House of Stuart

The House of Stuart or Stewart was a of the, later also of the , and finally of the. adopted the spelling Stuart while in  to ensure that the  Stewart was pronounced correctly. The name itself originates from the ancient hereditary Scottish title.

The House of Stuart ruled the for 336 years, between  and. of 's closest heir was via her grandfather King, who was founder of the. At Elizabeth's death, James Stuart ascended the thrones of the and the  and inheriting. From, the Stuarts styled themselves , though there was no until the reign of , the last monarch of the House of Stuart. The Stuarts were followed by the, under the terms of the. Members of various and  branches still survive today.

History
The earliest known member of the House of Stewart was Flaald I (Flaald the Seneschal), an Breton follower of the Lord of  and. Flaald and his immediate descendants held the hereditary and honorary post of Dapifer (food bearer) in the Lord of Dol's household. His grandson Flaald II was a supporter of and made the crucial move from  to, which was where the future fortunes of the Stewarts lay (including an evolving, longstanding tradition of intermarriage with the (de)  noble family, originally from ). Walter the Steward (died ), the grandson of Flaald II, was born in. Along with his brother William, ancestor of the Fitzalan family (the ), he supported during the period known as. Matilda was aided by her uncle,, and Walter followed David north in , after Matilda had been usurped by. Walter was granted land in and the position of Lord High Steward. made the position hereditary and it was inherited by Walter's son, who took the surname Stewart. The sixth High Steward of Scotland, Walter Stewart (-), married, daughter of , and also played an important part in the currying further favour. Their son was heir to the ; he eventually inherited the Scottish throne when his uncle  died childless in.

In, attempted to secure peace with  by marrying 's daughter,. The birth of their son, later, brought the House of Stewart into the line of descent of the , and the English throne. Margaret Tudor later married, and their daughter, , was the mother of. In, Darnley married his half-cousin , the daughter of. Darnley's father was, a member of the branch of the House. Lennox was a direct descendant of, also descended from , being Mary's. Therefore Darnley was also related to Mary on his father's side and at the time of their marriage was himself second in line to the Scottish throne. Because of this connection, Mary's heirs remained part of the House of Stewart. Because of the long French residence at, held by Darnley's branch in the , the surname was altered to Stuart. In feudal and dynastic terms, the Scottish reliance on French support was revived during the reign of, who had an illegitimate son by. This descent received the main Stuart s of and, as well as the main Tudor appanage of.

French connections were notoriously unpopular and resulted in the downfall of the Stuarts, whose mutual enemies identified with the emergent Protestant nationalism and urban as opposed to Catholic feudalism and rural. The caused the deposition of  in favor of his son-in-law and his daughter,  and. James continued to claim the thrones of England and Scotland, and encouraged in his name, and his son Charles led an ultimately, becoming ironic symbols of   and. Due to the identification of the with the Stuarts,  was not passed until Jacobitism (as represented by direct Stuart heirs) was extinguished. Despite the intentions of tolerance to be extended to, this was not the preference of Georgian Tories and their failure at compromise played a subsequent role in the present division of.

Dapifers of Dol

 * Flaithri I (died c.)
 * Alan I (died ?)
 * Alan II (died )
 * Flaithri II (died c.-)
 * Alan III (died c.)

High Stewards of Scotland

 * (died )
 * (died )
 * (died )
 * (died )
 * (died )
 * (died )
 * Robert Stewart, 7th High Steward of Scotland (became )

Kings of Great Britain, France and Ireland



 * (-) - Age
 * and (-) -  Age
 * During the period between Charles I and Charles II, England was a an, and then a under  and .  This period of 11 years is known as the.
 * and (-) -  Age
 * (-) (continued to claim the English and Scottish thrones after his deposition in 1688 until his death in 1701)
 * (-) - with and II of, of the , a descendant of

Jacobite Claimants

 * (called the "Old Pretender" by his detractors, and "the King Across the Water" by his supporters) claimed throne as James VIII of Scotland and III of England, (-)
 * (called the Young Pretender by the English), claimed throne as Charles III, known to the Scots as Bonnie Prince Charlie, (-)
 * , claimed throne as Henry IX (-)