Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany
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Robert Stewart | |
Governor of Scotland Duke of Albany, Earl of Fife & Menteith |
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Reign | 1406-1420 (Governor of Scotland) |
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Coronation | none |
Born | c. 1340 |
Died | September 3, 1420 |
Place of death | Stirling Castle |
Successor | Murdoch Stewart |
Consort | Margaret, Countess of Menteith (1363-×1380) Muriella Keith (1380-death) |
Issue | Of Margaret: Murdoch (died 1425) Of Muriella: John Stewart (died 1423), Andrew (died young), Robert (died c. 1431) |
Royal House | (Albany) Stewart |
Father | King Robert II |
Mother | Elizabeth Mure of Rowallan |
Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany (c. 1340 – 3 September 1420) a member of the Scottish royal house, served as regent (at least partially) to three different Scottish monarchs. He also held the titles of Earl of Menteith (28 February 1361), Earl of Fife (1361; resigned in 1372), Earl of Buchan (1394; resigned in 1406) and Earl of Atholl (1403, for the duration of Robert III's life only), in addition to his 1398 creation as Duke of Albany.
Robert Stewart, an illegitimate son of the future King Robert II of Scotland and of Elizabeth Mure of Rowallan, became legitimated in 1349 upon his parents' marriage. The elder Robert had many children, the eldest of whom, John Stewart, later to be king under the name Robert III, became Earl of Carrick in 1368. In 1361, Robert Stewart married Mary Graham, Countess of Menteith, with whom he had several daughters and one son, Murdoch Stewart, Duke of Albany; his sister-in-law's claim to the Earldoms of Menteith and Fife allowed him to assume those titles after marriage. Robert subsequently married Muriella de Keith, with whom he had two sons, the elder of whom was John Stewart, 2nd Earl of Buchan.
During the reign of their infirm father as King Robert II (1371 - 1390), the future Duke of Albany and Lord Carrick functioned as regents, with Albany serving as High Chamberlain of Scotland; during this time, he also led several military expeditions and raids into the Kingdom of England. However, in 1389, Carrick became incapacitated in an accident. After Carrick nevertheless acceded to the throne as Robert III (1390), this "sickness of the body" caused control of the kingdom to devolve in 1399 to the new king's son and heir apparent, David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay (who held the first dukedom created in the Scottish Peerage). However, the English soon invaded Scotland, and several important events took place, fomenting serious differences between Albany and Rothesay, and in 1402 the latter duke died under mysterious circumstances at Falkland Palace. After the death of his brother Robert III in 1406, Albany served as regent for his young nephew James I.
The Duke of Albany died in Stirling Castle and lies buried in Dunfermline Abbey in Fife. He was succeeded by his son, Murdoch Stewart, Duke of Albany.
[edit] See also
- Nigel Tranter, The Stewart Trilogy, Dunton Green, Sevenoaks, Kent : Coronet Books, 1986. ISBN 0-3403-9115-4. By the same author: Lords of Misrule 1388-1396. A Folly of Princes 1396-1402. The Captive Crown 1402-1411.
- Scottish monarchs family tree
Scottish royalty | ||
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Preceded by James I of Scotland |
Heir of Scotland as heir presumptive 4 April 1406 – 3 September 1420 |
Succeeded by Murdoch Stewart, Duke of Albany |
Peerage of Scotland | ||
New creation | Duke of Albany 1st creation 1398 – 1420 |
Succeeded by Murdoch Stewart |
Preceded by Isabel Macduff |
Earl of Fife 1371 – 1420 |
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