Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney and Lord of Zetland (

Shetland Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the n ...

) (spring of 1533 – 4 February 1593) was a recognised illegitimate son of

James V James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was King of Scotland from 9 September 1513 until his death in 1542. He was crowned on 21 September 1513 at the age of seventeen months. James was the son of King James IV and Margaret Tudor, and du ...

, King of Scotland, and his mistress

Eupheme Elphinstone Euphemia Elphinstone (also written Euphame or Eupheme; born 11 May 1509) was a mistress of James V of Scotland and the mother of his son Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney, born in 1532, as well as another child who died in childhood. One of her so ...

. Robert Stewart was half-brother to

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 S ...

and uncle to

James VI and I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

of Scotland and England.

Biography

In 1539 Robert Stewart was made Commendator of

Holyrood Abbey Holyrood Abbey is a ruined abbey of the Canons Regular in Edinburgh, Scotland. The abbey was founded in 1128 by David I of Scotland. During the 15th century, the abbey guesthouse was developed into a royal residence, and after the Scottish Ref ...

, and Commendator of Charlieu Abbey in France by 1557. In 1550, after the conclusion of the war known the

Rough Wooing The Rough Wooing (December 1543 – March 1551), also known as the Eight Years' War, was part of the Anglo-Scottish Wars of the 16th century. Following its break with the Roman Catholic Church, England attacked Scotland, partly to break th ...

, he accompanied his step-mother

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. Sh ...

on a visit to the French court. During the Reformation Crisis, on 9 February 1560 he testified against the Hamiltons, the

Duke of Châtellerault Duke of Châtellerault (french: duc de Châtellerault) is a French noble title that has been created several times, originally in the Peerage of France in 1515. It takes its name from Châtellerault, in the Vienne region. The first title was cre ...

and Earl of Arran, and the Protestant

Lords of the Congregation The Lords of the Congregation (), originally styling themselves "the Faithful", were a group of Protestant Scottish nobles who in the mid-16th century favoured a reformation of the Catholic church according to Protestant principles and a Scot ...

James MacGill Sir James MacGill, Lord Rankeillor of Nether Rankeillour. (died 1579) was a Scottish courtier and Senator of the College of Justice. Sworn of the Privy Council by Mary, Queen of Scots in 1561, he became her Lord Clerk Register (Keeper of the Sc ...

and John Bellenden of Auchnoule. They were collecting evidence for

Henri Cleutin Henri Cleutin, seigneur d'Oisel et de Villeparisis (1515 – 20 June 1566), was the representative of France in Scotland from 1546 to 1560, a Gentleman of the Chamber of the King of France, and a diplomat in Rome 1564-1566 during the French Wars o ...

and Jacques de la Brosse, the French advisors of Mary of Guise who planned to have the Hamiltons charged with treason against his half-sister,

and France. Robert himself had signed some of the letters that were to be cited as evidence. Mary, Queen of Scots returned to Scotland on 19 August 1561, arriving unexpectedly at Leith at 10 o'clock in the morning with her entourage of 60 companions in two galleys. Lord Robert welcomed her at

Holyrood Palace The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace or Holyroodhouse, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh ...

. Robert, his half-brother Lord John, the Marquis of Elbeuf and others performed at the sands of Leith in a tournament in December 1561. There was "running at the ring" on the sands of Leith, with two teams of six men, Robert's team dressed as women, the other as exotic foreigners in strange masquing garments. Robert's team were the winners. There was a similar tournament in 1594 at the baptism of Prince Henry at

Stirling Castle Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles in Scotland, both historically and architecturally. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological ...

. The ambassador of Savoy, Monsieur de Moret, watched the tournament at Leith, and he was lodged in Lord Robert's house at Holyrood. He was knighted as Sir Robert Stewart of Strathdon on 15 May 1565, as part of marriage celebrations of Mary, Queen of Scots and

Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley (1546 – 10 February 1567), was an English nobleman who was the second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, and the father of James VI of Scotland and I of England. Through his parents, he had claims to both the Scottis ...

. In 1581 he was made

Earl of Orkney Earl of Orkney, historically Jarl of Orkney, is a title of nobility encompassing the archipelagoes of Orkney and Shetland, which comprise the Northern Isles of Scotland. Originally founded by Norse invaders, the status of the rulers of the Nort ...

James VI 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 ...

, the first Earl in a second creation of the Earldom of Orkney. The new earldom replaced a short-lived Dukedom of Orkney, which had been awarded in 1567 by Mary, Queen of Scots, to her notorious third husband

James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell James Hepburn, 1st Duke of Orkney and 4th Earl of Bothwell ( – 14 April 1578), better known simply as Lord Bothwell, was a prominent Scottish nobleman. He was known for his marriage to Mary, Queen of Scots, as her third and final husband ...

. This dukedom was forfeit later that same year after Mary was forced to abdicate and Bothwell was charged with treason. Prior to this dukedom there had existed an Earldom of Orkney that was surrendered in 1470 by William Sinclair, 3rd Earl of Orkney. Mary wrote a will at

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire ...

in 1577 ineffectually declaring his title to Orkney null and void, after Robert was imprisoned in 1575 for obtaining a letter from the King of Denmark-Norway, Frederick II declaring him sovereign of Orkney. His crimes included colluding with Shetland pirates. The Earl was imprisoned at

Linlithgow Palace The ruins of Linlithgow Palace are located in the town of Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland, west of Edinburgh. The palace was one of the principal residences of the monarchs of Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland in the 15th and 16th ce ...

. He was released in 1579. He built the Palace of Birsay on Orkney. On his death in 1593 the earldom passed to his son Patrick Stewart, 2nd Earl of Orkney.

Family

On 13 or 14 December 1561 Robert Stewart married Lady Jean Kennedy, daughter of

Gilbert Kennedy, 3rd Earl of Cassilis Gilbert Kennedy, 3rd Earl of Cassilis ( ) (12 May 1515 – 15 November 1558) was Scottish landowner, soldier, politician, and judge. He served as Treasurer of Scotland. Biography The son of Gilbert Kennedy, 2nd Earl of Cassilis, he succeeded ...

, and

Margaret Kennedy Margaret Moore Kennedy (23 April 1896 – 31 July 1967) was an English novelist and playwright. Her most successful work, as a novel and as a play, was '' The Constant Nymph''. She was a productive writer and several of her works were filmed. T ...

. The English diplomat Thomas Randolph wrote that "Lord Robert consumethe with love for Cassillis' sister". At this time Lord Robert had a house near Holyrood Palace, but the marriage took place at the house of one of her family friends. Their children included: * Mary, who married

Patrick Gray, 6th Lord Gray Patrick Gray, 6th Lord Gray (died 1612), known most of his life as Patrick, Master of Gray, was a Scottish nobleman and politician during the reigns of Mary, Queen of Scots and James VI of Scotland. Early life Patrick Gray, the son of Patrick Gr ...

(b. late 1562) * Jean, who married

Patrick Leslie, 1st Lord Lindores Patrick Leslie, 1st Lord Lindores (died between 22 May and 5 October 1608) was a member of the Scottish nobility. Biography He was the second son of Andrew Leslie, 5th Earl of Rothes, and his first wife, Grizel Hamilton. He was Commendator o ...

(b. 1563?) * Henry, who became Master of Orkney (b. February 1565 - 1590) * Patrick (1565/66 - 6 February 1615), who inherited the title

and married

Margaret Livingstone Margaret Stratford Livingstone is the Takeda Professor of Neurobiology in the Department of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School in the field of visual perception. She authored the book ''Vision and Art: The Biology of Seeing''. She was elec ...

. * John Stewart, who became

Earl of Carrick Earl of Carrick (or Mormaer of Carrick) is the title applied to the ruler of Carrick (now South Ayrshire), subsequently part of the Peerage of Scotland. The position came to be strongly associated with the Scottish crown when Robert the Bruce, ...

and married Elizabeth Howard * Robert, was knighted and known as Sir Robert Stewart of Middleton. Imprisoned for debt in London in 1606. * James, was knighted and known as Sir James Stewart of Eday and Tullos, and married Margaret Lyon * Elizabeth, who married James Sinclair of Murkle in Caithness (becoming the mother-in-law of John MacKay, Laird of Strathy in Strathnaver) * Barbara, who married Hugh Halcro of Halcro Robert Stewart also had a number of illegitimate children with several mistresses.Paul, James Balfour, ''Scots peerage'' (Edinburgh : D. Douglas. 1904), Stewart, Earl of Orkney, pp. 573–7.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Robert 1st Earl of Orkney 1533 births 1593 deaths Earls of Orkney

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...

Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney People associated with Shetland 16th-century Scottish people Court of James V of Scotland Scottish princes

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

Sons of kings