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

Shetland Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...

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

James V 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 ...

, King of Scotland, and his mistress Eupheme Elphinstone. 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 List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

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 King of Ireland, Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 M ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

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 List of British royal residences, royal r ...

, and Commendator of Charlieu Abbey in France by 1557. Clothes for "lord Robert of Halyrudhous" and his brothers were made by the king's tailor, Thomas Arthur. 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 the English Reformation, the break with the Catholic Church, England attacked Scotland ...

, he accompanied his step-mother

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 ...

on a visit to the French court. In July 1553, his sister Lady Jean Stewart was contracted to marry Archibald Campbell, 5th Earl of Argyll. Her cash dowry of 5,000 merks was to be paid by Mary of Guise and her brothers, the Commendators of Kelso, Holyrood, and Coldingham. During the Reformation Crisis, on 9 February 1560 he testified against the Hamiltons, the Duke of Châtellerault 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 Scottish ...

to James MacGill and John Bellenden of Auchnoule. They were collecting evidence for Henri Cleutin 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 known as Holyrood Palace, 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 Castle, Holyrood has s ...

. Robert, his half-brother

Lord John Lord John was a British men's fashion retailer, which opened its first store at 43 Carnaby Street, London, at the corner with Ganton Street, in 1963. The first Lord John boutique was opened by the brothers Warren, Harold and David Gold in Ca ...

, the Marquis of Elbeuf and others performed at the sands of Leith in a tournament in December 1561. There was " running at the ring" 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. The ambassador of Savoy, Monsieur de Moret, watched the tournament at Leith, and he was lodged in Lord Robert's house at Holyrood. There was a similar tournament in costume in August 1594 at the baptism of Prince Henry 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 ...

. Again, in March 1565, Robert Stewart took part in running at the ring at the sands of

Leith Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...

, and the contestants included a newcomer at court Lord Darnley. Robert Stewart was knighted as Sir Robert Stewart of Strathdon on 15 May 1565, as part of marriage celebrations of Mary, Queen of Scots and Lord Darnley. 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 Scandinavian Scotland, founded by Norse invaders, the status ...

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, 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 the third husband of Mary, Queen of Scots. He was accused of the murder of Mary's second husband, Henry Stuart, Lord ...

. 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

Family

On 13 or 14 December 1561 Robert Stewart married Lady Jean Kennedy, daughter of Gilbert Kennedy, 3rd Earl of Cassillis, and Margaret Kennedy. 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 (b. late 1562) * Jean, who married Patrick Leslie, 1st Lord Lindores (b. 1563?) * William of Egilsay (1564-1630) * Henry, who became Master of Orkney (b. February 1565 - 1590) * Patrick (1565/66 - 6 February 1615), who inherited the title

and married Margaret Livingstone. * John Stewart, who became

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

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. * Christian Stewart, who married John Mowat of Hugoland * Edward Stewart * Mary Stewart

Ancestors

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

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

Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...

Sons of kings