House of Stuart

The Coat of Arms of King James I, the first British monarch of the House of Stuart

The House of Stuart or Stewart was a royal house of the Kingdom of Scotland, later of the Kingdom of England, and finally of the Kingdom of Great Britain. The French spelling Stuart was adopted by Mary Queen of Scots while in France, to ensure that the Scots Stewart was pronounced correctly. The name itself originates from the ancient hereditary Scottish title High Steward of Scotland.

The House of Stuart ruled the Kingdom of Scotland for 336 years, between 1371 and 1707. After the death of Queen Elizabeth I of England, the last monarch from the House of Tudor, the House of Stuart also ascended the thrones of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Ireland, providing the head of all three states between 1603 and 1707, under a personal union. During this latter period, the Stuarts styled themselves "Kings/Queens of Great Britain" despite there being no such political entity . Queen Anne, the last monarch of the House of Stuart, and of the separate kingdoms of Scotland and England, was to be the first monarch of a politically unified Kingdom of Great Britain, ruling until her death in 1714. The Stuarts were then followed by the House of Hanover. Members of various cadet and illegitimate branches still survive today.

History

The earliest known member of the House of Stewart was Flaald I (Flaald the Seneschal), an 11th century Breton noble of Norman descent who was a follower of the Lord of Dol and Combourg. Flaald and his immediate descendants held the hereditary and honorary post of Dapifer (food bearer) in the Lord of Dol's household. His grandson Flaald II was a supporter of Henry I of England and made the crucial move from Brittany to Britain, which was where the future fortunes of the Stewarts lay.

Walter the Steward (died 1177), the grandson of Flaald II, was born in Oswestry(Shropshire). Along with his brother William, ancestor of the Fitzalan family (the Earls of Arundel), he supported Empress Matilda during the period known as the Anarchy. Matilda was aided by her uncle, David I of Scotland, and Walter followed David north in 1141, after Matilda had been usurped by King Stephen. Walter was granted land in Renfrewshire and the position of Lord High Steward. Malcolm IV, King of Scots made the position hereditary and it was inherited by Walter's son, who took the surname Stewart.

File:Scottish Crown Lo res.JPG

The Crown of Scotland

The sixth High Steward of Scotland, Walter Stewart (1293-1326), married Marjorie, daughter of Robert the Bruce, and also played an important part in the Battle of Bannockburn currying further favour. Their son Robert was heir to the House of Bruce; he eventually inherited the Scottish throne when his uncle David II of Scotland died childless in 1371.

In 1503, James IV, King of Scots attempted to secure peace with England by marrying King Henry VII's daughter, Margaret Tudor. The birth of their son, later James V, brought the House of Stewart into the line of descent of the House of Tudor, and the English throne.

Margaret Tudor later married Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus. Their daughter, Margaret Douglas, married Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox a member of the noble dynasty Stewart of Darnley. Like the Royal Stewarts, the Stewarts of Darnley were descended from Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland. In 1565, Matthew Stewart's eldest son Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley married his cousin Mary. Darnley's father was Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox, a direct descendant of James II and Mary's heir presumptive. Therefore Darnley was also related to Mary on his father's side and at the time of their marriage was himself second in line to the Scottish throne. Because of this connection, Mary's heirs remained part of the House of Stewart.

The title King of Scots, rather than King of Scotland, is correct in as much as Scotland's monarchs prior to the 1603 Union of the Crowns styled themselves as rulers of the people, rather than of the land, thereby establishing a personal link with their subjects. This tradition remains in use in some present day monarchies such as that found in Belgium, where Albert II is styled King of the Belgians

Heads of the House of Stewart

Dapifers of Dol

Flaithri I (died c.1080)
Alan I (died ?)
Alan II (died 1095)
Flaithri II (died c.1101-1102)
Alan III (died c.1121)

High Stewards of Scotland

Walter the Steward, 1st High Steward of Scotland (died 1177)
Alan Stewart, 2nd High Steward of Scotland (died 1204)
Walter Stewart, 3rd High Steward of Scotland (died 1246)
Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland (died 1283)
James Stewart, 5th High Steward of Scotland (died 1309)
Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland (died 1326)
Robert Stewart, 7th High Steward of Scotland (became Robert II, King of Scots)

Scottish Monarchs

Scottish, English and Irish Monarchs

James VI of Scotland and I of England (1603-1625) - Jacobean Age
Charles I of England and Scotland (1625-1649) - Carolean Age
During the period between Charles I and Charles II, England was a Republican Commonwealth, and then a Protectorate under Oliver Cromwell and Richard Cromwell.
Charles II of England and Scotland (1660-1685) - Restoration Age
James II of England and VII of Scotland (1685-1688) (continued to claim the English and Scottish thrones after his deposition in 1688 until his death in 1701)
Mary II of England and Scotland (1689-1694) - with William III of England and II of Scotland, of the House of Orange-Nassau, a descendant of Charles I

British Monarchs

Anne of England and Scotland (1702-1714) - Augustan Age

Pretenders

James Francis Edward Stuart, the Old Pretender, claimed throne as James VIII of Scotland and III of England, (1701-1766)
Charles Edward Stuart, the Young Pretender, claimed throne as Charles III, known as Bonnie Prince Charlie, (1766-1788)
Henry Benedict Stuart, claimed throne as Henry IX, (1788-1807)

Impostors

Prince Michael of Albany