Isabella, Countess of Lennox

Who was Isabella, Countess of Lennox?

Isabella of Lennox was the ruler of Lennox, from 1437–1458, and last in the line of Mormaers or Native Scottish rulers. As the wife of Murdoch Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany, she was also Duchess of Albany, but in 1425 her family would be almost completely destroyed when her husband, father and two sons were executed by the vengeful King James I of Scotland. Only one son, James the Fat, would escape the King's wrath, and he would die in exile in Ireland soon after. Isabella succeeded in escaping the fate of her family, and would eventually regain her title and estates, retiring to her castle in Loch Lomond where she raised her grandchildren, the children of her youngest son. She would eventually live to see the violent death of her former persecutor, King James. Though none of her four sons survived her, her grandson Andrew Stewart, 1st Lord Avandale would in time rise to become Lord Chancellor of Scotland.