William Graham, 3rd Earl of Menteith (circa 1500 – circa 1543) was the third Earl of Menteith

Earl of Menteith

The Mormaer or Earl of Menteith was originally the ruler of the province of Menteith in the Middle Ages. The first mormaer is usually regarded as Gille Críst, simply because he is the earliest on record. The title was held in a continuous line from Gille Crist until Muireadhach IV , although the...

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Biography

He was the son of Alexander Graham, 2nd Earl of Menteith and Margaret Buchanan. He was the great grandson of Malise Graham, 1st Earl of Menteith

Malise Graham, 1st Earl of Menteith

-Biography:He is the first of his name to have borne the title of Earl of Menteith in his own right. He was the only son of Sir Patrick Graham of Kincardine. Patrick was the second son of Sir Patrick Graham, ancestor of the Earls and Dukes of Montrose...

. In 1521 he married Margaret Moubray, daughter of John Moubray of Barnbougle (she had previously been married to John Cornwall before his death in 1513), and they had five sons and two daughters:

• Lady Margaret Graham who married Archibald Campbell, 4th Earl of Argyll
  Archibald Campbell, 4th Earl of Argyll
  Gillespie Roy Archibald Campbell, 4th Earl of Argyll was a Scottish nobleman and politician.-Biography:He was the eldest son of Colin Campbell, 3rd Earl of Argyll and Jean Gordon, daughter of Alexander Gordon, 3rd Earl of Huntly...
  
  
• John Graham, 4th Earl of Menteith

On 20 May 1527 as Master of Menteith, he ran away fom the King's army at Solway

Solway Moss

Solway Moss, also known as Solway Flow, is a moss , in Cumbria, England near the Scottish border. , the moss is the subject of a campaign by organisations including the RSPB and Friends of the Earth to get the area declared a Special Area of Conservation in order to prevent the destruction of the...

, but was pardoned despite it being considered an act of treason

Treason

In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...

. He became the third Earl, receiving sasine

Sasine

Sasine is the delivery of feudal property, typically land.Feudal property means immovable property, and includes everything that naturally goes with the property. For land, that would include such things as buildings, trees, and underground minerals...

 of the Earldom on 16 May 1537. After the death of King James V

James V of Scotland

James V was King of Scots from 9 September 1513 until his death, which followed the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Solway Moss...

 in 1542, Menteith was an opponent of the English interest in Scotland and on 24 July 1543 he signed a bond

Secret Bond

The Secret Bond was a document drawn up by Cardinal Beaton and signed by a number of Scottish peers on 24 July 1543...

 made by Cardinal Beaton

David Beaton

The Most Rev. Dr. David Cardinal Beaton was Archbishop of St Andrews and the last Scottish Cardinal prior to the Reformation.-Career:...

 to stop King 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...

 of England from getting possession of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Menteith was killed in a clan fight some time in Autumn 1543 but certainly by 23 January 1544; some sources state that he was killed in October 1543 by Tutor of Appin (a member of the Stewart family), after the Stewarts and their army ate a wedding feast to which the Earl had been invited.