James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran

James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran (1537–1609) was a Scottish nobleman and soldier who opposed the French-dominated regency during the Scottish Reformation. He was the eldest son of James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault, sometime regent of Scotland. He was of royal descent, and at times was third or fourth in succession to the Scottish crown; several royal marriages were proposed for him, but he eventually never married. He went to France with Mary, Queen of Scots, where he commanded the Scots Guards. After returning to Scotland, he became a leader of the Protestant party against Mary and her French supporters. However, he went insane in 1562 and was confined for the rest of his life.

Birth and origins

James Hamilton may have been born in 1537 or 1538, another source suggests 1532. His place of birth probably was Hamilton, Lanarkshire, Scotland. He was the eldest son of James Hamilton and his wife Margaret Douglas. His father was the 2nd Earl of Arran and would be created Duke of Châtellerault in France in 1548. His father also was the grandson of Mary Stewart, eldest daughter of James II of Scotland and was at this time, after King James V, the most senior, legitimate male descendant of King James II and, so heir presumptive for much of King James V's reign and the future 3rd Earl of Arran was next in succession after him. His father's family descended from Walter FitzGilbert, the founder of the House of Hamilton, who had received the barony of Cadzow from Robert the Bruce.

James's, mother, Margaret Douglas, descended from James IV through an illegitimate daughter, and Joan of Scotland, daughter of James I. Both parents were Scottish. They had married in September 1532.

In 1542, James and his father were displaced in the royal succession by the birth of James V's daughter, Mary (the future Mary, Queen of Scots) - until James V died only six days later. James's father became regent for the baby queen.

Regent Arran's marriage plans

The Regent proposed various royal marriages for his son, who was second in line for the crown.

In March 1543, James V's widow, Mary of Guise told the English ambassador Ralph Sadler that the Regent "mindeth to marry" her daughter Queen Mary to his son, something she was anxious to avoid. In December 1543, French envoys heard that the Regent wanted to marry James to Henry VIII of England's daughter Lady Elizabeth (later Elizabeth I). This may have been offered by Henry himself as a price of the Regent's allegiance, but nothing came of the proposal either. Henry wanted to marry the baby queen to his son Edward. The Regent was a Protestant, and initially supported this in public, despite widespread opposition in Scotland.

Then in 1543 the Regent became Catholic and joined the pro-French faction of Cardinal Beaton. Henry responded with the "Rough Wooing", nine years of war to make Scotland accept the English marriage. In October 1544, James was taken to St Andrews Castle, where he was Cardinal Beaton's guest and a pledge for the alliance of the Regent and the Cardinal.

The Regent still wanted to marry Mary to James. His half-brother, John, Abbot of Paisley, met with Lord Somerville and the Earl of Angus on 28 October 1545, to get their support. Somerville's son John wrote to Mary of Guise that they would not be persuaded. Alexander Crichton of Brunstane and a diplomat in France, Johannes Sturm, also sent warnings of this marriage proposal to England. Sturm realised the marriage would hinder Anglo-French peace treaty negotiations. James remained in the Cardinal's custody. In February 1546 he was sent a book of Latin exercises and a copy of ''Aesop's Fables''.

In 1546, a Protestant band seized St Andrews Castle and murdered the Cardinal. James was held prisoner. The Regent besieged St Andrews; the Protestants offered to give James to Henry VIII, in return for the help of an English fleet. Henry VIII was willing, but never actually sent the fleet. On 14 August 1546, the Parliament of Scotland excluded James from the royal succession (he was then third) for the duration of his captivity. Despite Henry's promises, the castle was finally taken with the help of French ships.

Regent Arran now agreed to the marriage of Mary to the Dauphin Francis, son and heir of King Henry II of France, confirmed by the Treaty of Haddington. For arranging the marriage of Mary and Francis, the Regent was made Duke of Châtellerault, and James succeeded him as Earl of Arran. He would not inherit the French title, his father having forfeited it in 1559.

In France

Queen Mary was sent to France in August 1548. James Hamilton went with her or shortly earlier in July. Though only a boy of 16 or younger, he was appointed captain of the royal ''Garde Écossaise'' (Scots Guard), and in 1557 distinguished himself in the defence of St. Quentin.

James was admired in France. In 1549, the ''Emblemata'', a collection of illustrated Latin proverbs and mottos compiled by Italian jurist Andrea Alciato appeared in a new French edition. The ''Emblemes D'Alciat'' was dedicated to him. One of Arran's personal devices was a heart pierced with an arrow pointing down.

On 24 January 1553, the French royal armourer Bénédict Claye received an order for a suit of armour for James, to be delivered before 8 April 1553. The armour was decorated with engraved and gilded borders, and included a morion, a bourguignon, and accessories.

In April 1548, Henry II offered Françoise, daughter of the Duke of Montpensier, as a bride for Arran. Later, after Mary was betrothed to the Dauphin, a number of ladies of the court were suggested as brides for James. One was Mademoiselle de Bouillon, daughter of Henry II and his mistress Diane de Poitiers, in May 1557. Others suggested brides included Claude de Rieux, Louise de Rieux (who married René, Marquis of Elbeuf), and Jeane de Savoie. But James did not marry.

Queen Elizabeth

James' father gave up the Regency of Scotland in 1554, and thereafter followed a pro-English policy. It has been suggested that James was imprisoned in France as a Protestant in 1557–1558. In 1558, Châtellerault proposed the marriage of James to Queen Elizabeth I of England to cement an Anglo-Scottish alliance. This proposal was supported by John Knox, the leading Protestant cleric in Scotland, and by John Jewel, Bishop of Salisbury. The marriage project gained the support of the Protestant Lords of the Congregation. Bishop Jewel remained in favour of the marriage as late as June 1560, and Elizabeth's own opinion is not known.

In 1559, Châtellerault and James openly declared themselves Protestants. James returned to Scotland escorted by English diplomat Thomas Randolph and was met by Ralph Sadler in Scotland. Both of these diplomats considered themselves his friends, and in their official correspondence during the conflicts of the Scottish Reformation, they noted signs of mental instability. On 8 December 1560, Elizabeth declared her rejection of his marriage proposal to the Scottish ambassadors William Maitland, the Earl of Morton and the Earl of Glencairn. A later chronicler, David Hume of Godscroft, believed the marriage proposal was "so unprobable, and such a proposition as Morton knew would not be very acceptable to her," but it was mooted by the Parliament of Scotland.

Monsieur de Beaufort

When his father turned Protestant in June 1559, James was at his father's French estates at Châtellerault, perhaps at the Chateau de la Brelandiere, and became a fugitive from the French authorities. He made his way to safety in Switzerland by July, reportedly spending 15 days hiding in a wood on the way. His escape from France was masterminded by Elizabeth's counsellor William Cecil and the English ambassador in Paris, Nicolas Throckmorton.

Hamilton went first to Geneva, then to Zurich where he was the guest of Peter Martyr, and then to Lausanne. There he met Thomas Randolph (alias Barnaby). They travelled incognito to England via Flanders. In London he stayed at Cecil's Westminster home. He had an interview with the Queen herself in the garden at Hampton Court.

At the end of June 1559, Throckmorton wrote to Cecil describing how James had been unkindly handled in France. After James had left some of his Scots Guards had brawled with some French soldiers. One of the French commissioners charged with his arrest tried to apologise to Mary, Queen of Scots, as he was her close relation. Throckmorton heard that Mary had denounced James as an "arrant traitor," and he hoped that this news would advance pro-English policy in Scotland. Throckmorton hoped the Scottish bearer of the letter, Sandy Whytelaw, would do this, and though Whytelaw was not a friend of James's father, he would raise support for the marriage of James and Elizabeth.

Although Elizabeth was personally sympathetic to James's plight, for English policy the rescue was a step towards the objective of ending the Auld Alliance, knowing that on Arran's return his father as 'second person' of the realm would become leader of the Lords of the Congregation. William Cecil acknowledged Chatelherault's thanks for the rescue, writing on 24 August 1559, "this one thing I covet, to have this isle well united in concord"

The name used by James while travelling through England was "Monsieur de Beaufort". His journey to Scotland was noted in the letters of Bishop Jewel to Peter Martyr and Henry Bullinger. In their correspondence, Arran was known by the codename ''Crito'', Randolph as ''Pamphilus'' and Elizabeth as ''Glycerium''. Despite this secrecy, the English commander at Berwick, Sir James Croft was aware of the plan by 14 June.

Back in Scotland

James went first to the castle of Berwick-upon-Tweed and met the Scottish reformer, Henry Balnaves of Halhill. After a midnight ride through the Cheviot Hills, at one or two o'clock in the morning of Sunday 10 September 1559, he arrived in Teviotdale, and was re-united with his father at Hamilton Palace

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