James STEWART, II KING

Birth:

16 Oct 1430

Holyrod Palace, Edinburg, Scotland

Death:

3 Aug 1460

Roxburgh Castle, Kelso, Roxburghshire, Scotland

Marriage:

3 Jul 1449

Holyrood, Edinburgh, Mid-Lothian, Scotland

Father:

James STUART, I KING

Mother:

Joan DE BEAUFORT, QUEEN

Notes:

1 NAME James /Stuart/ II

"Born at Holyrood on 16 October 1430, James II was only six years oldwhen his father was murdered at Perth.

James II was crowned in Holyrood Abbey, Edinburgh in 1437, the first kingnot to be enthroned at Scone since Kenneth MacAlpin (843-58). James'minority was dominated by the struggles of rival families for power inthe realm and control of the king.

Known as 'James of the Fiery Face' because of a birthmark, he began torule for himself when he was 18, soon after his marriage in July 1449 toMary of Gueldres, a devout and cultivated Burgundian lady.

Throughout most of his reign, the powerful Douglas family posed a threatto his throne. When he was ten, his advisers had the young 6th Earl ofDouglas and his brother murdered at 'The Black Dinner' in 1440 atEdinburgh Castle.

In 1452 James himself stabbed the 8th Earl to death during a violentquarrel in Stirling Castle, and later defeated the Douglases atArkinholm. Three years later, the 9th Earl and his relatives wereforfeited for treason and in 1458 his Parliament congratulated James onsuppressing dangerous law-breakers.

The threat from his overmighty subjects finally removed, in August 1460James felt secure enough to take advantage of English divisions caused bythe Wars of Roses and besiege Roxburgh Castle (held by the English formore than a century).

Disaster followed, for as he stood next to one of his cannon it exploded,killing him instantly at the age of 29. He was buried in the Abbey ofHolyrood, Edinburgh."

-- Royal Household

Maria GUELDERS, PRINCESS OF GUELDERS

Birth:

1432

Noord-Brabant, Netherlands

Death:

16 Nov 1463

Edinburgh, Mid-Lothian, Scotland

Father:

Blocked

Mother:

Blocked

Notes:

                   Copyright © 2001-2005, Tim Dowling
email: tdowling_53223@yahoo.com

Children

Marriage

James STEWART, III KING

Birth:

10 Jul 1451

Stirling, Scotland

Death:

11 Jun 1488

Scotland

Margarethe OF DENMARK, QUEEN OF SCOTLAND

Marr:

10 Jul 1469

Scotland

Notes:

"Born at Stirling on 10 July 1451, James was nine when he inherited hisfather's throne.

His mother ruled as Regent until she died in 1463. James' long minoritywas marked by unstable relations with England and ambitious aristocraticfactions.

He began to rule for himself in 1469, soon facing great difficulties inrestoring strong central government, shortly after his marriage to thepious Princess Margaret of Denmark.

Margaret's father, King Christian I of Denmark and Norway, undertook togive her a dowry of 60,000 florins of the Rhine, but as he could notraise the full amount it was agreed that he should pay 10,000 florins andpledge his lands and rights in Orkney as security for the remainder.

Unable to assemble the rest of the money in time, he had to pledge hispossessions in Shetland as well. Most of the lands and revenues in theislands already belonged to the earldom of Orkney, and in 1471 James IIIpersuaded the Earl of Orkney to exchange his property there for lands inFife.

Christian I was never able to redeem his pledge, and so Orkney andShetland remained Scottish possessions.

The ever-present English threat was temporarily solved by a truce withEdward IV in 1463.

Condemned by contemporaries and criticised by later historians as beingweak and grasping, James III nevertheless combined a full measure of theRoyal Stewart energy and intelligence with a love of the arts, and hiscoinage was the first in Scotland or England to bear a true likeness ofthe monarch.

His preference for the company of scholars, architects and artistsinfuriated his nobles, and his own brothers, Alexander, Duke of Albanyand John, Earl of Mar regarded him with jealousy verging on hatred.

In 1479, James' brothers were arrested on suspicion of conspiring againstthe Crown. The Earl of Mar died in suspicious circumstances, whilst theDuke of Albany escaped to England.

James' estrangement from his brothers and a strong faction within theScottish nobility led to the final loss of Berwick and a coup at Lauder,Berwickshire in July 1482, when the king was removed to Edinburgh Castle,some minor members of his household were hanged (including his favouriteRobert Cochrane) and the more important ones banished.

Although James tried to settle his differences with the Duke of Albany,his brother again tried to win the kingdom (Edward IV had recognised himas Alexander IV in 1482). The Duke of Albany was exiled to France.

After his queen's death in 1486, James lived in increasing isolation inStirling Castle amidst growing rumours of his cupidity (he conferred anearldom on his favourite, John Ramsay) and his undesirable friendshipwith England.

Finally, the Scottish nobles seized his eldest son and defeated James atthe Battle of Sauchieburn, three miles south-west of Stirling, on 11 June1488. He was thrown from his horse as he fled from the field.

Carried into a nearby cottage, he called for a priest, whereupon amysterious figure forced his way in, exclaimed, 'I will shrive thee' andstabbed him to death. James was buried at Cambuskenneth Abbey nearStirling."

-- Royal Household

Mary STEWART

Birth:

Abt 1451

Death:

1488

Marr:

Notes:

                   Copyright © 2001-2005, Tim Dowling
email: tdowling_53223@yahoo.com

Blocked

Birth:

Death:

Blocked

Marr:

Notes:

                   Copyright © 2001-2005, Tim Dowling
email: tdowling_53223@yahoo.com

Agnes STEWART

Birth:

Death:

Feb 1556/57

Marr:

Notes:

                   Copyright © 2001-2005, Tim Dowling
email: tdowling_53223@yahoo.com

FCID:15859:117817

James Stewart, II King - Maria Guelders, Princess of Guelders

James Stewart, II King was born at Holyrod Palace, Edinburg, Scotland 16 Oct 1430. His parents were James Stuart, I King and Joan de Beaufort, Queen.

He married Maria Guelders, Princess of Guelders 3 Jul 1449 at Holyrood, Edinburgh, Mid-Lothian, Scotland . Maria Guelders, Princess of Guelders was born at Noord-Brabant, Netherlands 1432 .

They were the parents of 4 children:
James Stewart, III King born 10 Jul 1451.
Mary Stewart born Abt 1451.
Blocked
Agnes Stewart

James Stewart, II King died 3 Aug 1460 at Roxburgh Castle, Kelso, Roxburghshire, Scotland .

Maria Guelders, Princess of Guelders died 16 Nov 1463 at Edinburgh, Mid-Lothian, Scotland .