Robert Elphinstone, 3rd Lord Elphinstone (1530-1602) was a Scottish landowner and courtier. Robert Elphinstone was the son of Alexander Elphinstone, 2nd Lord Elphinstone and Katherine Erskine, daughter of John Erskine, 5th Lord Erskine and his wife Lady Margaret Campbell, daughter of Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll and Elizabeth Stewart. His great-aunt Euphemia Elphinstone was a mistress of

James V of Scotland James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was List of Scottish monarchs, 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 a ...

and the mother of Robert, Earl of Orkney. The Elphinstone lands were to the east of

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

near

Airth Airth () is a Royal Burgh, village, former trading port and civil parish in Falkirk, Scotland. It is north of Falkirk town and sits on the banks of the River Forth. Airth lies on the A905 road between Grangemouth and Stirling and is overlooked ...

and the Forth, centered on Elphinstone Tower. His sister Margery Elphinstone married his neighbour Robert Drummond of Carnock in the 1540s. Their coat of arms from Carnock House was obtained by

Harold Nicolson Sir Harold George Nicolson (21 November 1886 – 1 May 1968) was a British politician, writer, broadcaster and gardener. His wife was Vita Sackville-West. Early life and education Nicolson was born in Tehran, Persia, the youngest son of dipl ...

and

Vita Sackville-West Victoria Mary, Lady Nicolson, Order of the Companions of Honour, CH (née Sackville-West; 9 March 1892 – 2 June 1962), usually known as Vita Sackville-West, was an English author and garden designer. Sackville-West was a successful nov ...

had it displayed at Sissinghurst Castle. Robert became

Lord Elphinstone Lord Elphinstone is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created by King James IV in 1510. History The title of Lord Elphinstone was granted by King James IV in 1510 to Sir Alexander Elphinstone of Elphinstone, who was killed at the Battle ...

after the death of his father 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 Crowns, ...

on 10 September 1547. On 16 May 1554, because he had made poor decisions about his properties in his youth, Lord Elphinstone put his affairs in the hands of his grandfather Lord Erskine, his father-in-law John Drummond of Innerpeffray, and his brothers-in-law Robert Drummond of Carnock and John Hamilton of

Haggs Haggs is a small village in the Falkirk council area of Scotland. The village is situated south-west of Bonnybridge, north-northeast of Kilsyth and south-southwest of Denny, on the east side of the M80 motorway which separates it from Ban ...

. This transaction was enacted before

Mary of Guise Mary of Guise (; 22 November 1515 – 11 June 1560), also called Mary of Lorraine, was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from 1538 until 1542, as the second wife of King James V. She was a French people, French noblewoman of the ...

and the

Privy Council of Scotland The Privy Council of Scotland ( — 1 May 1708) was a body that advised the Scottish monarch. During its existence, the Privy Council of Scotland was essentially considered as the government of the Kingdom of Scotland, and was seen as the most ...

in her presence chamber at

Stirling Castle Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most historically and architecturally important castles in Scotland. The castle sits atop an Intrusive rock, intrusive Crag and tail, crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill ge ...

. Subsequently, the Elphinstones and Erskines continued a feud. In May 1565, his brother-in-law Alexander Drummond of Midhope Castle was charged with conspiring with Lady Elphinstone to defraud Lord Elphinstone of his income over the past three years. However, there does not seem to have been a trial, or any further evidence of bad feeling between Elphinstone and his wife and the Drummonds of Midhope. In April 1567 it was said that Lord Elphinstone had avoided signing the

Ainslie Tavern Bond The Ainslie Tavern Bond (also known as the "Ainslie Band", or the "Ainslie Tavern Band") was a document signed on about 20 April 1567 by a number of Scottish bishops and nobles. The bond approved the Earl of Bothwell's acquittal on 12 April of ...

which would have pledged his support for the

Earl of Bothwell Earl of Bothwell was a title that was created twice in the Peerage of Scotland. It was first created for Patrick Hepburn in 1488, and was forfeited in 1567. Subsequently, the earldom was recreated for the 4th Earl's nephew and heir of line, F ...

. In May 1568, because he was a supporter 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 List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

Regent Moray James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray (c. 1531 – 23 January 1570) was a member of the House of Stewart as the illegitimate son of King James V of Scotland. At times a supporter of his half-sister Mary, Queen of Scots, he was the regent of Scot ...

ordered him to surrender Elphinstone Tower. In 1577 he was said to be a Catholic and still a supporter of the exiled Mary, Queen of Scots. In that year he transferred his estates to his eldest son, Alexander, Master of Elphinsone. Lord Elphinstone was in London in 1592 and returned in November. Robert, Lord Elphinstone, died on 18 May 1602 and was buried in the kirk of Airth.

Family

Robert Elphinstone married Margaret Drummond, daughter of John Drummond of Innerpeffray and Margaret Stewart, a daughter of

James IV of Scotland James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was List of Scottish monarchs, 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 I ...

. Their children included; * Alexander Elphinstone, 4th Lord Elphinstone *

James Elphinstone, 1st Lord Balmerino James Elphinstone, 1st Lord Balmerino (1553?-1612) was a Scottish nobleman and politician, disgraced in 1609. Life to 1605 He was the third son of Robert Elphinstone, 3rd Lord Elphinstone, by Margaret, daughter of Sir John Drummond of Innerpe ...

* Father George Elphinstone, Rector of the Scots College in Rome. * Sir John Elphinstone of Selmis and

Baberton Baberton is a suburb of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is known as Baberton Mains, It is south-west of the Edinburgh City Bypass and Wester Hailes and south of the Shotts Line railway line. The village of Juniper Green is situated ...

, a gentleman in the household of

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I. She was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and List of English royal consorts, Queen of Engl ...

. He attended James VI and Anne of Denmark at the wedding celebrations of Marie Stewart, Countess of Mar at

Alloa Alloa (Received Pronunciation ; Scottish pronunciation /ˈaloʊa/; , possibly meaning "rock plain") is a town in Clackmannanshire in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It is on the north bank of the Forth at the spot where some say it ceases to ...

in December 1592. He was a friend of

Arbella Stuart Lady Arbella Stuart (also Arabella, or Stewart; 1575 – 25 September 1615) was an English noblewoman who was considered a possible successor to Queen Elizabeth I of England. During the reign of King James VI and I (her first cousin), she marrie ...

.Sara Jayne Steen, ''Letters of Arbella Stewart'' (Oxford, 1994), p. 181. * Janet Elphinstone, who married Patrick Barclay of Towie. * Margaret Elphinstone, who married John Cunningham of Drumquhassell in 1587.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elphinstone, Robert 1602 deaths 1530 births Nobility from Falkirk (council area)

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'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

3 16th-century Scottish people