View source for Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of March

{{Short description|16th-century Scottish noble}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
'''Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox''' then '''1st Earl of March''' ({{Circa|1522}}{{snd}}29 March 1586) was a Scottish nobleman of the family of [[Stewart of Darnley]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.europeanheraldry.org/united-kingdom/families/families-s/house-stuart-darnley/|title=European Heraldry :: House of Stuart of Darnley|website=www.europeanheraldry.org|language=en|access-date=2017-05-17}}</ref>
==Titles==
[[File:Arms of Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox and March.svg|thumb|150px|Arms of Robert Stewart]]
He was the second son of [[John Stewart, 3rd Earl of Lennox]] by his wife Elizabeth, daughter of [[John Stewart, 1st Earl of Atholl]], and younger brother of [[Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox]]. He also bore the ecclesiastical titles of [[Bishop of Caithness]], his grant confirmed by [[Pope Paul III]] in January 1542, an office previously held by his maternal uncle [[Andrew Stewart, Bishop of Caithness|Andrew Stewart]], and [[Prior of St Andrews|Commendator]] of [[St Andrews Cathedral Priory]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.maryqueenofscots.net/scottish-family-trees-in-the-16th-century/stuarts-lennox/|title=The Stuarts of Lennox - MaryQueenofScots.net|work=MaryQueenofScots.net|access-date=2017-05-17|language=en-GB}}</ref>
When Matthew, 4th Earl of Lennox, died in 1571, his heir was his grandson [[James I of England|King James VI]], as his eldest son [[Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley|Lord Darnley]] had died in 1567, so the title merged in the Crown. It was recreated for Matthew's second son [[Charles Stuart, 1st Earl of Lennox|Charles]], (Darnley's younger brother), 1st Earl of Lennox (1572 creation), but he died without male issue in 1576. Robert Stewart was next in line, and was created [[Earl of Lennox]] and [[Lord Darnley]] on 16 June 1578.
In 1580 Robert resigned his Earldom of Lennox and Lordship of Darnley; they were recreated the following year for his nephew [[Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox|Esmé Stewart]], son of John Stewart, [[seigneur d'Aubigny]], third son of the third Earl of Lennox. On 5 March 1580 he was created [[Earl of March]] and [[Lord of Dunbar]] and held these titles until his death. As he had no legitimate issue, the titles again reverted to the crown.<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=March, Earls of|volume=17|pages=685–688|first=Ronald John|last=McNeill|authorlink=Ronald McNeill, 1st Baron Cushendun}}</ref>
==Life==
In 1543, Matthew and Robert Stewart came to oppose the rule of [[Regent Arran]] and [[Mary of Guise]] in Scotland. After the [[battle of Glasgow (1543)|battle of Glasgow]], in April 1543 Robert crossed the [[River Clyde|Clyde]] from [[Dumbarton Castle]] and rode to England, where he was regarded as a 'pledge' or hostage for Lennox.<ref>Cameron, Annie I., ed., ''Scottish Correspondence of Mary of Lorraine'', SHS (1927), 72, 81: [[Samuel Haynes (historian)|Haynes, Samuel]], ed., ''Collection of State Papers'', (1740), p.39</ref> As the war of the [[Rough Wooing]] continued, Robert Stewart briefly occupied Dumbarton Castle against the Scottish Government of [[Regent Arran]]. Robert came from England in May 1546 with the support of [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]]; he sailed from [[Chester]] with around 20 followers in the ''Katherine Goodman'' accompanied by a pinnace.<ref>Dasent, ed., ''Acts of the Privy Council, 1542-1547'', vol.1 (1890), 379</ref> Having borrowed the artillery of the [[Earl of Argyle]], Arran successfully besieged the castle, which surrendered after 20 days. The siege at Dumbarton delayed Arran's action at the [[siege of St Andrews Castle]] on the east coast of Scotland.<ref>''Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland'', vol. 8 (1908), lxxx, 453, 465: ''Letters & Papers Henry VIII'', vol.21 part 2 (1910) no.6, Arran to the Pope.</ref>
Rehabilitated in Scotland, Robert continued to pursue legal action with [[Alexander Gordon (archbishop of Glasgow)|Alexander Gordon]] over their competition for church appointments. At the end of the war, in 1550, Robert sought permission from Arran and Guise to return to university in France, he was 28.<ref>Cameron, Annie I., ''Scottish Correspondence of Mary of Lorraine'', SHS (1927), 338 & footnote.</ref>
[[John Elder (writer)|John Elder]], a Scottish writer who had settled in England, wrote a description of the wedding of [[Mary I of England]] and [[Philip II of Spain]] for Robert Stewart as a New Year's gift for 1555. Elder's letter was published, addressed to his good friend Lord Robert 'Stuarde' Bishop of Caithness and Provost of Dumbarton College.<ref>Elder, John, ''The copie of a letter sent in to Scotlande of the arivall and landynge, and most noble marryage of ... Philippe, prynce of Spaine to the ... Princes Marye quene of England solemnisated in the citie of Winchester,'' London (1555).</ref>
On 6 January 1579 Lord Lennox married [[Elizabeth Stewart, Countess of Arran|Elizabeth Stewart]], daughter of [[John Stewart, 4th Earl of Atholl]] and widow of [[Hugh Fraser, 5th Lord Lovat]]. They were divorced 19 May 1581 and she married [[James Stewart, Earl of Arran]] shortly afterwards.
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20080608045342/http://www.leighrayment.com/peers/peersL2.htm leighrayment.com]}}
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20080608021951/http://www.leighrayment.com/peers/peersM2.htm leighrayment.com]}}
* {{cite web |last=Marek |first=Miroslav |url=http://genealogy.euweb.cz/stuart/stuart11.html |title= stuart/stuart11.html |publisher= Genealogy.EU}}{{Self-published source|date=August 2012}}{{Better source needed|date=August 2012}}
{{Earls of Lennox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:March, Robert Stewart, 1st Earl Of}}
[[Category:1510s births]]
[[Category:Year of birth uncertain]]
[[Category:1586 deaths]]
[[Category:House of Stewart of Darnley|Robert]]
[[Category:Earls of March (Scotland)]]
[[Category:16th-century Scottish peers]]