Murdoch Stewart, Duke of Albany

Who was Murdoch Stewart, Duke of Albany?

Murdoch Stewart, Duke of Albany was a leading Scottish nobleman, the son of Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany and the grandson of King Robert II of Scotland, who founded the Stewart dynasty. In 1389 he was Justiciar North of the Forth. In 1402 he was captured at the Battle of Homildon Hill and would spend 12 years in captivity in England. After his father died in 1420, and while the future King James I of Scotland was himself held captive in England, Stewart served as Governor of Scotland, until 1424 when James was finally ransomed and returned to Scotland. However, in 1425, soon after James's coronation, Albany was arrested, found guilty of treason, and executed, along with two of his sons. His only surviving heir was James the Fat, who escaped to Antrim, Ireland, where he died in 1429. Albany's wife Isabella of Lennox survived the destruction of her family, and would live to see the murder of James I and the restoration of her title and estates.