The royal Scottish family which ruled Scotland, beginning with Robert II from 1371, and then Britain from 1603 with James (VI of Scotland, I of Britain), and lasted until the death of Queen Anne in 1714.
The house was of French origin who came to Scotland via England as stewards; the name was later changed to Stuart to suit English preference. When Queen Elizabeth I of England died in 1603 without a heir, the English throne passed to James VI, a descendent of Margaret Tudor, the sister of Henry VIII who was married to James IV. Of the Stuart monarchs on the English throne, two lost their crowns: Charles I was executed and James II fled (throwing the royal seal into the Thames as he did).
The monarchs—mostly rather incompetent and hapless fellows, though living rather colourful lives—of the house (and the years of their reigns) include:
Robert II, 1371-90
Robert III, 1390-1406
James I, 1406-37
James II, 1437-60
James III, 1460-88
James IV, 1488-1513
James V, 1513-42
Mary, Queen of Scot, 1542-67
James VI, 1567-1625 (1603-25, as James I of England)
Charles I, 1625-49
Charles II, 1660-85
James VII (James II of England), 1685-8
William III & Mary, 1689-1694
William III, 1694-1702
Anne, 1702-14
The English Parliament passed an Act of Settlement in 1701 which debarred any Stuart still in exile from the throne; they were succeeded on the throne by the House of Hanover. This, however, did not stop the son (James Francis Edward, or 'the Old Pretender') and grandson (Charles Edward, or 'Bonnie Prince Charlie') of James II from continuing to seek to restore themselves, and Roman Catholicism, to the English throne, engaging in a long series of battles in what is now called the Jacobite Rebellion (Jacob is Latin for James), which ended after the largely Scottish rebels of Bonnie Prince Charlie were wiped out at the Battle of Culloden (1745) just outside Inverness, Scotland. The failure of the rebellion also wreaked havoc on the Scottish Highland population and culture.
©ALBERITH
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