James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, 1st Duke of Buccleuch,
KG,
PC (9 April 1649 – 15 July 1685) was a Dutch-born English nobleman and military officer. Originally called James Crofts or James Fitzroy, he was born in
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, the eldest
illegitimate son of
Charles II of England
Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685.
Charles II was the eldest surviving child of ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
with his mistress
Lucy Walter
Lucy Walter (c. 1630 – 1658), also known as Lucy Barlow, was a Welsh noblewoman, the first mistress of King Charles II of England and mother of James, Duke of Monmouth. During the Exclusion Crisis, a Protestant faction wanted to make her son h ...
.
The Duke of Monmouth served in the
Second Anglo-Dutch War and commanded English troops taking part in the
Third Anglo-Dutch War before commanding the Anglo-Dutch brigade fighting in the
Franco-Dutch War
The Franco-Dutch War, also known as the Dutch War (french: Guerre de Hollande; nl, Hollandse Oorlog), was fought between France and the Dutch Republic, supported by its allies the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, Brandenburg-Prussia and Denmark-Nor ...
. He led the unsuccessful
Monmouth Rebellion
The Monmouth Rebellion, also known as the Pitchfork Rebellion, the Revolt of the West or the West Country rebellion, was an attempt to depose James II, who in February 1685 succeeded his brother Charles II as king of England, Scotland and Ir ...
in 1685, an attempt to depose his uncle King
James II and VII
James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...
. After one of his officers declared Monmouth the legitimate king in the town of
Taunton
Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...
in
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
, Monmouth attempted to capitalise on his
Protestantism
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
and his position as the son of Charles II, in opposition to James, who had become a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
. The rebellion failed, and Monmouth was
beheaded
Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the i ...
for treason on 15 July 1685.
Biography
Parentage and early life
Charles, Prince of Wales (later becoming King Charles II), moved to
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
in 1648, during the
Second English Civil War
The Second English Civil War took place between February to August 1648 in Kingdom of England, England and Wales. It forms part of the series of conflicts known collectively as the 1639-1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, which include the 1641†...
, where his sister
Mary and his brother-in-law
William II, Prince of Orange, were based. The French relatives of Charles' mother,
Queen Henrietta Maria
Henrietta Maria (french: link=no, Henriette Marie; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until Charles was executed on 30 January 1649. She was ...
, had invited Charles to wait out the war in France with the Queen, but he opted for the Netherlands, as he believed there was more support to be gained for the cause of his father,
King Charles I, in the Netherlands than in France. During the summer of 1648, the Prince of Wales became captivated by
Lucy Walter
Lucy Walter (c. 1630 – 1658), also known as Lucy Barlow, was a Welsh noblewoman, the first mistress of King Charles II of England and mother of James, Duke of Monmouth. During the Exclusion Crisis, a Protestant faction wanted to make her son h ...
, who was in The Hague for a short visit. The lovers were only eighteen, and she is often spoken of as his first mistress, though he may have begun having affairs as early as 1646. Their son James was born in
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
on 9 April 1649, and spent his early years in
Schiedam
Schiedam () is a city and municipality in the west of the Netherlands. It is located in the Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area, west of Rotterdam, east of Vlaardingen, and south of Delft. In the south the city is connected with the village ...
.
Research by Hugh Noel Williams suggests that Charles had not arrived in
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
until the middle of September 1648 – seven months before the child's birth, and that he had only met Lucy in July. It was later rumoured that in the summer of 1648 Lucy had been the
mistress
Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to:
Romance and relationships
* Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a d ...
of Colonel Robert Sidney, a younger son of the
Earl of Leicester
Earl of Leicester is a title that has been created seven times. The first title was granted during the 12th century in the Peerage of England. The current title is in the Peerage of the United Kingdom and was created in 1837.
Early creations ...
. As Charles had no legitimate surviving children, his younger brother
James, Duke of York
James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...
, was next in line to the throne.
[ When the boy grew up, those loyal to the Duke of York spread rumours about the young James' resemblance to Sidney.][ These voices may have been encouraged by the Duke of York himself, who wished to prevent any of the fourteen ]royal bastard
A royal bastard was a common term (now largely dropped from common usage) for the illegitimate child of a reigning monarch. These children were considered to be born outside of marriage - either because the monarch had an extra-marital affair, o ...
s his brother acknowledged from gaining support in the succession.[ In 2012, a ]DNA test
Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...
of Monmouth's patrilineal descendant the 10th Duke of Buccleuch showed that he shared the same Y chromosome
The Y chromosome is one of two sex chromosomes (allosomes) in therian mammals, including humans, and many other animals. The other is the X chromosome. Y is normally the sex-determining chromosome in many species, since it is the presence or abse ...
as a distant Stuart cousin; this is evidence that Charles II was indeed Monmouth's father.
James had a younger sister or half-sister, Mary Crofts, whose father may have been Lord Taaffe. Mary later married the Irishman William Sarsfield
Sir William Sarsfield was an Irish landowner, public official and soldier of the sixteenth century.
Sarsfield was from a wealthy merchant family, part of the Old English inhabitants of The Pale who remained Roman Catholic following the Reformat ...
, thus becoming the sister-in-law of the Jacobite general Patrick Sarsfield
Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan, ga, Pádraig Sáirseál, circa 1655 to 21 August 1693, was an Irish soldier, and leading figure in the Jacobite army during the 1689 to 1691 Williamite War in Ireland.
Born into a wealthy Catholic famil ...
.
As an illegitimate son, James was ineligible to succeed to the English or Scottish thrones, unless he could prove rumours that his parents had married secretly. He came to maintain that his parents were married and that he possessed evidence of their marriage, but he never produced it. King Charles II testified in writing to his Privy Council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
that he had never been married to anyone except his queen consort, Catherine of Braganza.
In March 1658, young James was kidnapped by one of the King's men, sent to Paris, and placed in the care of William Crofts, 1st Baron Crofts
William Crofts, 1st Baron Crofts (c.1611–1677) was an English baron and Gentleman of the Bedchamber to Charles II.
Life
He was the son of Sir Henry Crofts, MP, of Little Saxham, Suffolk.
He moved to court c.1630 as a servant of Queen Hen ...
, whose surname he took. He briefly attended a school in Familly
Familly () is a former Communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy Regions of France, region in northwestern France. On 1 January 2016, it ...
.[
]
Officer and commander
On 14 February 1663, almost 14 years old, shortly after having been brought to England, James was created Duke of Monmouth, with the subsidiary titles of Earl of Doncaster
Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...
and Baron Scott of Tynedale, all three in the Peerage of England
The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. In that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were replaced by one Peerage of Great Britain. There are five peerages in t ...
, and, on 28 March 1663, he was appointed a Knight of the Garter.
On 20 April 1663, just days after his 14th birthday, the Duke of Monmouth was married to the heiress Anne Scott, 4th Countess of Buccleuch. He took his wife's surname upon marriage. The day after his marriage, the couple were made Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch, Earl and Countess of Dalkeith, and Lord and Lady Scott of Whitchester and Eskdale in the Peerage of Scotland
The Peerage of Scotland ( gd, Moraireachd na h-Alba, sco, Peerage o Scotland) is one of the five divisions of peerages in the United Kingdom and for those peers created by the King of Scots before 1707. Following that year's Treaty of Union, ...
. The Duke of Monmouth was popular, particularly for his Protestantism
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
. The King's official heir presumptive
An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question.
...
, James, Duke of York, had openly converted to Roman Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
.[
In 1665, at the age of 16, Monmouth served in the English fleet under his uncle, the Duke of York, in the Second Anglo-Dutch War.][ In June 1666, he returned to England to become captain of a troop of cavalry.][ On 16 September 1668 he was made colonel of the His Majesty's Own Troop of Horse Guards.][ He acquired Moor Park in Hertfordshire in April 1670. Following the death in 1670, without a male heir, of ]Josceline Percy, 11th Earl of Northumberland
Josceline (or Joceline) Percy, 11th Earl of Northumberland, 5th Baron Percy (4 July 1644 – 31 May 1670), of Alnwick Castle, Northumberland and Petworth House, Sussex, was an English peer.
Origins
Percy was the eldest son of Algernon Percy, 1 ...
, the earl's estates reverted to the Crown. King Charles II awarded the estates to Monmouth. The Countess of Northumberland successfully sued for the estates to be returned to the late Earl's only daughter and sole heiress, Lady Elizabeth Percy (1667–1722).
At the outbreak of the Third Anglo-Dutch War in 1672, a brigade of 6,000 English and Scottish troops was sent to serve as part of the French army (in return for money paid to King Charles), with Monmouth as its commander.[ He became Lord Lieutenant of the East Riding of Yorkshire and Governor of Kingston-upon-Hull in April 1673.][ In the campaign of 1673 and in particular at the Siege of Maastricht that June, Monmouth gained a considerable reputation as one of Britain's finest soldiers.][ He was reported to be replacing ]Marshal Schomberg
Friedrich Hermann von Schönberg, 1st Duke of Schomberg, 1st Count of Mertola, (french: Frédéric-Armand; pt, Armando Frederico; 6 December 1615 – 1 July 1690) was a Marshal of France and a General in the English and Portuguese Army. He was ...
as commander of England's Zealand Expedition
The Blackheath Army was a contingent of the English Army assembled at Blackheath, London, Blackheath in Kent during the summer of 1673. The army consisting of old and newly raised regiments were placed under the command of the French Huguenot Fre ...
, but this did not happen.
In 1674, Monmouth became Chancellor of Cambridge University and Master of the Horse, and King Charles II directed that all military orders should be brought first to Monmouth for examination, thus giving him effective command of the forces; his responsibilities included the movement of troops and the suppression of riots.[ In March 1677, he also became ]Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire
This is a list of people who have served as lord lieutenant for Staffordshire. Since 1828, all lord lieutenants have also been custos rotulorum of Staffordshire.
Lord Lieutenants of Staffordshire
*Henry Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford 1559
*George ...
.[
]
Claim to the Crown
In 1678, Monmouth was the commander of the Anglo-Dutch brigade, now fighting for the United Provinces against the French, and he distinguished himself at the Battle of Saint-Denis in August that year during the Franco-Dutch War
The Franco-Dutch War, also known as the Dutch War (french: Guerre de Hollande; nl, Hollandse Oorlog), was fought between France and the Dutch Republic, supported by its allies the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, Brandenburg-Prussia and Denmark-Nor ...
, further increasing his reputation. The following year, after his return to Britain, he commanded the small army raised to put down the rebellion of the Scottish Covenanter
Covenanters ( gd, Cùmhnantaich) were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. The name is derived from ''Covenan ...
s and despite being heavily outnumbered, he decisively defeated the (admittedly poorly equipped) Covenanter rebels at the Battle of Bothwell Bridge on 22 June 1679.[
]
Rebellion
As his popularity with the masses increased, Monmouth was obliged to go into exile in the Dutch United Provinces in September 1679.[ Following the discovery of the so-called ]Rye House Plot
The Rye House Plot of 1683 was a plan to assassinate King Charles II of England and his brother (and heir to the throne) James, Duke of York. The royal party went from Westminster to Newmarket to see horse races and were expected to make the ...
in 1683, which aimed to assassinate both Charles II and his brother James, Monmouth, who had been encouraged by his supporters to assert his right to the throne, was identified as a conspirator. On King Charles II's death in February 1685, Monmouth led the Monmouth Rebellion, landing with three ships at Lyme Regis
Lyme Regis is a town in west Dorset, England, west of Dorchester and east of Exeter. Sometimes dubbed the "Pearl of Dorset", it lies by the English Channel at the Dorset–Devon border. It has noted fossils in cliffs and beaches on the Herita ...
in Dorset in early June 1685, in an attempt to take the throne from his uncle, James II and VII
James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...
. He published a "Declaration for the defence and vindication of the protestant religion and of the laws, rights and privileges of England from the invasion made upon them, and for delivering the Kingdom from the usurpation and tyranny of us by the name of James, Duke of York": King James II and VII
James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...
responded to this by issuing an order for the publishers and distributors of the paper to be arrested.
Monmouth declared himself as the rightful King at various places along the route including Axminster, Chard
Chard or Swiss chard (; ''Beta vulgaris'' subsp. ''vulgaris'', Cicla Group and Flavescens Group) is a green leafy vegetable. In the cultivars of the Flavescens Group, the leaf stalks are large and often prepared separately from the leaf blade; ...
, Ilminster and Taunton
Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...
.[ The two armies met at the ]Battle of Sedgemoor
The Battle of Sedgemoor was the last and decisive engagement between the Kingdom of England and rebels led by the Duke of Monmouth during the Monmouth rebellion, fought on 6 July 1685, and took place at Westonzoyland near Bridgwater in Somerse ...
on 6 July 1685, the last clear-cut pitched battle on open ground between two military forces fought on English soil: Monmouth's makeshift force could not compete with the regular army, and was soundly defeated.
Capture
Following the battle a reward of £5,000 was offered for his capture.[Roberts, p. 109] On 8 July 1685, Monmouth was captured and arrested near Ringwood in Hampshire, by tradition "in a field of peas". The events surrounding his capture are described by George Roberts in ''Tait's Edinburgh Magazine
''Tait's Edinburgh Magazine'' was a monthly periodical founded in 1832. It was an important venue for liberal political views, as well as contemporary cultural and literary developments, in early-to-mid-nineteenth century Britain.
The magazine wa ...
''.
When the Duke had left his horse at Woodyates Inn, he exchanged clothes with a shepherd, who was soon discovered by local loyalists and interrogated. Dogs were then put onto the Duke's scent. Monmouth dropped his gold snuff box, full of gold pieces, in a pea field, where it was afterwards found.
From Woodyates Inn the Duke had gone to Shag's Heath, in the middle of which was a cluster of small farms, called the "Island". Amy Farrant gave information that the fugitives were concealed within the Island. The Duke, accompanied by Busse and Brandenburgher, remained concealed all day, with soldiers surrounding the area and threatening to set fire to the woodland. Brandenburgher deserted him at 1 am, and was later captured and interrogated, and is believed to have given away the Duke's hiding place. The spot was at the north-eastern extremity of the Island, now known as Monmouth's Close, in the manor of Woodlands, the property of the Earl of Shaftesbury. At about 7 am Henry Parkin, a militia soldier and servant of Samuel Rolle, discovered the brown skirt of Monmouth's coat as he lay hidden in a ditch covered with fern and brambles under an ash tree, and called for help. The Duke was seized. Bystanders shouted out "Shoot him! shoot him!", but Sir William Portman happening to be near the spot, immediately rode up, and laid hands on him as his prisoner. Monmouth was then "in the last extremity of hunger and fatigue, with no sustenance but a few raw peas in his pocket. He could not stand, and his appearance was much changed. Since landing in England, the Duke had not had a good night's rest, or eaten one meal in quiet, being perpetually agitated with the cares that attend unfortunate ambition". He had "received no other sustenance than the brook and the field afforded".
The Duke was taken to Holt Lodge, in the parish of Wimborne, about away, the residence of Anthony Etterick, a magistrate who asked the Duke what he would do if released, to which he answered: "that if his horse and arms were but restored to him at the same time, he needed only to ride through the army; and he defied them to take him again". The magistrate ordered him taken to London.[
]
Attainder and execution
Following Monmouth's capture, Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
passed an Act of Attainder, ''1 Ja. II c. 2'':
The King took the unusual step of allowing his nephew an audience, despite having no intention of extending a pardon
A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the ju ...
to him, thus breaking with a longstanding tradition that the King would give an audience only when he intended to show clemency. The prisoner unsuccessfully implored his mercy and even offered to convert to Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, but to no avail. The King, disgusted by his abject behaviour, coldly told him to prepare to die, and later remarked that Monmouth "did not behave as well as I expected". Numerous pleas for mercy were addressed to the King, but he ignored them all, even that of his sister-in-law, the Dowager Queen Catherine.
Monmouth was beheaded
Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the i ...
by Jack Ketch on 15 July 1685, on Tower Hill
Tower Hill is the area surrounding the Tower of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is infamous for the public execution of high status prisoners from the late 14th to the mid 18th century. The execution site on the higher grou ...
. Shortly beforehand, Bishops Turner of Ely Ely or ELY may refer to:
Places Ireland
* Éile, a medieval kingdom commonly anglicised Ely
* Ely Place, Dublin, a street
United Kingdom
* Ely, Cambridgeshire, a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England
** Ely Cathedral
Ely Cathedral, formal ...
and Ken of Bath and Wells
The Diocese of Bath and Wells is a diocese in the Church of England Province of Canterbury in England.
The diocese covers the county of Somerset and a small area of Dorset. The Episcopal seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells is located in the C ...
visited the Duke to prepare him for eternity, but withheld the Eucharist
The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...
, for the condemned man refused to acknowledge that either his rebellion or his relationship with Lady Wentworth
Judith Anne Dorothea Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth, (6 February 1873 – 8 August 1957) also known as Lady Wentworth, was a British peer, Arabian horse breeder and real tennis player. As the owner of the Crabbet Arabian Stud from ...
had been sin
In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...
ful. It is said that before laying his head on the block, Monmouth specifically bade Ketch finish him at one blow, saying he had mauled others before. Disconcerted, Ketch did indeed inflict multiple blows with his axe, the prisoner rising up reproachfully the while – a ghastly sight that shocked the witnesses, drawing forth execrations and groans. Some say a knife was at last employed to sever the head from the twitching body. Sources vary; some claim eight blows, the official Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
fact sheet says it took five blows, while Charles Spencer, in his book ''Blenheim'', puts it at seven. His execution was alluded to in the film '' Kind Hearts and Coronets'', where the executioner says "The last execution of a duke in this country was very badly bungled", but added that that was in the days of the axe.
Monmouth was buried in the Church of St Peter ad Vincula
The Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula ("St Peter in chains") is the former parish church of the Tower of London. It is situated within the Tower's Inner Ward, and the current building dates from 1520, although the church was established severa ...
in the Tower of London. His Dukedom was forfeited, but his subsidiary titles, Earl of Doncaster
Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...
and Baron Scott of Tindale
Duke of Buccleuch (pronounced ), formerly also spelt Duke of Buccleugh, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created twice on 20 April 1663, first for James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth and second suo jure for his wife Anne Scott, 4th Cou ...
, were restored by King George II on 23 March 1743 to his grandson Francis Scott, 2nd Duke of Buccleuch
Francis Scott, 2nd Duke of Buccleuch, KT, FRS (11 January 1695 – 22 April 1751) was a Scottish nobleman.
Family background
Buccleuch was the son of Sir James Scott, Earl of Dalkeith (son of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth and Anne Scott, ...
(1695–1751).
Popular legends
According to legend, a portrait was painted of Monmouth after his execution: the tradition states that it was realised after the execution that there was no official portrait
A portrait is a portrait painting, painting, portrait photography, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, Personality type ...
of the Duke, so his body was exhumed, the head stitched back on, and it was sat for its portrait to be painted. However, there are at least two formal portraits of Monmouth tentatively dated to before his death currently in the National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to:
*National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra
*National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred
*National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C.
*National Portrait Gallery, London, with s ...
in London, and another painting once identified with Monmouth that shows a sleeping or dead man that could have given rise to the story.
One of the many theories about the identity of The Man in the Iron Mask is that he was Monmouth: the theory is that someone else was executed in his place, and James II arranged for Monmouth to be taken to France and put in the custody of his cousin Louis XIV of France
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Versa ...
.
Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell (, rare: September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer.
Purcell's style of Baroque music was uniquely English, although it incorporated Italian and French elements. Generally considered among the greatest E ...
set to music ( Z. 481) a satirical poem by an unidentified author, ridiculing Monmouth and his parentage:
A grasshopper and a fly,
In summer hot and dry,
In eager argument were met
About priority.
Says the fly to the grasshopper:
"From mighty race I spring,
Bright Phoebus was my dad 'tis known,
And I eat and drink with a king."
Says the grasshopper to the fly:
"Such rogues are still preferr'd;
Your father might be of high degree,
But your mother was but a turd."
So, rebel Jemmy Scott,
That did to the empire soar,
His father might be the Lord knows what,
But his mother we knew a whore".
Children
His marriage to Anne Scott, 1st Duchess of Buccleuch
Anne Scott, 1st Duchess of Buccleuch (11 February 1651 – 6 February 1732) was a wealthy Scottish peeress. After her father died when she was a few months old, and her sisters by the time she was 10, she inherited the family's titles. She was ma ...
resulted in the birth of six children:
* Charles Scott, Earl of Doncaster (24 August 1672 – 9 February 1673/1674)
* James Scott, Earl of Dalkeith
Sir James Scott, Earl of Dalkeith Order of the Thistle, KT (23 May 1674 – 14 March 1705) was a Scottish nobleman and politician. He was the son of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, and Anne Scott, 1st Duchess of Buccleuch. He was also the grand ...
(23 May 1674 – 14 March 1705). He was married on 2 January 1693/1694 to Henrietta Hyde, daughter of Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester. They were parents to Francis Scott, 2nd Duke of Buccleuch
Francis Scott, 2nd Duke of Buccleuch, KT, FRS (11 January 1695 – 22 April 1751) was a Scottish nobleman.
Family background
Buccleuch was the son of Sir James Scott, Earl of Dalkeith (son of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth and Anne Scott, ...
.
* Lady Anne Scott (17 February 1675 – 13 August 1685)
* Henry Scott, 1st Earl of Deloraine (1676 – 25 December 1730)
* Francis Scott (died an infant; buried 8 December 1679)
* Lady Charlotte Scott (died an infant; buried 5 September 1683)
His affair with his mistress
Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to:
Romance and relationships
* Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a d ...
Eleanor Needham, daughter of Sir Robert Needham of Lambeth
Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...
resulted in the birth of three children:
* James Crofts (died March 1732), major-general in the Army.
* Henrietta Crofts ( – 27 February 1730). She was married around 1697 to Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton.
* Isabel Crofts (died young)
Toward the end of his life he conducted an affair with Henrietta, Baroness Wentworth.
Family tree
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
*
*
*
, -
, -
, -
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monmouth, James Scott, 1st Duke Of
1649 births
1685 deaths
17th-century English nobility
17th-century Scottish peers
British Life Guards officers
Chancellors of the University of Cambridge
101 101 may refer to:
* 101 (number), the number
* AD 101, a year in the 2nd century AD
* 101 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC
It may also refer to:
Entertainment
* ''101'' (album), a live album and documentary by Depeche Mode
* "101" (song), a ...
English generals
English Protestants
Executed English people
Executed royalty
J
James
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguat ...
Illegitimate children of Charles II of England
Knights of the Garter
Lord-Lieutenants of Staffordshire
Lord-Lieutenants of the East Riding of Yorkshire
Lords of the Admiralty
Members of the Privy Council of England
Military personnel from Rotterdam
People executed under the Stuarts for treason against England
Dukes in the Peerage of England
English politicians convicted of crimes
People executed by Stuart England by decapitation
Executed Dutch people
People convicted under a bill of attainder
Executions at the Tower of London
Pretenders to the English throne
Pretenders to the Scottish throne
Prisoners in the Tower of London
Man in the Iron Mask
Monmouth Rebellion
Peers of England created by Charles II
Peers of Scotland created by Charles II
Sons of kings