James Boyd, 2nd Lord Boyd

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James Boyd, 2nd Lord Boyd, was the son of Thomas Boyd, Earl of Arran and Princess Mary of Scotland.

James' uncle, King James III of Scotland, came to the throne as a minor (at the age of eight), and it was James, Lord Boyd's, Grandfather Robert Boyd who was appointed Sole Governor of the Realm while his great uncle, Alexander Boyd, became King James' guardian. This was the apogee of the Boyds power in Scotland and with James, the Boyd heir through the direct line, also having royal blood thereby being a contender for the throne, made the rivals of the Boyds keen to oust them.

His father, Thomas, and grandfather, Robert were forced to flee the country in 1469 and his great uncle, Alexander, was beheaded. The marriage to Princess Mary was annulled and she was remarried to a Hamilton, a powerful family that was rival to the Boyds.

James died at the age of sixteen in the year 1484 in a duel "In ipso adolescentis flore perlit intimicorum insidies circumventus".