Margaret The Queen

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 The profile at Wikitree of the subject of Margaret The Queen, here.  She was the subject of a book by Nigel Tranter.

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Chain Of Destiny

 Chain Of Destiny by Nigel Tranter. is a story focused on King James Stewart IV of Scotland.

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Flodden Field (Source)

The King died in the Battle of Flodden.

The McCormicks And Napoleon III

 Napoleon III

It was business that took Mr. McCormick abroad in 1867 — the advancement of the reaper in Europe and in particular its presentation at the Universal Exposition to be held in Paris that year.

Source (Napoleon III)

This was an ambitious undertaking of the Emperor Napoleon III, designed no doubt to bolster his weakening prestige and to divert attention from the menacing European situation. Mr. McCormick hesitated about entering his machines, but finally decided to try.

Meantime, the McCormicks attended a spectacular distribution of prizes on July 1 by the Emperor Napoleon, accompanied by the Empress Eugenie, at which the first Sultan of Turkey ever to leave his shores and the Prince of Wales were guests. Fifty thousand people, Mrs. McCormick wrote, filled a vast hall, colors rioted, bells rang, drums beat. And finally the imperial party walked around the building, the Empress in white satin, radiant with diamonds, gracious — "every inch an Empress," Mrs. McCormick thought. 

Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess Of Teck

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Mary's profile at Wikitree.

The Case Of The Inhabitants Of E. Florida

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Page 6

Lieutenant-Colonel Brown was mentioned on Page 4.

The Courtesan

The Courtesan by Nigel Tranter....featured the court of King James VI of Scotland and the machinations of his advisor, Master Patrick Gray which were often countered by his fictional daughter, Mary Gray.  Ludovic 'Vicky' Stuart, the second Duke of Lennox, was devoted to Mary and was often her confidante.

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King James came to believe that he was plagued by witches, so there were witch trials across Scotland. 

"In Scotland the belief in Witchcraft was all but universal and was sanctioned by the highest authority. King James VI was an ardent student of Witchcraft which his 'Daemonologie,' in three books, gravely discusses as a science."

The King also loved writing poetry* as well as his thoughts about religion and demons.

*Immortall Gods, sen I with pen and Poets airt

So willingly hes servde you, though my skill be small,

I pray then euerie one of you to help his pairt,

In graunting this my sute, which after follow shall. [Source]

A Glimpse Of The Queen

An excerpt from Buckeye Abroad:

"...the Queen herself turned round, and gave us a good-natured look and a full view.  We had a hearty laugh at our good fortune, and came home full of the Exhibition, and feeling quite royally."

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The Marchman

The Marchman by Nigel Tranter, relates the story of John Maxwell, Warden of the West March.

John Maxwell's father, who was the Warden when the story opened, was captured by the English during the Battle of Solway Moss.  John, a participant who escaped, became deputy warden.  He operated as the de facto warden, as the former deputy, Lord Herries, wasn't up to the job.

John Maxwell married Lord Herries' daughter, Agnes, who became close to John when she helped him with his warden duties.  After Agnes' father's death, her husband John was then Lord Herries, there being no sons in the family.

Source - Herries home of John And Agnes

King James V died, shortly after his daughter Mary's birth (Mary Queen of Scots), causing political upheaval in Scotland.  Mary, as the eventual wife of the King of France, lived in that country until she was widowed.

Mary met with some resistance from George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntley as she was touring Scotland after her return, which culminated in the Battle of Corriches.  Lord Herries played an integral part of securing the victory for the Queen.

Also see Historical memoirs.... Herries, John Maxwell, 4th Baron, 1512?-1583.

Lords Of Misrule

From the Lords Of Misrule, by Nigel Tranter:

"The Scots had ever been a race of genealogists." 

"Behold the High King of Scots, Ard Righ Albannach, Robert, son of Robert, son of Marjorie, daughter of Robert, son of Robert, son of Robert...".  "On and on he went, tracing the Royal descent back through the Bruce generations to David, Earl of Huntingdon, brother of William the Lion and Malcolm the Fourth and so by Malcolm Canmore through seven more generations to Kenneth MacAlpine, who united Picts and Scots...". (Page 391)

Others who appear in Lordsof Misrule are Sir James "2nd Earl of Douglas and Mar" Douglas aka of Dalkeith, husband of Isabella (daughter of King Robert and sister of King Robert* who was crowned with the genealogical line noted above).  Isabella's brother, Alexander "Earl of Buchan", "The Wolf of Badenoch" was also featured at times.  *His name was John, crowned as Robert, even though he had a brother named Robert.

For more genealogical information about the Royal House of Stuart:

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Envoy Extraordinary (For King Alexander III)

(Possibly Alexander III's Seal)

Envoy Extraordinary, by Nigel Tranter:

Alexander II of Scotland had just died and his young son Alexander III had been crowned king and was in need of a regent. 

*Patrick, Earl of Dunbar, was the "envoy extraordinary" for Alexander III.  Below is a brief biography of the earl:

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*Wikitree entry lists Cecilia Fraser as the sixth earl's wife; the historical novel, Envoy Extraordinary, and the above source names his wife as Christian Bruce.

Alexander III wed Margaret Plantagenet, daughter of King Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence.  Alexander was preceded in death by his wife, Margaret, and all of his children. Daughter Margaret died in childbirth; the child, Margrete, was Alexander's only surviving heir in his lifetime.  King Alexander died suddenly (shortly after he was remarried to Yolande de Dreux), so his granddaughter, the young Margrete (Margaret, Maid of Norway), traveled from her Norwegian home to Scotland.  She was Scotland's first queen regnant, though she died Orkney, after her ship was blown off course, in the arms of the welcoming Bishop. 

King Alexander III left no heirs, which was a problem for Scotland. 

Tracy With A Royal Lineage

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Knowing how Barbara Lucy, wife of Richard Tracy, of Stanway, was descended from Anne of Russia, Queen of France (see below).... .

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The entry for "my" Thomas Tracy at Wikitree states that he is not descended from Paul Tracey, 1st Baronet (who was listed in the lineage above).

The Lion's Whelp

The Lion's Whelp, by Nigel Tranter, was told from the point of view of Alexander Lyon (son of Patrick Lyon, 1st Lord of Glamis)*, who was a companion of James II Stewart.  After James II's father, James I, is assassinated, his mother, Joan Beaufort, married James Stewart The Black Knight of Lorne.

*Elizabeth II's mother, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, was a descendant of Patrick Lyon, through Alexander's brother, John Lyon, 3rd Lord of Glamis

There is a possible lineage from me to Joan Beaufort and beyond.

The Stewart connection goes as follows, starting with James IV Stewart's daughter Janet (great-granddaughter of "The Lion's Whelp,") whose daughter, Margaret Fleming, married John Stewart IV.  Her daughter, Janet Stewart, married Duncan Campbell.  Her son, Robert Campbell, had a daughter, Margaret, who married John Cameron.  Their son, Ewen Cameron, was the father of
John MacEwen Cameron of Lochiel.  I have many Cameron ancestors, including Lochiel Camerons.


A specific Cameron, Bishop Cameron, was also a character in The Lion's Whelp.

A Coronation In Scotland In The Thirteenth Century

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"A coronation in the thirteenth century was more than a mere gorgeous ceremony, for it was in a certain sense one of the titles by which a king held his crown. Men's minds were still much influenced by the external forms which were slowly giving way to deeds and written documents, and they were apt to look upon the prince, whose coronation they had witnessed, or who had been proclaimed their king in any other manner to which they were accustomed, as the rightful sovereign, without further question of his title." [Source]

In The Vicinity Of Balmoral

The Old Castle Of Balmoral

Recollections of a Royal Parish, By Patricia Robertson Lindsay:

James Graham, Marquess of Montrose

A description of James Graham, Marquess of Montrose, from Loyal Lochaber and its associations....:

"And now like a meteor flashing brilliantly across the sky on a winter's night leaving a train of shining sparks in its wake so across the dim pages of history we see as it were written in characters of fire the name of Montrose, a name feared by king and Covenanters alike; for true to his convictions, both parties in the State had felt the strength of his iron hand, and had used his military skill and intrepid courage to good purpose."

The Stewarts And Douglas's In Lords Of Misrule

Some of the characters in Lords Of Misrule, The first volume of the House of Stewart trilogy, by Nigel Tranter, include Robert II, King of Scots; Robert Stewart; Lady Egidia Stewart; Jamie Douglas, illegitimate eldest son of Sir James, Lord of Dalkeith; Sir William Douglas of Nithsdale; and Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan, known as the Wolf of Badenoch.

Though the Kings of Scotland were Stewarts, the Douglas's (who intermarried with the Stewarts) provided a powerful counterweight to the Royals.  A history of the house of Douglas from the earliest times down to ..., Volume 2, illustrated some of the Stewart/Douglas relationships, including those who were characters in Lords of Misrule:

For more about the Douglas's: A history of the house of Douglas from the earliest times down to the legislative union of England and Scotland, Volume 1

The Battle of Otterburn* was the first important event in the Lords of Misrule. The battle made a hero of some, including Jamie Douglas, through whom the story is told, and the great warrior Douglas (James, 2nd Earl of Douglas) is murdered by one close to him during the battle and witnessed by Jamie. Was the murder a plot by the cold and calculating Robert Stewart? Many, including his sisters, think so.

A modern day flashback of the Battle of Otterburn?

*Bizarre Happenings - Several witnesses spoke of a phantom army which had been seen in November 1960 on a road near Otterburn, Northumberland, the site of a fourteenth-century battle. One of the witnesses, Mrs Dorothy Strong, was in a taxi. She said: 'Suddenly the engine died, the fare-meter went haywire and the taxi felt as if it was being forced against an invisible wall. The soldiers seemed to close in on us and then fade into thin air.' Several people said it had happened around that location before.

Recommendations for further reading from a Douglas message board:  The Black Douglases: War and Lordship in Medieval Scotland, 1300-1455, by Michael Brown, and From the Bloody Heart: The Stewarts and the Douglases, by Oliver Thompson.

The Tower Of Nesle

The incident, The Tower of Nesle*, was raised in the novel The Royal Succession (one in a series), by Maurice Druon.

From this source:


"It is certain, however, that the three daughters-in-law of Philip the Fair led a most scandalous life, and that the Tower of Nesle in Paris was the scene of their crimes. Having been found out, they were arrested and sent to prison."

 Margaret of Burgundy, Queen of France, was one of the inhabitants of the Tower of Nesle (source):

Some historical tidbits about the French royal family, the Capets, can be found at an Internet forum here. 

*Also a novel, The Tower of Nesle or the Queen's Intrigue, by Alexander Dumas, Henry Llewellyn Williams.

A Quote From The Royal Succession

Apparently The Royal Succession by Maurice Druon (among other works by Mr. Druon) in the English version is difficult to find online at a reasonable price.  Although my copy cost me a whopping $.27 (at a used bookstore or thrift shop), according to Amazon, prices range from $65.00 (first American edition) to $18.91 for a paperback edition. 

A quote from the novel:

"Days lived, whether full or empty, whether busy or serene, are but days gone by, and the ashes of the past weigh the same in every hand."

History Lessons From Fiction

Author Sharon Kay Penman has a blog here. She writes historical fiction with the emphasis on history. When Christ and his Saints Slept about the power struggle over control of England between King Stephen and Empress Maud is just one of her books from which history lessons can be learned.