Lady Janet Stewart
Encyclopedia
Janet Stewart, Lady Fleming (17 Jul 1502 – 20 Feb 1562) was an illegitimate daughter of James IV of Scotland
and served as governess
to her niece, Mary, Queen of Scots. Janet was briefly a mistress
to Henry II of France
, by whom she had an illegitimate son, Henri d'Angouleme
. Her daughter, Mary Fleming
, was one of the Queen's Four Maries
.
, known as "Hearty James". Isabel was a distant relative (specifically, half second cousin once removed) of James IV by a common ancestor, Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scotland
.
James IV is known to have fathered several other royal bastards; Lady Janet Stewart was a half-sister to, among others, James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray
, Alexander Stewart
, Lord Chancellor of Scotland
, and James V of Scotland
, her father's only legitimate child to reach adulthood.
, even though they were related within a forbidden degree of affinity
. By Lord Fleming she had eight children:
, the widowed Lady Fleming became a governess to the infant Mary, Queen of Scots. As Queen Mary was the daughter of Lady Fleming's half-brother, Lady Fleming could be considered a "half-aunt" to the Queen. Her own daughter, Mary Fleming
, also joined the Queen's court
as a lady-in-waiting
.
They accompanied the young queen to France
in 1548, and there Lady Janet attracted the attentions of King Henry II of France
and became his lover. She became pregnant by the king and bore him an illegitimate son. Either before or after the child's birth, she was sent back to Scotland.
Her son, Henri de Valois-Angoulême
(1551–June, 1586), was "the chief and most highly favored natural son of the King". He was legitimated and became grand prieur
de France, gouverneur de Provence
, et Admiral des Mers du Levant.
James IV of Scotland
James IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...
and served as governess
Governess
A governess is a girl or woman employed to teach and train children in a private household. In contrast to a nanny or a babysitter, she concentrates on teaching children, not on meeting their physical needs...
to her niece, Mary, Queen of Scots. Janet was briefly a mistress
Royal mistress
A royal mistress is the historical position of a mistress to a monarch or senior Royal. Some mistresses have had considerable power. The prevalence of the institution can be attributed to the fact that royal marriages were until recent times conducted solely on the basis of political and dynastic...
to Henry II of France
Henry II of France
Henry II was King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559.-Early years:Henry was born in the royal Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, the son of Francis I and Claude, Duchess of Brittany .His father was captured at the Battle of Pavia in 1525 by his sworn enemy,...
, by whom she had an illegitimate son, Henri d'Angouleme
Henri d'Angouleme
Henri d'Angoulême, sometimes referred to as Henri de France or Henri de Valois, born in 1551 at Aix-la-Chapelle. He was the illegitimate son of Henry II of France and Janet Stewart. He was known to write sonnets, one of which was set to music by Fabrice Caietain...
. Her daughter, Mary Fleming
Mary Fleming
Mary Fleming was a Scottish noblewoman and childhood companion of Mary, Queen of Scots. She and three other ladies-in-waiting were collectively known as "The Four Marys"...
, was one of the Queen's Four Maries
Mary Hamilton
"Mary Hamilton" and "The Fower Maries" are two common names for a famous, apparently fictional sixteenth-century ballad from Scotland....
.
Family
Her mother was Isabel Stewart of Buchan, daughter of James Stewart, 1st Earl of BuchanJames Stewart, 1st Earl of Buchan
James Stewart, 1st Earl of Buchan , was the second son of Sir James Stewart, the Black Knight of Lorne, and Joan Beaufort, the widow of James I of Scotland...
, known as "Hearty James". Isabel was a distant relative (specifically, half second cousin once removed) of James IV by a common ancestor, Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scotland
Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scotland
Joan Beaufort was the Queen Consort of Scotland from 1424 to 1437 as the spouse of King James I of Scotland. During part of the minority of her son James II , she served as the Regent of Scotland....
.
James IV is known to have fathered several other royal bastards; Lady Janet Stewart was a half-sister to, among others, James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray
James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray (1501 creation)
James Stewart, Earl of Moray was the illegitimate son of James IV of Scotland and his mistress Janet Kennedy. He was created Earl of Moray in 1501, and was young enough to avoid fighting at the disastrous Battle of Flodden Field in 1513. He went on to have a varied relationship with his...
, Alexander Stewart
Alexander Stewart (Archbishop of St Andrews)
Alexander Stewart was an illegitimate son of King James IV of Scotland and his mistress Marion Boyd. He was the eldest illegitimate child of King James IV of Scotland his mistress Marion Boyd...
, Lord Chancellor of Scotland
Lord Chancellor of Scotland
The Lord Chancellor of Scotland was a Great Officer of State in pre-Union Scotland.Holders of the office are known from 1123 onwards, but its duties were occasionally performed by an official of lower status with the title of Keeper of the Great Seal...
, and James V of Scotland
James V of Scotland
James V was King of Scots from 9 September 1513 until his death, which followed the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Solway Moss...
, her father's only legitimate child to reach adulthood.
Marriage and Issue
Lady Janet married Malcolm Fleming, 3rd Lord FlemingMalcolm Fleming, 3rd Lord Fleming
Malcolm Fleming, 3rd Lord Fleming , was Lord Chamberlain of Scotland to King James V, from 1524.He was the son and heir of John Fleming, 2nd Lord Fleming, who was killed in a feud with the Tweedie of Drumelzier family in 1524....
, even though they were related within a forbidden degree of affinity
Affinity (law)
In law and in cultural anthropology, affinity, as distinguished from consanguinity, is kinship by marriage. It is the relation which each party to a marriage bears to the kindred of the other. In English, affinity is usually signified by adding "-in-law" to the degree of kinship...
. By Lord Fleming she had eight children:
- Johanna, b. 1525.
- Janet, b. 1527, m. 1st, John Livingston, eldest son of Alexander, 5th Lord LivingstonAlexander Livingston, 5th Lord LivingstonAlexander Livingston, 5th Lord Livingston of Callandar was the guardian of Mary, Queen of Scots, during her childhood.Alexander Livingston succeeded his father to the title of Lord Livingston in about 1518. His first wife was Janet Stewart...
and brother of Mary LivingstonMary LivingstonMary Livingston was a Scottish noblewoman and childhood companion of Mary, Queen of Scots, one of the famous "Four Marys". As a child, she and three other girls of similar age and standing, chosen by the queen's mother, Mary of Guise, became Queen Mary's ladies-in-waiting. The other three "Marys"...
, one of the Queen's "Four Maries." - John, 5th Lord Fleming, b. 1529.
- Bridget, b. 1530.
- James, 4th Lord FlemingEarl of WigtownThe title of Earl of Wigtown was created twice in the Peerage of Scotland. The first creation was in 1341, and was surrendered in 1372, when the second earl sold the earldom and territory to Archibald the Grim , Lord of Galloway...
, b. 1534. His only daughter and heiress, Jean (1554–1609), would marry John MaitlandJohn Maitland, 1st Lord Maitland of ThirlestaneJohn Maitland, 1st Lord Maitland of Thirlestane, , Knight , was Lord Chancellor of Scotland.He was the second son of Sir Richard Maitland of Thirlestane, Berwickshire, and Lethington, Haddingtonshire, who settled the lands of Thirlestane upon him, and he was sent abroad for his education.Upon John...
, the younger brother of William MaitlandWilliam Maitland of LethingtonSir William Maitland of Lethington was a Scottish politician and reformer, and the eldest son of the poet Richard Maitland....
, his sister MaryMary FlemingMary Fleming was a Scottish noblewoman and childhood companion of Mary, Queen of Scots. She and three other ladies-in-waiting were collectively known as "The Four Marys"...
's husband. His grandson by Jean was John Maitland, 1st Earl of LauderdaleJohn Maitland, 1st Earl of LauderdaleJohn Maitland, 1st Earl of Lauderdale, Viscount of Lauderdale, Viscount Maitland, and Lord Thirlestane and Boltoun, was President of the Scottish Parliament as well as the Privy Council, a lawyer and a judge, who sided with the Parliamentarian cause during the Civil War.The son of Sir John...
. - Agnes, b. 1535, m. to William, 6th Lord Livingston.
- Margaret, b. 1536, m. 1st, to Robert Graham, Master of MontroseDuke of MontroseThe title of Duke of Montrose was created twice in the peerage of Scotland, firstly in 1488 for David Lindsay, 5th Earl of Crawford. It was forfeited and then returned, but only for the period of the holder's lifetime...
, by whom she had a son, John, 3rd Earl of MontroseJohn Graham, 3rd Earl of MontroseJohn Graham, 3rd Earl of Montrose was a Scottish peer and Chancellor of the University of St Andrews from 1599 to 1604. He was Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland, from 1605 to 1607....
; 2ndly, to Thomas Erskine, Master of MarEarl of MarThe Mormaer or Earl of Mar is a title that has been created seven times, all in the Peerage of Scotland. The first creation of the earldom was originally the provincial ruler of the province of Mar in north-eastern Scotland...
, younger brother of the 17th Earl of MarJohn Erskine, 17th Earl of MarJohn Erskine, 17th Earl of Mar , regent of Scotland, was a son of John, 5th Lord Erskine, who was guardian of King James V, and afterwards of Mary, Queen of Scots....
, but had no issue; and 3rdly, John Stewart, 4th Earl of AthollJohn Stewart, 4th Earl of Atholl-Biography:He was the son of John Stewart, 3rd Earl of Atholl and Grizel Rattray. He supported the government of the queen dowager, and in 1560 was one of the three nobles who voted in Parliament against the Reformation and the confession of faith, and declared their adherence to Roman Catholicism...
, high chancellor of Scotland, by whom she had three daughters and a son, John Stewart, 5th Earl of AthollEarl of AthollThe Mormaer of Earl of Atholl refers to a medieval comital lordship straddling the highland province of Atholl , now in northern Perthshire. Atholl is a special Mormaerdom, because a King of Atholl is reported from the Pictish period. The only other two Pictish kingdoms to be known from...
. Margaret Fleming was said to be a witch and to possess the power to cast spells. - MaryMary FlemingMary Fleming was a Scottish noblewoman and childhood companion of Mary, Queen of Scots. She and three other ladies-in-waiting were collectively known as "The Four Marys"...
, b. 1543, m. 6 Jan 1567, to William Maitland of LethingtonWilliam Maitland of LethingtonSir William Maitland of Lethington was a Scottish politician and reformer, and the eldest son of the poet Richard Maitland....
.
Governess, mistress to royalty
Lord Fleming was killed at the Battle of Pinkie in 1547. The next year, probably due to her membership in the royal House of StewartHouse of Stuart
The House of Stuart is a European royal house. Founded by Robert II of Scotland, the Stewarts first became monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland during the late 14th century, and subsequently held the position of the Kings of Great Britain and Ireland...
, the widowed Lady Fleming became a governess to the infant Mary, Queen of Scots. As Queen Mary was the daughter of Lady Fleming's half-brother, Lady Fleming could be considered a "half-aunt" to the Queen. Her own daughter, Mary Fleming
Mary Fleming
Mary Fleming was a Scottish noblewoman and childhood companion of Mary, Queen of Scots. She and three other ladies-in-waiting were collectively known as "The Four Marys"...
, also joined the Queen's court
Noble court
The court of a monarch, or at some periods an important nobleman, is a term for the extended household and all those who regularly attended on the ruler or central figure...
as a lady-in-waiting
Lady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a royal court, attending on a queen, a princess, or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman from a family highly thought of in good society, but was of lower rank than the woman on whom she...
.
They accompanied the young queen to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1548, and there Lady Janet attracted the attentions of King Henry II of France
Henry II of France
Henry II was King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559.-Early years:Henry was born in the royal Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, the son of Francis I and Claude, Duchess of Brittany .His father was captured at the Battle of Pavia in 1525 by his sworn enemy,...
and became his lover. She became pregnant by the king and bore him an illegitimate son. Either before or after the child's birth, she was sent back to Scotland.
Her son, Henri de Valois-Angoulême
Henri d'Angouleme
Henri d'Angoulême, sometimes referred to as Henri de France or Henri de Valois, born in 1551 at Aix-la-Chapelle. He was the illegitimate son of Henry II of France and Janet Stewart. He was known to write sonnets, one of which was set to music by Fabrice Caietain...
(1551–June, 1586), was "the chief and most highly favored natural son of the King". He was legitimated and became grand prieur
Prior
Prior is an ecclesiastical title, derived from the Latin adjective for 'earlier, first', with several notable uses.-Monastic superiors:A Prior is a monastic superior, usually lower in rank than an Abbot. In the Rule of St...
de France, gouverneur de Provence
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
, et Admiral des Mers du Levant.
Ancestry
Sources
- Weir, Alison. Mary, Queen of Scots, and the Murder of Lord Darnley. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2004. Web.