Biography

He was the son of John Stewart, 3rd Earl of Atholl

John Stewart, 3rd Earl of Atholl

John Stewart, 3rd Earl of Atholl was the son of John Stewart, 2nd Earl of Atholl and Lady Janet Campbell, a daughter of Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll and Elizabeth Stuart....

 and Grizel Rattray. He supported the government of the queen dowager, and in 1560 was one of the three nobles who voted in Parliament against the Reformation

Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...

 and the confession of faith, and declared their adherence to Roman Catholicism. Subsequently, however, he joined the league against Huntly, whom with Murray and Morton

James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton

James Douglas, jure uxoris 4th Earl of Morton was the last of the four regents of Scotland during the minority of King James VI. He was in some ways the most successful of the four, since he did manage to win the civil war which had been dragging on with the supporters of the exiled Mary, Queen of...

 he defeated at Corrichie in October 1562, and he supported the projected marriage of Elizabeth

Elizabeth I of England

Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...

 with Arran

James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran

James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault and 2nd Earl of Arran was a Scottish nobleman.-Biography:He was the eldest legitimate son of James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran....

.

On the arrival of Mary, Queen of Scots, from France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 in 1561 he was appointed one of the twelve privy councillors, and on account of his religion obtained a greater share the queen's favour than either Murray or Maitland. He was one of the principal supporters of the marriage with Darnley

Darnley

Darnley is an area in south-west Glasgow, Scotland located on the A727 just west of Arden. During the second half of the 20th Century Darnley has experienced total transformation from being a modest semi-rural community to becoming a significant part of Glasgow's response to a post-war housing...

, became the leader of the Roman Catholic nobles, and with Knox obtained the chief power in the government, successfully protecting Mary and Darnley from Murray's attempts to regain his ascendancy by force of arms. According to Knox

John Knox

John Knox was a Scottish clergyman and a leader of the Protestant Reformation who brought reformation to the church in Scotland. He was educated at the University of St Andrews or possibly the University of Glasgow and was ordained to the Catholic priesthood in 1536...

 he openly attended mass in the queen's chapel, and was especially trusted by Mary in her project of reinstating Roman Catholicism. The fortress of Tantallon

Tantallon Castle

Tantallon Castle is a mid-14th-century fortress, located east of North Berwick, in East Lothian, Scotland. It sits atop a promontory opposite the Bass Rock, looking out onto the Firth of Forth...

 was placed in his keeping, and in 1565 he was made lieutenant of the north of Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. He was described the same year by the French ambassador as “très grand catholique hardi et vaillant et remuant, comme l'on dict, mais de nul".

After the murder of David Rizzio

David Rizzio

Davide Rizzio, sometimes written as Davide Riccio or Davide Rizzo , was an Italian courtier, born close to Turin, a descendant of an ancient and noble family still living in Piedmont, the Riccio Counts de San Paolo et Solbrito, who rose to become the private secretary of Mary, Queen of Scots...

, in 1567, he joined the Protestant lords against Mary, appeared as one of the leaders against her at Carberry Hill, and afterwards approved of her lavish imprisonment at Loch Leven Castle

Loch Leven Castle

Loch Leven Castle is a ruined castle on an island in Loch Leven, in the Perth and Kinross local authority area of Scotland. Possibly built around 1300, the castle was the location military action during the Wars of Scottish Independence...

. In July he was present at the coronation of James, and was included in the council of regency to Mary's abdication

Abdication

Abdication occurs when a monarch, such as a king or emperor, renounces his office.-Terminology:The word abdication comes derives from the Latin abdicatio. meaning to disown or renounce...

. He, however, was not present at Langside

Langside

Langside is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated south of the River Clyde, and lies east of Shawlands, south of Queens Park, west of Cathcart and north of Newlands. The district is residential and primarily middle-class, and has become an increasingly fashionable address in...

 in May 1568, and in July became once more a supporter of Mary, voting for her divorce from Bothwell (1569). In March 1570 he formed with other lords the joint letter to Elizabeth asking for the queen's intercession and supporting Mary's claims, and was present at the convention held at Linlithgow

Linlithgow

Linlithgow is a Royal Burgh in West Lothian, Scotland. An ancient town, it lies south of its two most prominent landmarks: Linlithgow Palace and Linlithgow Loch, and north of the Union Canal....

 in April in opposition to the assembly of the king's party at Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

.

In 1574 he was proceeded against as a Roman Catholic and threatened with excommunication

Excommunication

Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...

, subsequently holding a conference with the ministers and being allowed till midsummer to overcome his scruples

Scruples

The word scruples or scruple can mean: – a doubt or hesitation that troubles the conscience or that comes from the difficulty of determining whether something is right...

. He had failed in 1572 to prevent Morton's appointment to the regency

Regent

A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...

, but in 1578 he succeeded with the earl of Argyll in driving him from office. On 24 March, James took the government into his own hands and dissolved the regency, and Atholl and Argyll, to the exclusion of Morton, were made members of the council, while on the 29th Atholl was appointed lord chancellor

Lord Chancellor of Scotland

The Lord Chancellor of Scotland was a Great Officer of State in pre-Union Scotland.Holders of the office are known from 1123 onwards, but its duties were occasionally performed by an official of lower status with the title of Keeper of the Great Seal...

. Subsequently, on 24 May, Morton succeeded in getting into Stirling Castle

Stirling Castle

Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles, both historically and architecturally, in Scotland. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological formation. It is surrounded on three sides by steep...

 and in attaining his guardianship of James. Atholl and Argyll, who were now corresponding with Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 in hopes of assistance from that quarter, then advanced to Stirling with a large force, when a compromise was arranged, the three earls being all included in the government.

While on his way from a banquet held on 20 April 1579 on the occasion of the reconciliation, Atholl was seized with sudden illness, and died on the 25th, not without strong suspicions of poison. He was buried at the High Kirk of Edinburgh near the tomb of Regent Moray at the request the King.

He married (1) Elizabeth, daughter of George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly

George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly

George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly was a Scottish nobleman.-Biography:He was the son of John Gordon, Lord Gordon, and Margaret Stewart, daughter of James IV. George Gordon inherited his earldom and estates in 1524 at age 10...

 and Elizabeth Keith, by whom he had two daughters, one of them Elizabeth Stewart, wife of Hugh Fraser, 5th Baron Lovat, Robert Stewart, 6th Earl of Lennox

Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of March

Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox then 1st Earl of March was a Scottish nobleman of the family of Stewart of Darnley.-Titles:...

 and James Stewart, Earl of Arran

James Stewart, Earl of Arran

Captain James Stewart, Earl of Arran was created Earl of Arran by the young King James VI, who wrested the title from James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran...

; and (2) The Hon. Margaret Fleming, widow of Robert Graham, Baron Graham, and Thomas Erskine, Master of Erskine. With Margaret, James had three daughters, Jean Stewart, wife of Sir Duncan Campbell, 1st Baronet, Grizel Stewart, wife of David Lindsay, 11th Earl of Crawford

David Lindsay, 11th Earl of Crawford

David Lindsay, 11th Earl of Crawford was a Scottish nobleman.-Life:He was the eldest son of David Lindsay, 10th Earl of Crawford, by Margaret, daughter of Cardinal Beaton and Marion Ogilvy, and was born about 1547...

 and Mary Stewart, wife of Francis Hay, 9th Earl of Erroll

Francis Hay, 9th Earl of Erroll

Francis Hay, 9th Earl of Erroll , Scottish nobleman, was the son of Andrew, 8th earl, and of Lady Jean Hay, daughter of William, 6th earl...

, and one son, John Stewart, 5th Earl of Atholl, at whose death in 1595 left the earldom in default of male heirs and reverted to the crown.