history
| The Stuarts
Words by JENNY ROWE
THE HOUSE OF STUART Survey three centuries of the kings and queens that saw Scotland rise above its clan divisions and move towards a future as rulers of the United Kingdom
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RIGHT: An engraving of the first Stewart king, Robert II
hile in England the Stuart dynasty did not begin until the Union of the Crowns in 1603, the family ruled the Scots from 1371, which makes 2021 the 650th anniversary of Robert II’s founding of the supreme House of Stuart. The son of Marjorie, the eldest daughter of Robert the Bruce, Robert Stewart ascended to the throne when Robert I’s only son, David II, died. The Stewarts, historically crucial Bruce allies, were the hereditary High Stewards of Scotland (first officers of the king), and it is thought the surname developed from this title. It was Mary, Queen of Scots who introduced the variant spelling ‘Stuart’, because the French language rarely used the letter ‘w’; there are at least 20 spellings in use today. The establishment of the Stewarts on the Scottish throne in the 14th century was the beginning of an epic royal line that saw assassination, rebellion, betrayal, incarceration, execution, and thankfully, a couple of altogether happier reigns that enjoyed relative peace and stability. Over their cumulative 343 years of
The family ruled the Scots from 1371, so 2021 is the 650th anniversary of Robert II’s founding of the supreme House of Stuart 34 Scotland
reign, the Stuarts oversaw increased centralisation of the Scottish government through James I, the Renaissance ushered in by James IV, the Union of the Crowns under James VI and eventually a united Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain under Queen Anne. By way of introduction to a new series spotlighting some of Scotland’s most illustrious and intriguing Stuart monarchs, here we present the royal line in full, beginning with Robert II and ending with the death of Queen Anne in 1714.
ROBERT II (1316-1390) R:1371-1390 A difficult birth at Paisley Abbey, west of Glasgow, sadly led to Robert’s mother Marjorie’s death. It is also thought to have been the cause of the future king’s visual impairment, for which he was nicknamed ‘King Blearie’. Nevertheless, he grew into a charming man that attracted many love interests; Robert had about 21 children to two wives and numerous mistresses. Though many were illegitimate, his prolificacy did much to strengthen the position of the family within Scotland, with the Stewarts holding more than half of the nation’s earldoms during his reign. Made High Steward of Scotland at just 10 years old after the death of his father, Walter, Robert wasn’t made king until he was 54, when David II died aged 46. In the end his was a nominal kingship. His sons took the reigns while his daughters were strategically married off to powerful families; Isabella to a Douglas and Margaret to the Lord of the Isles. Robert died aged 74 and his eldest son John succeeded him.
