Stewart of Darnley
Encyclopedia
Stewart of Darnley was a notable Scots family, a branch of the House of Stewart, who provided the English Stuart monarchs with their male-line Stuart descent, after the reunion of their branch with the royal Scottish branch, which led to the ultimate union of the two main kingdoms of Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

: England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and 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...

.

In 1565 the House of Stewart of Darnley was re-united with the Royal
Royal family
A royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning...

 House of Stewart when Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley
Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley
Henry Stewart or Stuart, 1st Duke of Albany , styled Lord Darnley before 1565, was king consort of Scotland and murdered at Kirk o'Field...

, himself a descendant of King Henry VII of England
Henry VII of England
Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....

, with a claim to the English throne, married Mary, Queen of Scots. This marriage united the two main claimants to the English throne through their descent from Margaret Tudor
Margaret Tudor
Margaret Tudor was the elder of the two surviving daughters of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, and the elder sister of Henry VIII. In 1503, she married James IV, King of Scots. James died in 1513, and their son became King James V. She married secondly Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of...

, daughter of Henry VII of England
Henry VII of England
Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....

. The son of this union James VI
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...

 of Scots succeeded to the throne
Throne
A throne is the official chair or seat upon which a monarch is seated on state or ceremonial occasions. "Throne" in an abstract sense can also refer to the monarchy or the Crown itself, an instance of metonymy, and is also used in many expressions such as "the power behind the...

 of England as James I.

The later English Kings of the House of Stuart
House of Stuart
The House of Stuart is a European royal house. Founded by Robert II of Scotland, the Stewarts first became monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland during the late 14th century, and subsequently held the position of the Kings of Great Britain and Ireland...

, from James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...

 and Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...

 onwards, were more properly members of the Stewart of Darnley branch, and all drew upon their feudal heritage in Lennox (district)
Lennox (district)
The district of Lennox , often known as "the Lennox", is a region of Scotland centred around the village of Lennoxtown in East Dunbartonshire, eight miles north of the centre of Glasgow. At various times in history, the district has had both a dukedom and earldom associated with it.- External...

.

Origins and name

The Stewarts of Darnley were descended from the second son of Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland
Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland
Alexander Stewart was 4th hereditary High Steward of Scotland from his father's death in 1246.A son of Walter Stewart, 3rd High Steward of Scotland by his wife Bethóc, daughter of Gille Críst, Earl of Angus, Alexander is said to have accompanied Louis IX of France on the Seventh Crusade...

, John Stewart of Bonkyll. Their name is derived from Derneley, a barony in Eastwood parish, Renfrewshire
Renfrewshire
Renfrewshire is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfrewshire, the others being Inverclyde to the west and East Renfrewshire to the east...

 one & a half miles east of Barrhead
Barrhead
Barrhead is a town in East Renfrewshire, Scotland, southwest of Glasgow on the edge of the Gleniffer Braes. As of the 2001 census its population was 19,813....

, present day 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...

, within the city of Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

. In 1356, Robert Stewart
Robert II of Scotland
Robert II became King of Scots in 1371 as the first monarch of the House of Stewart. He was the son of Walter Stewart, hereditary High Steward of Scotland and of Marjorie Bruce, daughter of Robert I and of his first wife Isabella of Mar...

, High Steward of Scotland
High Steward of Scotland
The title of High Steward or Great Steward was given in the 12th century to Walter Fitzalan, whose descendants became the House of Stewart. In 1371, the last High Steward inherited the throne, and thereafter the title of High Steward of Scotland has been held as a subsidiary title to that of Duke...

 granted the barony to Sir John Stewart.

Like the Royal Stewarts the Stewarts of Darnley used both the Stuart
Stuart (name)
Stuart is a masculine given name as well as a surname. It is the French form of the surname Stewart. The French form of the surname was brought to Scotland from France by Mary Stuart, in the 16th century. The surname Stewart is an occupational name for the administrative official of an estate...

 and the Stewart
Stewart (name)
Stewart is a Scottish surname and is also used as a masculine given name of pre-7th century Old English origin, derived from stigeweard, the genitive prefix stige meaning "sty", and the suffix weard meaning "guardian" or "warden". An alternative spelling is Stuart. The progenitor of the Stewart...

 spelling of their surname.

Lordship of Aubigny

Sir John Stewart of Darnley
John Stewart of Darnley
Sir John Stewart of Darnley, 1st Lord of Concressault and 1st Lord of Aubigny, Count of Évreux was a Scottish nobleman and prominent soldier during the Hundred Years War.-Life:...

 fought in the Hundred Years' War
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou, for the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings...

 under his namesake and distant cousin John Stewart, 2nd Earl of Buchan
John Stewart, 2nd Earl of Buchan
John Stewart, Earl of Buchan was a Scottish nobleman and soldier who fought alongside Scotland's French allies during the Hundred Years War. In 1419 he was sent to France by his father the Duke of Albany, Regent of Scotland, with an army of 6,000 men...

 in the army of Charles VII of France
Charles VII of France
Charles VII , called the Victorious or the Well-Served , was King of France from 1422 to his death, though he was initially opposed by Henry VI of England, whose Regent, the Duke of Bedford, ruled much of France including the capital, Paris...

. For his services he was rewarded with the lands of Aubigny-sur-Nere
Aubigny-sur-Nère
Aubigny-sur-Nère is a commune in the Cher department in the Centre region of France.-Geography:An area of forestry and farming surrounding a small light industrial town, situated in the valley of the river Nère some north of Bourges at the junction of the D940, D924, D30 and the D923...

 and Concressault
Concressault
Concressault is a commune in the Cher department in the Centre region of France.-Geography:A small farming village situated by the banks of the Sauldre river, some north of Bourges at the junction of the D8 with the D11 and D21 roads.-Population:...

 which were given to the second son in the family so they could live in France to strengthen the Auld Alliance
Auld Alliance
The Auld Alliance was an alliance between the kingdoms of Scotland and France. It played a significant role in the relations between Scotland, France and England from its beginning in 1295 until the 1560 Treaty of Edinburgh. The alliance was renewed by all the French and Scottish monarchs of that...

.
Important members of this branch were:
  • Bernard Stewart, Lord of Aubigny
    Bernard Stewart, Lord of Aubigny
    Bernard Stewart, 4rd Lord of Aubigny was a French soldier, Commander of the Garde Écossaise, and diplomat belonging to the Scottish family of Stewart of Darnley.-Early life:...

    , commander of the Garde Écossaise
    Garde Écossaise
    The Garde Écossaise was an elite Scottish military unit founded in 1418 by the Valois Charles VII of France, to be personal bodyguards to the French monarchy. They were assimilated into the Maison du Roi and later formed the first Company of the Garde du Corps du Roi...

    , commander in the armies of King Charles VIII of France
    Charles VIII of France
    Charles VIII, called the Affable, , was King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. Charles was a member of the House of Valois...

     and Louis XII of France
    Louis XII of France
    Louis proved to be a popular king. At the end of his reign the crown deficit was no greater than it had been when he succeeded Charles VIII in 1498, despite several expensive military campaigns in Italy. His fiscal reforms of 1504 and 1508 tightened and improved procedures for the collection of taxes...

     during the Italian Wars
    Italian Wars
    The Italian Wars, often referred to as the Great Italian Wars or the Great Wars of Italy and sometimes as the Habsburg–Valois Wars, were a series of conflicts from 1494 to 1559 that involved, at various times, most of the city-states of Italy, the Papal States, most of the major states of Western...

    .
  • Robert Stewart, Lord of Aubigny
    Robert Stewart, Lord of Aubigny
    Robert Stewart , Lord of Aubigny, Count of Beaumont-le-Roger, was a French soldier belonging to the family of Stewart of Darnley.Robert was the fourth son of John Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox and Margaret Montgomerie...

    , Marshal of France
    Marshal of France
    The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...

    , fought in the Battle of Marignano
    Battle of Marignano
    The Battle of Marignano was fought during the phase of the Italian Wars called the War of the League of Cambrai, between France and the Old Swiss Confederacy. It took place on September 13 and 15, 1515, near the town today called Melegnano, 16 km southeast of Milan...

     and Battle of Pavia
    Battle of Pavia
    The Battle of Pavia, fought on the morning of 24 February 1525, was the decisive engagement of the Italian War of 1521–26.A Spanish-Imperial army under the nominal command of Charles de Lannoy attacked the French army under the personal command of Francis I of France in the great hunting preserve...

    .
  • George Stewart, 9th Seigneur d'Aubigny
    George Stewart, 9th Seigneur d'Aubigny
    George Stewart , 9th Seigneur d'Aubigny was a Scottish nobleman and Royalist commander in the English Civil War...

    , fought with the French against the Spanish at the Battle of Montjuïc (1641)
    Battle of Montjuïc (1641)
    Battle of Montjuïc took place on 26 January 1641 during the Catalan Revolt. A Spanish force under Pedro Fajardo launched an attack on a Catalan rebel force, made up mainly of Miquelet militias led by Francesc de Tamarit, and their French allies....

    . Killed during the English Civil War
    English Civil War
    The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

     at the Battle of Edge Hill.

The Earldom of Lennox

In 1488 John Stewart
John Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox
John Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox. was known as Lord Darnley and the Earl of Lennox. Stewart was the son of Catherine Seton and Sir Alan Stuart, a great-great-great-grandson of Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland....

, Lord Darnley, head of the House of Stewart of Darnley, was created Earl of Lennox
Earl of Lennox
The Mormaer of Lennox or Earl of Lennox was the ruler of the long-lasting provincial Mormaerdom/Earldom of Lennox in the Medieval Kingdom of the Scots. The first Mormaer is usually regarded as Ailin I , but the genealogy of the Mormaers gives earlier names...

. He died in 1495 and was succeeded by the following descendants:
  • Matthew Stewart, 2nd Earl of Lennox
    Matthew Stewart, 2nd Earl of Lennox
    Matthew Stewart, 2nd Earl of Lennox was a prominent Scottish nobleman. Stewart was the son of John Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox, and Margaret Montgomerie, daughter of Alexander, Master of Montgomerie....

     (1488- ob Flodden
    Battle of Flodden Field
    The Battle of Flodden or Flodden Field or occasionally Battle of Branxton was fought in the county of Northumberland in northern England on 9 September 1513, between an invading Scots army under King James IV and an English army commanded by the Earl of Surrey...

    , 1513)
  • John Stewart, 3rd Earl of Lennox
    John Stewart, 3rd Earl of Lennox
    John Stewart, 3rd Earl of Lennox was a prominent Scottish magnate. He was the son of Matthew Stewart, 2nd Earl of Lennox, and Elizabeth Hamilton, daughter of James Hamilton, 1st Lord Hamilton and Mary Stewart, Princess of Scotland, daughter of King James II of Scotland.The Earl of Lennox had led...

     (ob 1526)
  • Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox
    Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox
    Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox was the 4th Earl of Lennox, and leader of the Catholic nobility in Scotland. He was the son of John Stewart, 3rd Earl of Lennox. His grandson was James VI of Scotland....

     (1516-1571)


In 1580 the head of the House of Darnley King James VI of Scots granted the title Duke of Lennox
Duke of Lennox
The title Duke of Lennox has been created several times in the Peerage of Scotland, for Clan Stewart of Darnley. The Dukedom, named for the district of Lennox in Stirling, was first created in 1581, and had formerly been the Earldom of Lennox. The second Duke was made Duke of Richmond; at his...

 to Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox
Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox
Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox, 1st Earl of Lennox was the son of John Stewart, 5th Lord of Aubigny who was the younger brother of Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox...

 a cousin and a member of a French branch of the Royal Stewarts.

The following English members of the House of Stewart of Darnley were styled Earls of Lennox by the English Crown, although the King of Scots, in whose Kingdom the Earldom of Lennox lay, did not recognize their title.
  • Charles Stuart, 1st Earl of Lennox
    Charles Stuart, 1st Earl of Lennox
    Charles Stuart, 5th Earl of Lennox was the second son of Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox and of Margaret Douglas, daughter of Margaret Tudor....

     (1555-1576), second son of the 4th Earl of the second creation
  • Lady Arbella Stuart, 2nd Countess of Lennox
    Arbella Stuart
    Lady Arbella Stuart was an English Renaissance noblewoman who was for some time considered a possible successor to Queen Elizabeth I on the English throne....

     (1575-1615) (over-ridden)

Claimants to the English Throne

In 1544 Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox
Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox
Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox was the 4th Earl of Lennox, and leader of the Catholic nobility in Scotland. He was the son of John Stewart, 3rd Earl of Lennox. His grandson was James VI of Scotland....

 married Margaret Douglas
Margaret Douglas
Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox was the daughter of Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, and Margaret Tudor, Queen Dowager of Scotland...

, the granddaughter of Henry VII. Their sons Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley
Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley
Henry Stewart or Stuart, 1st Duke of Albany , styled Lord Darnley before 1565, was king consort of Scotland and murdered at Kirk o'Field...

 and Charles Stuart, 1st Earl of Lennox
Charles Stuart, 1st Earl of Lennox
Charles Stuart, 5th Earl of Lennox was the second son of Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox and of Margaret Douglas, daughter of Margaret Tudor....

, were held by contemporaries to have a credible claim to the throne of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

Margaret Douglas
Margaret Douglas
Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox was the daughter of Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, and Margaret Tudor, Queen Dowager of Scotland...

 was the fruit of the 1514 union of Margaret Tudor
Margaret Tudor
Margaret Tudor was the elder of the two surviving daughters of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, and the elder sister of Henry VIII. In 1503, she married James IV, King of Scots. James died in 1513, and their son became King James V. She married secondly Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of...

, Dowager Queen of Scots and elder daughter of Henry VII with Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus
Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus
Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus was a Scottish nobleman active during the reigns of James V and Mary, Queen of Scots...

. Born in England and raised at the court
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...

 of her uncle Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

, Margaret was Henry's officially recognized heir between the disgrace of Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...

 and the birth of the future Edward VI
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...

.

In 1565 Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley
Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley
Henry Stewart or Stuart, 1st Duke of Albany , styled Lord Darnley before 1565, was king consort of Scotland and murdered at Kirk o'Field...

 married his cousin Mary Queen of Scots, like him a descendant of Margaret Tudor and Henry VII. Mary's descent from Margaret Tudor's first marriage to James IV
James IV of Scotland
James IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...

 of Scots also placed her in line for the English throne, but many argued that Margaret Douglas
Margaret Douglas
Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox was the daughter of Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, and Margaret Tudor, Queen Dowager of Scotland...

's claim was superior as Margaret and her sons Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley and Charles Stuart, 1st Earl of Lennox had been born in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. According to English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 custom
Convention (norm)
A convention is a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted standards, norms, social norms or criteria, often taking the form of a custom....

 it is desirable that the monarch be naturalized or born in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

By marrying Darnley, Mary neutralized a dangerous rival claim to the throne of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 whilst strengthening that of her own house. In 1603 Mary and Darnley's son, James VI of Scotland
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...

, succeeded Elizabeth I
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...

 as King of England, thereby uniting the crowns
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...

 of England and Scotland and laying the basis for the future United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

.
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