James Fleming, 4th Lord Fleming (approx 1528–18 December 1558) was

Lord Chamberlain of Scotland Holders of the office of Lord Chamberlain of Scotland are known from about 1124. It was ranked by King Malcolm as the third great Officer of State, called ''Camerarius Domini Regis'', and had a salary of £200 per annum allotted to him. He ancien ...

. His death in France after making arrangements for the marriage of

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scot ...

was regarded as suspicious by contemporaries.

Life

He was the eldest son of

Malcolm Fleming, 3rd Lord Fleming Malcolm Fleming, 3rd Lord Fleming (c. 1494 – 10 September 1547), was Lord Chamberlain of Scotland to King James V, from 1524. Early life He was the son and heir of John Fleming, 2nd Lord Fleming, who was killed in a feud with the Tweedie of D ...

, Lord High Chamberlain, and Johanna or Jonet Stewart, natural daughter of

James IV James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sauchi ...

. Malcolm Fleming, who had been taken prisoner at the

battle of Solway Moss The Battle of Solway Moss took place on Solway Moss near the River Esk on the English side of the Anglo-Scottish border in November 1542 between English and Scottish forces. The Scottish King James V had refused to break from the Catholic Chu ...

in 1542, and had been tried and acquitted of treason in 1545 for his connection with the English party, was slain at the

battle of Pinkie The Battle of Pinkie, also known as the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh ( , ), took place on 10 September 1547 on the banks of the River Esk near Musselburgh, Scotland. The last pitched battle between Scotland and England before the Union of the Cro ...

10 September 1547. In August 1548, the young new Lord Fleming, along with

Lord Erskine The Lordship of Parliament of Erskine (Lord Erskine) was created around 1426 for Sir Robert Erskine. The sixth lord was created Earl of Mar in 1565, with which title (and the earldom of Kellie) the lordship then merged. Lords Erskine (c. 1426) * ...

, accompanied Queen Mary to France, and his mother was appointed her governess. James Fleming was an English prisoner by May 1549, and was released by exchange with the English prisoner

James Wilford Sir James Wilsford (about 1516–1550) was an English soldier and politician, who was commander at the Siege of Haddington in the war known as the Rough Wooing and also sat as Member of Parliament for Barnstaple. Origins James Wilsford was bo ...

. In 1550 James accompanied the queen dowager

Mary of Guise Mary of Guise (french: Marie de Guise; 22 November 1515 – 11 June 1560), also called Mary of Lorraine, was a French noblewoman of the House of Guise, a cadet branch of the House of Lorraine and one of the most powerful families in France. She ...

into France . On 21 December 1553, James was confirmed as Great Chamberlain of Scotland for life. About the same time, he was appointed guardian of the East and Middle Marches, and invested with power of justiciary within his jurisdictions. James Fleming was one of the eight commissioners elected by parliament 8 December 1557, to represent the Scottish nation at the nuptials of Queen Mary with Francis, dauphin of France, on 24 April 1558. Though the commissioners agreed to swear fealty to the King-Dauphin as the husband of the queen, they affirmed that their instructions did not permit them to agree that he should receive the Scottish ensigns of royalty. They were thereupon requested to support this proposal in the Scottish parliament, but when they left for Scotland, the French court appears to have been doubtful of the intentions of certain members of the commission. In such circumstances, the death of James and three of the other commissioners on the way home awakened grave suspicions that they had been designedly poisoned. The Earls of

Rothes Rothes (; gd, Ràthais) is a town in Moray, Scotland, on the banks of the River Spey, south of Elgin. The town had a population of 1,252 at the 2011 Census. A settlement has been here since AD 600. History and castle At the south end of the ...

and Cassilis and Bishop Reid of Orkney succumbed sooner to the attack than Fleming, who, in the hope of recovery, returned to Paris, but died there on 18 December.

Family

By his marriage to Lady Barbara Hamilton, eldest daughter of

James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Châtellerault, 2nd Earl of Arran ( 1519 – 22 January 1575), was a Scottish nobleman and head of the House of Hamilton. A great-grandson of King James II of Scotland, he was heir presumptive to the Scottish thron ...

, Fleming had one daughter,

Jean Fleming Jean Fleming, Countess of Cassilis (1553/4–1609) was a Scottish noblewoman and courtier at the court of James VI of Scotland, and a survivor of domestic violence. Biography Jean Fleming was born in 1553/4, daughter of James Fleming, 4th Lord ...

. She was married firstly to

John Maitland, 1st Lord Maitland of Thirlestane John Maitland, 1st Lord Maitland of Thirlestane (1537 – 3 October 1595), of Lethington, Knight (1581), was Lord Chancellor of Scotland. Life He was the second son of Sir Richard Maitland of Thirlestane, Berwickshire, and Lethington, Haddingt ...

, who died 3 October 1595, by whom she had a son and a daughter; and secondly to

John Kennedy, 5th Earl of Cassilis John Kennedy, 5th Earl of Cassilis (1575 – 14 November 1615) was a Scottish peer, the son of Gilbert Kennedy, 4th Earl of Cassilis and Margaret Lyon. He succeeded to the titles of 7th Lord Kennedy and 5th Earl of Cassillis on 14 December 1576 ...

, by whom she had no issue.

Notes

References

*; Endnotes: **Douglas's Scottish Peerage (Wood), ii. 634 **Crawfurd's Officers of State, pages 327–8 **Keith's History of Scotland **Hunter's Biggar and the House of Fleming, pages 525–8. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fleming, James, Fourth Lord Fleming 1530s births 1558 deaths 16th-century Scottish people Lord Chamberlains of Scotland Lords of Parliament (pre-1707)