Christina Stewart, 4th Countess of Buchan

Christina Stewart, 4th Countess of Buchan (also Christian ) (* 1547 ; † September 20, 1580 in Aberdeen ), was a Scottish noblewoman .

Life

She was the only child of John Stewart, Master of Buchan, and his wife Margaret, daughter of Sir Walter Ogilvy of the Boyne. Her father was killed in the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh on September 10, 1547 , and her mother died on December 26, 1549. She grew up under the tutelage of Lady Margaret Erskine , whose husband Robert Douglas of Lochleven had also died at Pinkie Cleugh. In January 1550 a marriage contract was signed. James Stewart , later 1st Earl of Moray and Regent of Scotland, illegitimate son of James V with her foster mother, was appointed her husband.

When her grandfather John Stewart, 3rd Earl of Buchan died in 1551 , at the age of four she inherited his title of nobility as 4th Countess of Buchan and 4th Lady Auchterhouse .

After James Stewart married another woman in 1562, despite this marriage contract, Christina was married to Robert, the second son from her foster mother's marriage. After marrying iure uxoris, he took over the title of Earl of Buchan and the office of Sheriff of Banff . There were three daughters from the marriage; Christina (also Christian), Mariota and Elisabeth; as well as a son James , heir and later 5th Earl.

As with most women of this time, little is known about her further life and is partly inferred from the data of her husband. Robert assisted James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, in reigning James VI. and stood against the "loyalists" who advocated the return of Maria . After the assassination of the regent Stewart in 1570, he was one of the four "masters" who did not interfere in the political intrigue, but instead made the necessary decisions in a leaderless government until James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton came to power in 1572 .

With a document from 1574, confirmed by witnesses, the heirs of the Douglas line were recognized for the Earldom and all lands, offices and titles; only upon death of all heirs of this line would the original heirs of the Stewart family be entitled to inheritance again.

Robert, Earl of Buchan, died on August 18, 1580 in Mills of Drum near Aberdeen; Christina followed him on September 20 of the same year.

literature

• James Balfour Paul (Ed.): The Lord Lyon King of Arms: The Scots Peerage . tape 2 . Douglas, Edinburgh 1909, Erskine, Earl of Buchan , p. 269 f . ( online at www.archive.org [accessed July 1, 2014]).

Web links

• Christian Stewart, Countess of Buchan on thepeerage.com , accessed September 14, 2016.
• Buchan, Earl of (S, 1469). www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk, accessed September 1, 2014 . 

predecessor	Office	successor
John Stewart	Earl of Buchan 1551-1580	James Douglas