Margaret Graham, Countess of Menteith
Encyclopedia
Margaret Graham, Countess of Menteith (1334–1380) was a Scottish noblewoman. She married four times, becoming Countess of Menteith and, in 1361, Duchess of Albany. Her fourth and last husband was Sir Robert Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany, who would go on to be Regent of Scotland from 1406 until his death in 1420. Her son Murdoch Stewart would become the second Duke of Albany, but was executed for treason by King James I of Scotland
James I of Scotland
James I, King of Scots , was the son of Robert III and Annabella Drummond. He was probably born in late July 1394 in Dunfermline as youngest of three sons...

 in 1425.

Early life

Margaret Graham was the only daughter of Sir John Graham and Mary Menteith, Countess of Menteith. She was born in Doune Castle
Doune Castle
Doune Castle is a medieval stronghold near the village of Doune, in the Stirling district of central Scotland. The castle is sited on a wooded bend where the Ardoch Burn flows into the River Teith. It lies north-west of Stirling, where the Teith flows into the River Forth...

, Stirlingshire
Stirlingshire
Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling is a registration county of Scotland, based around Stirling, the former county town. It borders Perthshire to the north, Clackmannanshire and West Lothian to the east, Lanarkshire to the south, and Dunbartonshire to the south-west.Until 1975 it was a county...

, Scotland. Margaret's father served as second-in-command to Sir William Wallace
William Wallace
Sir William Wallace was a Scottish knight and landowner who became one of the main leaders during the Wars of Scottish Independence....

, fighting alongside Wallace during the Scottish Wars of Independence. He was killed at the disastrous Battle of Falkirk
Battle of Falkirk (1298)
The Battle of Falkirk, which took place on 22 July 1298, was one of the major battles in the First War of Scottish Independence...

 on 22 July 1298, when the Scottish army was routed by Edward I of England
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...

.

Sir John was buried in Falkirk Old Parish Church
Falkirk Old Parish Church
Falkirk Old & St. Modan's Parish Church is a congregation of the Church of Scotland in Falkirk, central Scotland. The medieval Old Parish Church is located in the centre of Falkirk, and may have been founded as early as the 7th century. The medieval church was largely rebuilt in the 19th century,...

. The inscription reads:

Marriages

She was married four times. First, to Sir John Moray, Lord of Bothwell (son of Sir Andrew Moray
Sir Andrew Murray
Sir Andrew Murray , also known as Sir Andrew Moray or Sir Andrew Murray of Bothwell, was a Scottish military leader who commanded resistance forces loyal to David II of Scotland against Edward Balliol and Edward III of England during the Second War of Scottish Independence...

 and Lady Christina Bruce
Christina Bruce
Christina Bruce the second daughter of Robert de Brus, jure uxoris Earl of Carrick and Marjorie of Carrick, and an older sister of King Robert the Bruce....

). No issue. Then she was married to Thomas, 9th Earl of Mar but they were divorced circa 1359. No issue. Thirdly, she was married to Sir John Drummond of Concraig. No issue.

Duchess of Albany

Her last marriage in 1361 was to Sir Robert Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany (son of Robert II Stewart, King of Scotland and Elizabeth Mure
Elizabeth Mure
Elizabeth Mure was mistress and then wife of Robert, High Steward of Scotland, and Guardian of Scotland , who later became King Robert II of Scotland.-History:...

 of Rowallan). Sir Robert Stewart was a member of the Scottish Royal House and later served as regent to three different Scottish monarchs.

Family

The Duke and Duchess of Albany had eight children:
  • Janet Stewart
  • Mary Stewart (married to sir William Abernathy,6th of Saltoun)
  • Margaret Stewart (married to Sir John Swinton, 14th of that Ilk
    Sir John Swinton, 14th of that Ilk
    Sir John Swinton, great-grandson of Henry de Swinton who appears on the Ragman Roll, was a distinguished soldier and statesman in the reigns of Robert II of Scotland and Robert III of Scotland. -France, Hundred Years War:...

    )
  • Joan Stewart (Sir Robert Stewart, Lord of Lorn)
  • Beatrice Stewart (married to Sir James Douglas of Balveny
    James Douglas, 7th Earl of Douglas
    James Douglas, 7th Earl of Douglas, 1st Earl of Avondale , known as "the Gross", was a Scottish nobleman. He was the second son of Archibald Douglas, 3rd Earl of Douglas and Joan Moray of Bothwell and Drumsargard , d...

    )
  • Isabella Stewart (married to Alexander Leslie, 7th Earl of Ross
    Alexander Leslie, Earl of Ross
    Alexander Leslie, Earl of Ross was a Scottish nobleman. Born between 1367 and 1382, he was the son of Walter Leslie, Lord of Ross and Euphemia I, Countess of Ross. In around 1394 he became Earl of Ross and sometime before 1398 he married Isabel Stewart, daughter of Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany....

     and later to Walter Haliburton)
  • Lady Marjorie Stewart (married to Sir Duncan Campbell
    Duncan Campbell, 1st Lord Campbell
    Duncan Campbell, 1st Lord Campbell Duncan Campbell, 1st Lord Campbell Duncan Campbell, 1st Lord Campbell (Classical Gaelic Donnchadh mac Cailein, and also called Donnchadh na-Adh of Loch Awe, (died 1453), was an important figure in Scottish affairs in the first half of the fifteenth century and...

    )
  • Murdoch Stewart (1362–1425), 2nd Duke of Albany (married to Joan Douglas and later to Isabel, Countess of Lennox).


Margaret Graham’s married name evolved from Moray to Erskine to Drummond and later to Stewart.

Margaret Graham died on May 4, 1380 in Dundonald
Dundonald, South Ayrshire
Dundonald is a village in South Ayrshire, Scotland.-The village:The village is mostly known for Dundonald Castle, which was built in the 14th century by king Robert II, on the ruins of a castle built earlier Dundonald (Gaelic: Dùn Dhòmhnaill) is a village in South Ayrshire, Scotland.-The...

, Ayrshire
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...

, Scotland and was buried in Inchmahone Priory, Perthshire
Perthshire
Perthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south...

in Scotland.
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