and once he gave …. to a daft woman who sang to him." (A Brief History of the Elphinstone Hotel)
"The Elphinstone Hotel may actually be standing on the site of an older establishment owned by one Bessie Bertram who, it is reputed, gave lodging to King James IV in 1504. Amazingly, in 1947 after demolishing some older outbuildings, a workman found a groat from the reign of Queen Elizabeth I." (Grub and Travel Guides)
3) Isabel Stewart of Buchan (c1480-1557)
Lover in early 1500s.
Daughter of: James Stewart, 1st Earl of Buchan & Margaret Ogilvie, heiress of Sir Alexander Ogilvie of Auchterhouse
Natural offspring:
Lover 1509.
Daughter of: James Stewart, 1st Earl of Buchan & Mrs. Margaret Murray.
Wife of:
1. Adam Hepburn, 2nd Earl of Bothwell, mar 1511
2. Alexander Home, 3rd Lord Home, mar 1514
3. Robert Maxwell, 4th Lord Maxwell, mar 1520/1525.
4. Cuthbert Ramsay, mar 1549
[Cyberancestors]
Natural offspring:
1. Janet Stewart.
"Margaret Murray and her daughter Agnes must have been very attractive women. At an early age Agnes Stewart attracted the attention of her cousin King James IV of Scotland, and she bore him a daughter, Janet Stuart (Stewart) (1508-1563) who also seems to have inherited the family beauty, and especially the libido. Agnes married four times after this affair with James IV. . . . " (Some Royal Bastards with Magna Carta Roots)
2) Bessie Bertram.
Lover in 1504.
"The old Pedlars’ Way from Edinburgh to the South West of Scotland is one of the oldest roads in the country, with Biggar as one of the principal stopping off places for all who travelled thereon Kings and Queens, Cadgers and Hawkers. One of the earliest innkeepers catering for travellers in Biggar, whose name has been recorded, was one Bessie Bertram who provided a good nights "belcher" to King James IV in 1504. The King returned on many occasions and was entertained sometimes by a piper and a fiddler and once he gave …. to a daft woman who sang to him." (A Brief History of the Elphinstone Hotel)
"The Elphinstone Hotel may actually be standing on the site of an older establishment owned by one Bessie Bertram who, it is reputed, gave lodging to King James IV in 1504. Amazingly, in 1947 after demolishing some older outbuildings, a workman found a groat from the reign of Queen Elizabeth I." (Grub and Travel Guides)
3) Isabel Stewart of Buchan (c1480-1557)
Lover in early 1500s.
Daughter of: James Stewart, 1st Earl of Buchan & Margaret Ogilvie, heiress of Sir Alexander Ogilvie of Auchterhouse
Natural offspring:
1. Jean Stuart
" . . . The last recognised mistress was Isabel Stewart, daughter of the earl of Buchan, who provided the king with another daughter, Janet Stewart. This did not, however, signify the end of James's overactive libido. A woman known only as 'Janet bare ars' evidently amused the king during 1508-12." (The Scottish People 1490-1625: 207)
4) Janet 'bare-ars.
5) Janet Kennedy (1488-1545)
Lover in 1498-1503
Daughter of: John Kennedy, 2nd Lord Kennedy & Lady Elizabeth Gordon.
Wife of:
1. Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus, mar 1498, ann 1499
2. Sir Alexander Gordon of Kenmure
3. Sir John Ramsay, 1st Lord Bothwell, mar 1505
Natural offspring:
" . . . The last recognised mistress was Isabel Stewart, daughter of the earl of Buchan, who provided the king with another daughter, Janet Stewart. This did not, however, signify the end of James's overactive libido. A woman known only as 'Janet bare ars' evidently amused the king during 1508-12." (The Scottish People 1490-1625: 207)
4) Janet 'bare-ars.
5) Janet Kennedy (1488-1545)
Lover in 1498-1503
Daughter of: John Kennedy, 2nd Lord Kennedy & Lady Elizabeth Gordon.
Wife of:
1. Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus, mar 1498, ann 1499
2. Sir Alexander Gordon of Kenmure
3. Sir John Ramsay, 1st Lord Bothwell, mar 1505
Natural offspring:
a. James Stuart, Earl of Moray
James IV's most durable lover.
"Margaret Drummond was succeeded in 1498 by the third and most durable of the king's lovers -- Janet Kennedy, daughter of John, Lord Kennedy, and mistress of Archibald, fifth Earl of Angus; indeed, there are indications that Angus fell out of favour with the king over Janet -- he was dismissed as Chancellor and put under house arrest on the Isle of Bute for ten years. In 1501 Janet bore the king a son, James, Earl of Moray. . . . " (Scotland: the Story of a Nation: 277)
The King's most influential mistress.
" . . . Even Angus's mistress, Janet Kennedy, daughter of Lord Kennedy, deserted him in 1498 -- for no less a personage than James IV. James had tired of his 1496-97 mistress, Margaret Drummond, daughter of Lord Drummond, even though she had given him another daughter, Margaret Stewart. Janet Kennedy was probably the most influential of the king's mistresses. She bore the king another son, James Stewart, earl of Moray, and continued to entertain James IV after his marriage. This was despite Margaret Tudor being described as 'a woman of an honest behaviour, a cumlie countenance of singular beutie and perfyt portratour. . . ." (The Scottish People 1490-1625: 207)
Jumping from an earl's bed to the royal bed.
"Her name was Janet Kennedy. This cousin of Lady Katherine Gordon was probably born around 1480, making her about twenty years old when she became the mistress of James IV. She had grown up in the southwest of Scotland, in Ayrshire, where the Kennedy family, proud of their Gaelic background and traditions, lived. Janet came from a well-off family with connections to the court but she probably received little formal education, though she may have been able to read. Wed by the age of sixteen to a Gordon kinsman of her mother, Janet had a daughter in 1496. The marriage did not last long. The concept of marriage in fifteenth and early sixteenth-century Scotland was much more fluid than might be supposed; divorce was very rare but the ending of relationships and the taking up of new partners was not. It was even possible to remarry while a previous spouse was still alive and the Church seems to have turned a blind eye to this flagrant sin, especially if the parties involved were well connected politically. By 1498, Janet had moved on to become the mistress of the forty-seven-year-old Archibald, earl of Angus, a much more important and influential man than her first husband. He was also married but this did not stop him from making generous grants of land to Janet, which, it was noted in the official documentation, were because of his 'singular affection and love for her'. But the earl's devotion to his teenage mistress was not returned for long. Perhaps because she was often about the court with Angus, Janet came to the attention of the king. In 1499 she abandoned Angus for a greater lover, James IV himself. At about this time, Angus fell out with his monarch, though it is not clear whether Janet was the cause of their disagreement. He remained out of favour for a decade. But Janet Kennedy had definitely arrived." (Crown of Thistles)
"James may have tactfully housed Janet away from court, but he did not give her up after his marriage.
James IV's most durable lover.
"Margaret Drummond was succeeded in 1498 by the third and most durable of the king's lovers -- Janet Kennedy, daughter of John, Lord Kennedy, and mistress of Archibald, fifth Earl of Angus; indeed, there are indications that Angus fell out of favour with the king over Janet -- he was dismissed as Chancellor and put under house arrest on the Isle of Bute for ten years. In 1501 Janet bore the king a son, James, Earl of Moray. . . . " (Scotland: the Story of a Nation: 277)
The King's most influential mistress.
" . . . Even Angus's mistress, Janet Kennedy, daughter of Lord Kennedy, deserted him in 1498 -- for no less a personage than James IV. James had tired of his 1496-97 mistress, Margaret Drummond, daughter of Lord Drummond, even though she had given him another daughter, Margaret Stewart. Janet Kennedy was probably the most influential of the king's mistresses. She bore the king another son, James Stewart, earl of Moray, and continued to entertain James IV after his marriage. This was despite Margaret Tudor being described as 'a woman of an honest behaviour, a cumlie countenance of singular beutie and perfyt portratour. . . ." (The Scottish People 1490-1625: 207)
Jumping from an earl's bed to the royal bed.
"Her name was Janet Kennedy. This cousin of Lady Katherine Gordon was probably born around 1480, making her about twenty years old when she became the mistress of James IV. She had grown up in the southwest of Scotland, in Ayrshire, where the Kennedy family, proud of their Gaelic background and traditions, lived. Janet came from a well-off family with connections to the court but she probably received little formal education, though she may have been able to read. Wed by the age of sixteen to a Gordon kinsman of her mother, Janet had a daughter in 1496. The marriage did not last long. The concept of marriage in fifteenth and early sixteenth-century Scotland was much more fluid than might be supposed; divorce was very rare but the ending of relationships and the taking up of new partners was not. It was even possible to remarry while a previous spouse was still alive and the Church seems to have turned a blind eye to this flagrant sin, especially if the parties involved were well connected politically. By 1498, Janet had moved on to become the mistress of the forty-seven-year-old Archibald, earl of Angus, a much more important and influential man than her first husband. He was also married but this did not stop him from making generous grants of land to Janet, which, it was noted in the official documentation, were because of his 'singular affection and love for her'. But the earl's devotion to his teenage mistress was not returned for long. Perhaps because she was often about the court with Angus, Janet came to the attention of the king. In 1499 she abandoned Angus for a greater lover, James IV himself. At about this time, Angus fell out with his monarch, though it is not clear whether Janet was the cause of their disagreement. He remained out of favour for a decade. But Janet Kennedy had definitely arrived." (Crown of Thistles)
"James may have tactfully housed Janet away from court, but he did not give her up after his marriage.
Janet's life with the king.
"No portrait of her survives but she was evidently a young woman whose looks and personality attracted attention and she had won the king's heart. James was never shy with acknowledging his amours and was a responsible parent to the three illegitimate children he had already sired. Kanet lived openly with him at Stirling Castle throughout all the time that diplomatic discussions were going on for his English marriage and she travelled to other parts of Scotland in his company as well. James paid her expenses, gave her costly clothes and gifts and the castle of Darnaway in the north-eastern part of the country. She was a feminine influence in what was otherwise a very masculine court. Janet appears to have been a keen horsewoman and James's gifts of a black horse and sumptuous riding clothes allow tantalizing glimpses of her life and interests. She was, like most woman of her background, a keen embroiderer, a pastime that she shared with the king himself. Flor James was also handy with a needle and thread, as Janet's biographer has pointed out, and the treasurer;s accounts show that gold threads, sewing silks, needles, thimbles and linen cloth were purchased, 'for the king to broider with'. This conjures up a delicious image of the physically restless, daredevil King of Scots sitting quietly with his mistress on a light-filled summer's afternoon, both with their heads bent over their needlework in an unexpected picture of domestic bliss." (Crown of Thistles)
"Although she could never be his wife, Janet Kennedy's love affair with the king may partly explain why James was in hurry to finalize his own wedding. Romantic historians of the past, taken in by lurid tales of the demise of his earlier mistress, Margaret Drummond, who died with two of her sisters in mysterious circumstances in 1502, have wrongly assigned the king's slowness to an affair that was over some years before. Yet even as Janet gave birth to a son, later created the earl of Moray, and another daughter by the king, James and she must both have known that she could not continue by his side indefinitely. When the three agreements known as the Treaty of Perpetual Peace were signed in London on 24 January 1502, Margaret Tudor's arrival in scotland was still eighteen months away, but that she would become, the wife of James IV was no longer in doubt." (Crown of Thistles)
Affair's end & aftermath.
"His affair with Janet Kennedy was brought to a close two years after his wedding, when a marriage was arranged between 'the lady', as the Scottish treasurer's accounts always called her, and John Ramsay. This was the same John Ramsay who had been one of the closest companions of James III and the traitor who sold himself (or, at least, his information) to Henry VII in the 1490s. James, however, like Henry, knew that loyalties were fickle and the aggrieved needed to be encouraged as wll as constrained. By the beginning of the new century, with most of his forfeit lands restored, Ramsay was back at court and close to the king. James may well have thought that having a former enemy married to a discarded mistress was a neat way to bind them both to him, allowing them to be at court without scandal. The fact that Janet was still, in the eyes of the Church, married to Alexander Gordon was irrelevant. But Janet's new marital arrangement did not last more than a few years. By 1509 Ramsay was recorded as the spouse of another lady. Janet herself lived on for many years, perhaps as late as 1545, careful of her property and in genteel retirement. She saw her son, the earl of Moray, become a loyal and competent adviser to his younger half-brother, King James ." (Crown of Thistles)
6) Marion Boyd (fl. late 15th century)
Lover in 1492-1495
James IV's first official mistress.
Daughter of: Archibald Boyd of Bonshaw
Natural offspring:
a. Alexander Stuart, Archbishop of St. Andrews
"James acknowledged the children and Alexander was given the education of a prince, although a prince destined for the church, not the throne. Following the grant of the dispensation necessary to overcome his illegitimacy, he became a sub-deacon, and at the early age of eleven was nominated as Archbishop of St Andrews." (Tudor Times)
"James acknowledged the children and Alexander was given the education of a prince, although a prince destined for the church, not the throne. Following the grant of the dispensation necessary to overcome his illegitimacy, he became a sub-deacon, and at the early age of eleven was nominated as Archbishop of St Andrews." (Tudor Times)
2. Catherine Stuart.
"Marion Boyd's daughter, Katherine, was married to James Douglas, 3rd Earl of Morton, and bore several children." (Tudor Times)
He was very proud of his children.
"Yet being sentimental, he looked for one particular woman. Women there would always be, but among them he sought always the perfect mistress. He thought he had found her in Marian Boyd, the daughter of the Lord of Bonshaw---comely, witty, a charming mistress. He had been faithful to Marian for months, and she had borne him two children of whom he was very proud. He gave Alexander and Catherine the name of Stuart, for he was not ashamed to recognize them as his own. He took time from his state duties to visit them often, for he loved playing with children and he was determined that his children should never be treated by their father as he had been by his." (The Thistle and the Rose)
The king's first official mistress.
" . . . The king's first 'official' mistress, and certainly the first of any social standing, was Marion Boyd. We know little about her other than that she was the niece of the earl of Angus. This proximity to a man who wished for a greater role in government is unlikely to have been coincidental. As a gambling companion, Angus may well have noted James IV's liking for a pretty face and made sire that Marion was brought to the king's attention. Their affair began in the summer of 1492 and continued for three years. During that time, Marion bore James two children, Alexander and Katherine Stewart, but he had apparently tired of her by the end of 1495, when she was married off to John Muir of Rowallan. A new mistress, Margaret Drummond, was about to enter his life. . . ." (Crown of Thistles)
" . . . His first recorded affair was in 1492 with Marion Boyd, niece of Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus, a close confidant and card-playing companion of the king. The affair was to last three years, during which the Earl of Angus rose high in royal favour (he was made Chancellor in 1493) and Marion bore King James his first two illegitimate children: Alexander Stewart, who would be appointed Archbishop of St. Andrews at the age of eleven, and a daughter, Catherine. he affair came to an end in 1495, when the king married Marion off to someone else." (Scotland: the Story of a Nation: 277)
Marion's personal & family background.
"John Mure of Rowallan, the eldest son, and grandson of Robert 'the Red,' married Margaret, third daughter of Archibald Boyd of Bonshaw, brother of Thomas, master of Boyd, created earl of Arran about 1467. This lady was the means of putting an end to the feud of the Rowallan family with the Crawfurds. In her youth she had been mistress to James IV, by whom, with a son, Alexander, Bishop of St. Andrews, she had a daughter, Catherine Stewart, married to the third earl of Morton. She afterwards 'procured to herself the war of the laird of Rowallan, John Muir, and married him.' They had sasine of the lands of Warnockland, the gift of James IV, in January 1498. This John Mure of Rowallan was slain at Flodden in September 1513. He had four sons and four daughters." (The Scottish Nation, Vol. 3: 220)
Affair's end & aftermath.
"The end of the affair with Marion Boyd may have been prompted by more than just ennui and the attractions of another lady. Angus's influence was on the wane and the king finally decided in 1495 that he would take the reins of government himself. Over seven years, he had mastered the business of domestic administration and developed a keen interest in military and diplomatic matters. . . ." (Crown of Thistles)
"John Mure of Rowallan, the eldest son, and grandson of Robert 'the Red,' married Margaret, third daughter of Archibald Boyd of Bonshaw, brother of Thomas, master of Boyd, created earl of Arran about 1467. This lady was the means of putting an end to the feud of the Rowallan family with the Crawfurds. In her youth she had been mistress to James IV, by whom, with a son, Alexander, Bishop of St. Andrews, she had a daughter, Catherine Stewart, married to the third earl of Morton. She afterwards 'procured to herself the war of the laird of Rowallan, John Muir, and married him.' They had sasine of the lands of Warnockland, the gift of James IV, in January 1498. This John Mure of Rowallan was slain at Flodden in September 1513. He had four sons and four daughters." (The Scottish Nation, Vol. 3: 220)
Affair's end & aftermath.
"The end of the affair with Marion Boyd may have been prompted by more than just ennui and the attractions of another lady. Angus's influence was on the wane and the king finally decided in 1495 that he would take the reins of government himself. Over seven years, he had mastered the business of domestic administration and developed a keen interest in military and diplomatic matters. . . ." (Crown of Thistles)
7) Margaret Drummond (1475-1501).
Lover in 1496-1497
Daughter of: John, 1st Lord Drummond & Elizabeth Lindsay, daughter of Alexander, 4th Earl of Crawford
Natural offspring:
a. Margaret Stuart
Second royal mistress.
"The second royal mistress was Margaret Drummond, daughter of the first Lord Drummond, one of the royal justiciars. This affair lasted for two years. King James made the liaison public by installing her in Stirling Castle, where she bore him a daughter also named Margaret, but in 1497 he sent her back home to her father, suitably rewarded. There is a story that the two were secretly married and that Margaret and her sisters were deliberately poisoned in 1502 by those who wanted the path cleared for an alliance with the House of Tudor, but this seems to have been no more than a legend invented by the Drummond family long after her death. . . . " (Scotland: the Story of a Nation: 277)
A new mistress, Margaret Drummond, was about to enter his life. Though their appears to have been a very intense relationship, and Margaret was, for some months, residing at Stirling Castle with the king, it was short-lived. He did, however, make proper provision for their daughter )also called Margaret), who was brought up at Stirling. James never neglected the illegitimate children of these liaisons, ensuring that his sons were well educated and his daughters raised as ladies who could expect to make good marriages." (Crown of Thistles)
Centre of a glittering court.
"A century later, Sir John of Stobhall was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary to England. His job was to arrange the marriages of the King and his sons with princesses of the English Royal House of York. He was made a Lord of Parliament in 1487, but he had another agenda, and that was to promote his own family. The King’s heir had taken a fancy to Sir John’s daughter Margaret. After the Battle of Sauchieburn, which resulted in the murder of his father, the young and charismatic James IV of Scotland was said to have married Margaret Drummond in secret and he made her the centre of his glittering court at Linlithgow Drummond Castle which Sir John was in the process of building." (Scotland Magazine)
Mistress Margaret Drummond.
Drummond being apprehended and sent prisoner to Stirling, was tried, convicted, and speedily executed. His mother vainly begged his life on her knees, and his sister, Margaret, the mistress of the king, also in vain pleaded in his behalf. Those were ruthless times. From 1488 to 1502, the royal treasurer’s books contain entries of gifts of jewellery, dresses, and money to “Mistress Margret Drummond,” who seems to have lived openly with the king, and he was so much attached to her that he would not marry while she lived. She was poisoned in 1502, along with her two youngest sisters, Euphemia Lady Fleming, and Sybilia, who accidentally joined her at her last fatal repast. . . . " (electricscotland.com)
"James was a handsome, virile young man who had many amours both before and after marriage. As a teenager during his minority he was 'fed' a succession of lovers by those in power who saw political advantage in encouraging his sexual intrigues with their relatives. . . ." (Scotland: the Story of a Nation: 277)
Royal virility & permissive sexuality.
" . . . James IV's court, as his son's would be, was one in which there was a permissive climate of sexuality. The king's amours were regarded by many as a symbol of royal virility. Payments to James IV's many mistresses, Marion Boyd, Margaret Drummond, Janet Kennedy, Isabel Stewart, and others identifiable only by their initials, are recorded in the royal accounts. . . ." (Court Politics, Culture and Literature in Scotland and England, 1500-1540: 20)
Notorious womanizer.
"James was a notorious womanizer. He had numerous recognized mistresses and many nameless ones. He had eight acknowledged illegitimate children, two who died in infancy and may have had more. His favorite mistress was Margaret Drummond from 1496 until her death in 1501. Many of his nobles thought he would never marry and sire a legitimate heir." (The Freelance History Writer)
". . . His first recorded affair was in 1492 with Marion Boyd, niece of Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus, a close confidant and card-playing companion of the king. . . The second royal mistress was Margaret Drummond, daughter of the first Lord Drummond, one of the royal justiciars. . . Margaret Drummond was succeeded in 1498 by the third and most durable of the king's lovers -- Janet Kennedy, daughter of John, Lord Kennedy, and mistress of Archibald, fifth Earl of Angus. . . ." (Scotland: the Story of a Nation: 277)
" . . . James IV's court, as his son's would be, was one in which there was a permissive climate of sexuality. The king's amours were regarded by many as a symbol of royal virility. Payments to James IV's many mistresses, Marion Boyd, Margaret Drummond, Janet Kennedy, Isabel Stewart, and others identifiable only by their initials, are recorded in the royal accounts. . . ." (Court Politics, Culture and Literature in Scotland and England, 1500-1540: 20)
Notorious womanizer.
"James was a notorious womanizer. He had numerous recognized mistresses and many nameless ones. He had eight acknowledged illegitimate children, two who died in infancy and may have had more. His favorite mistress was Margaret Drummond from 1496 until her death in 1501. Many of his nobles thought he would never marry and sire a legitimate heir." (The Freelance History Writer)
". . . His first recorded affair was in 1492 with Marion Boyd, niece of Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus, a close confidant and card-playing companion of the king. . . The second royal mistress was Margaret Drummond, daughter of the first Lord Drummond, one of the royal justiciars. . . Margaret Drummond was succeeded in 1498 by the third and most durable of the king's lovers -- Janet Kennedy, daughter of John, Lord Kennedy, and mistress of Archibald, fifth Earl of Angus. . . ." (Scotland: the Story of a Nation: 277)
.jpg/513px-Portrait_of_James_V_of_Scotland_(1512_-_1542).jpg) |
James V of Scotland @Weiss Gallery |
(1512-1542)
King of Scots
1513-1542
Husband of:
1. Madeleine de Valois, mar 1537
2. Marie de Guise, mar 1538.
James V's mistresses.
" . . . James V married comparatively late for a Renaissance monarch and had liaisons with many women before marrying firstly Princess Madeleine and then Mary of Guise. His mistresses included Margaret Erskine, wife of Robert Douglas of Lochleven, Elizabeth Beaton, wife of Lord Innermeath, Elizabeth, Margaret of Eleanor Stewart, a daughter of John, earl of Lennox, Elizabeth Shaw, daughter of Alexander Shaw of Sauchie, Elizabeth Carmichael of that Ilk, Euphemia Elphinstone, daughter of Lord Elphinstone, and finally Christina Barclay of Touch. . . ." (The Scottish People 1490-1625: 216)
Five illegitimate children by 5 mistresses.
"The King of Scotland was by this time seventeen. He had five illegitimate children by five different mistresses. Elizabeth Shaw, Lady Margaret Erskine, Euphemia, the daughter of Lord Elphinstone, and Lady Elizabeth Stewart all bore him sons; Elizabeth Beaton probably gave him a daughter. Sexual morality in pre-Reformation Scotland was very different from the standards set by the English court. While Anne Boleyn clung proudly to her virginity and would not give in to Henry until marriage was an absolute certainty, the Scottish noblewoman were proud to bear children of the royal half-blood." (The Sisters of Henry VIII: 202)
Stewart sexual appetite.
"Like so many of the Stewart monarchs, James V had a powerful sexual appetite. He is known to have had at least seven mistresses: Lady Margaret Erskine (the wife of Douglas of Lochleven), Elizabeth Beaton, Elizabeth Stew art, Elizabeth Shaw, Elizabeth Carmichael, Euphemia Elphinstone and Christina Barclay. . . . " (Magnusson. Scotland: The Story of a Nation: 305)
The disguised lover.
"Like his father, James V was a gallant and adventurous lover. He would ride alone at night to visit his mistresses, and there are many tales of his exploits under the pseudonym of Gudeman of Ballengeich. He often assumed disguises and delighted in surprising his countrymen by suddenly revealing himself as their King. . . ." (Perry: 203)
Sharing a royal lover .
Sharing a royal lover .
"The King's determination to keep the peace endeared him to common folk. So did his habit of wandering abroad incognito as the Gudman of Ballengeich, an easily penetrated disguise in which he was reputed to have had many adventures and seduced many wenches. Six well borne mistresses, singly or simultaneously (Elizabeth Beaton, Elizabeth Carmichael, Euphemia Elphinstone, Margaret Erskine, Elizabeth Shaw and Elizabeth Stewart) shared his favours and gave him children. . . ." (Arnold-Baker. The Companion to British History: 730)
A gallant and adventurous lover.
"Like his father, James V was a gallant and adventurous lover. He would ride alone at night to visit his mistresses, and there are many tales of his exploits under the pseudonym of the Gudeman of Ballengeich. He often assumed disguises and delighted in surprising his countrymen by suddenly revealing himself as their King. James deeply shocked his mother by contemplating the possibility of marrying one of his mistresses, Margaret Erskine, later famed in Scottish ballads as 'the Lady of Lochleven'. As she was a noblewoman, there was no reason why the King should not have married her at the time she bore his son, James Stewart, who as Earl of Moray eventually became Regent of Scotland, but Margaret's child was born in 1533. By 1536, when the King realized how deeply he loved Margaret Erskine, she had already become the wife of Lord Lochleven. The Pope would not grant Lady Lochleven a divorce, and since James's council preferred the idea of a foreign princess who could bring a dowry with her, the King surrendered gracefully. He made various efforts to renew the pledges of the Treaty of Rouen when Francis, but the French King was still extremely protective of Princess Madeleine, a beautiful but fragile fourteen-year-old, so he replied that she was still too young." (The Sisters of Henry VIII: 203)
His lovers were:
His lovers were:
1) Christine Barclay (1501-1530)
Daughter of: James Barclay & Christian Sinclair Stewart
Wife of: George Abercrombie of Pitmeddon
Natural offspring:
1. James Stewart.
Wife of: George Abercrombie of Pitmeddon
Natural offspring:
1. James Stewart.
Daughter of: Sir John Bethune of Creich.
Wife of:
1. John Stewart, 4th Lord of Innermeath, mar 1536/1540.
2. Hon. James Gray, 4th Lord Gray, mar 1573, div. 1581.
" . . . James V's particular liking for hunting within Fife allowed the Beatons to bolster their local position, and the bond with the king increased when Elizabeth became his mistress. . . ." (Scotland Re-formed, 1488-1587: 128)
3) Elizabeth Shaw of Sauchie.
3) Elizabeth Shaw of Sauchie.
Natural offspring:
a.James Stuart, Abbot of Kelso & Melrose (1529-1557)
"James Shaw of Sauchy, knight, is named in 1582. {Writs of Sauchie.) "Will Shaw, Master of the Wark, is cal'd brother to John Shaw of Broiche in 1582, in a charter to him by James Shaw, and of Sauchy." (Ibid.) [Crawfurd, in his Notes of Sauchie Writs, says it was this Sir James's daughter who was the king's mistress [query, Sir Alexander]. Elizabeth Shaw had several children by the King James V., the " Gudeman of Ballengeich." 1532, a son was born [see Treasurer's Accounts, April 2, 1532]. This son was afterwards James, Abbot of Melrose, his Tutor, the famous George Buchanan. Abbot James died 1558.] (Lord Cathcart)." (Magnusson. Scotland: the Story of a Nation: 112)
"James Stewart, Abbot of Kelso and Melrose. Perhaps born as early as 1529, when his father was 17, James was the son of Elizabeth Shaw “of Sauchie.” He died before age 30." (Gifford: 2011 August 11)
4) Elizabeth Stewart
Natural offspring:
1. Adam Stewart, Prior of Charterhouse (d.1575)
"...[B]etween 1508 and 1512 royal gifts were showered on the last of his public mistresses, Isabel Stewart, daughter of James, Earl of Buchan, who bore him a daughter, Janet." (Scotland: the Story of a Nation: 278)
5) Euphemia Elphinstone (1509-1547)
Lover in 1530-1535.
Daughter of: Alexander Elphinstone, Lord Elphinstone & Elizabeth Barlow of Aberdeenshire.
Wife of: John Bruce of Cultmalindie, a descendant of Robert Bruce, mar c1535
Natural offspring: 1. Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney (1533-?)
6) Helen Stewart, Countess of Erroll.
7) Katherine Carmichael (d.1514-1550)
Daughter of: Sir John Carmichael of Meadowflat, Captain of Crawford
Wife of: Sir John Sommerville of Cambusnethan
Natural offspring:
Wife of: Sir John Sommerville of Cambusnethan
Natural offspring:
a. James Stewart (1531-1562), Prior of Coldinghame
Affair's benefits.
"The Castle of Boghouse of Crawfordjohn was built by King James V for his mistress, the daughter of the Captain of Crawfurd; but on the restoration of the barony of Crawfurdjohn to the Hamiltons of Evandale, it became one of the seats of the family, It i snow in ruins. (Burke. A Visitation of the Seats and Arms of the Noblemen and Gentlemen of Great Britain & Ireland: 76)
" . . . Lindsay Tower was named after the Lindsay family who held the Barony from the 13th century until 1488. In 1398 David Lindsay was granted the title of Earl of Crawford by Robert II. David Lindsay had married Robert II's sister Marjorie. In 1488 the Barony was transferred to Angus Douglas whose descendants held it until 1578. James V used it as a hunting lodge for a period of time until his death in 1542. His mistress, Catherine Carmichael's father was Captain of the Crawford Castle guard. James V built a castle in Crawfurdjohn for their trysts. Crawford Castle was rebuilt several times over the centuries, and a farmhouse, known as Crawford House was constructed in the 18th century from stones largely removed from the castle ruins." (clancrawfordassoc.org)
8) Margaret Erskine.
Also known as the Lady of Lochleven.
Daughter of: John Erskine, 5th Lord Erskine & Margaret Campbell.
Wife of: Sir Robert Douglas of Lochleven, mar 1527.
Natural offspring:
a. James Stuart, 1st Earl of Moray, Regent of Scotland
The Dame Sensuality.
"Margaret Erskine showed genuine affection for the King, but probably had several lovers; she was the model for Dame Sensuality in the play of Sir David Lindsay of the Mount, A Satire of the Three Estates (1540)." (The Challenge to the Crown: Vol I: 5)
"Margaret Erskine showed genuine affection for the King, but probably had several lovers; she was the model for Dame Sensuality in the play of Sir David Lindsay of the Mount, A Satire of the Three Estates (1540)." (The Challenge to the Crown: Vol I: 5)
"What the Stewart monarchy also needed to sustain it during the 1530s was a legitimate heir, and that meant a royal marriage, though in his protracted search for a bride . . . James V showed no sense of pressure. . . Eighteen candidates were considered, including Margaret Erskine, the one mistress whom James took to his heart. Since she lacked a substantial dowry and was already married, that scheme did not last long. Obtaining a papal annulment for a royal marriage was a sensitive issue in 1536: Margaret was not destined to become Scotland's Anne Boleyn." (Scotland Re-formed, 1488-1587: 131)
" . . . The be assured of the young King's loyalty, rival advisers, even members of the Church, provided attractive daughters of noble families to be become his mistresses. As a result, he sired at least seven illegitimate children by different partners over a period of years, opening him to criticism from Protestant preachers. The eldest of these, born in 1531, was Lord James Stewart, the son of James, Lord Erskine's daughter Margaret, who was already the wife of Sir Robert Douglas of Lochleven." (The Challenge to the Crown: Vol I: 4)
Natural offspring:
a. James Stuart, Earl of Moray, Regent of Scotland
"Lord James Stewart, Earl of Moray (1531-70), was a son of James V by his mistress Lady Margaret Erskine. He was appointed Commendator of St. Andrews Priory at the age of seven, in 1538. At seventeen he distinguished himself in the field against the English in south-east Scotland and then accompanied the five-year-old Mary Queen of Scots to France in 1548. . . ." (Scotland: the Story of a Nation: 337)
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