Wives of Robert II, King of Scots: Elizabeth Mure and Euphemia de Ross, Queen of Scots

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2017

Robert II, King of Scots from the Forman Armorial produced for Mary, Queen of Scots; Credit – Wikipedia

Robert II, King of Scots, the first monarch of the House of Stewart, had two wives. Elizabeth Mure died before Robert became king and Euphemia de Ross was his only Queen Consort.

Elizabeth Mure

The first wife of Robert II, King of Scots, Elizabeth Mure was probably born at Rowallan Castle near Kilmaurs, a village in East Ayrshire, Scotland. Her parents were Sir Adam Mure of Rowallan and Janet Mure of Pokellie. Elizabeth died before her husband became king.

Rowallan Castle; Photo Credit – By VERNON MONAGHAN, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9552921

Robert Stewart, the future Robert II, King of Scots, was born in 1316. He was the only child of Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland and Marjorie Bruce, the daughter of Robert I the Bruce, King of Scots. Marjorie died in childbirth at age 19. She was thrown from her horse and went into premature labor and died soon after delivering her son Robert. Robert was heir presumptive to the throne of Scotland as his uncle David II, King of Scots, the son of Robert I’s second marriage, was childless. Upon the death of his father in 1327, Robert Stewart became the 7th High Steward of Scotland.

At first, Elizabeth was the mistress of Robert Stewart. The couple married in 1346, but the marriage was not in agreement with the Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church. After receiving a papal dispensation, the couple remarried. The children born before their marriage were legitimized. Despite the legitimization of Elizabeth’s children, there were family disputes over her children’s right to the crown.

Elizabeth and Robert’s daughter Jean Stewart and her second husband Sir John Lyon, Lord of Glamis had one son Sir John Lyon. Through him, Jean, and therefore Elizabeth Mure and Robert II, are ancestors of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, formerly Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. The elder Sir John was a courtier and diplomat, who was appointed Keeper of the Privy Seal upon the accession of Robert II in 1371. The following year, Robert II granted him “the free barony of Glamuyss in the sheriffdom of Forfar.” Glamis has remained the seat of the family ever since. See Wikipedia: Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne for more information.

Elizabeth and Robert had at least ten children:

Robert III, King of Scots; born John Stewart, Earl of Carrick (c.1337/40 – 1406), married Anabella Drummond, had issue
Walter Stewart, Lord of Fife (c.1338–1362), married Isabella MacDuff, Countess of Fife, no issue
Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany (c. 1340 – 1420), married (1) Margaret Graham, Countess of Menteith, had issue (2) Muriella Keith, had issue
Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan (1343 – 1405), married Euphemia I, Countess of Ross, no issue
Margaret Stewart, married John of Islay, Lord of the Isles, had issue
Marjorie Stewart, married (1) John Dunbar, Earl of Moray (2) Sir Alexander Keith
Jean Stewart, married (1) Sir John Keith, (2) Sir John Lyon, Lord of Glamis, had one son (3) Sir James Sandilands
Isabella Stewart, married (1) James Douglas, 2nd Earl of Douglas, no issue (2) David Edmonstone
Katherine Stewart, married Sir Robert Logan of Grugar and Restalrig, Lord High Admiral of Scotland
Elizabeth Stewart, married Sir Thomas Hay, Lord High Constable of Scotland

Elizabeth Mure died before May 1355 and was buried at Paisley Abbey in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. Her eldest son, John Stewart, Earl of Carrick would eventually succeed to the throne upon the death of his father as Robert III, King of Scots.

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Euphemia de Ross, Queen of Scots

King Robert II of Scotland and Euphemia de Ross from the Forman Armorial produced for Mary, Queen of Scots; Credit – Wikipedia

Euphemia de Ross was the daughter and probably the only child of Hugh, 4th Earl of Ross and his second wife Margaret de Graham, daughter of Sir David de Graham of Montrose. Hugh’s first wife was Marjorie (or Matilda) Bruce, the sister of Robert I the Bruce, King of Scots. Hugh was a favorite of Robert I who granted him Cromarty Castle, a third of the lands of Kirkcudbright and lands in Skye, Strathglass, and Strathcona. Hugh was also one of the Scots nobles responsible for negotiating the marriage contract of David II, King of Scots, son and successor of Robert I, and Joan of the Tower, daughter of King Edward II of England. Hugh, 4th Earl of Ross was killed along with many other Scottish nobles at the Battle of Halidon Hill on July 19, 1333

Euphemia had at least three half-siblings from her father’s first marriage:

William de Ross, 5th Earl of Ross (died February 9, 1372), married Mary Macdonald, daughter of Angus Óg Macdonald, Lord of the Isles, had issue
Matilda de Ross, also known as Marjory (died about 1350) married Malise, 8th Earl of Strathearn, Caithness and Orkney, had issue
John Ross (died May 27, 1364), no issue

Arms of Euphemia de Ross; Credit – By Sodacan – Own work, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38494578

Euphemia was first married to John Randolph, 3rd Earl of Moray. He was the son of Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray, a supporter of Robert the Bruce. John Randolph was an important figure in the reign of David II, King of Scots, and served as joint Regent of Scotland along with Robert Stewart, 7th High Steward of Scotland, Euphemia’s second husband. John was killed on October 17, 1346, at the Battle of Neville’s Cross leaving Euphemia a young, childless widow.

Nine years later, on May 2, 1355, Euphemia married Robert Stewart, 7th High Steward of Scotland. In 1357, Robert was granted the title Earl of Strathearn, so Euphemia was then the Countess of Strathearn. On February 22, 1371, upon the death of his childless nephew David II, King of Scots, Euphemia’s husband became Robert II, King of Scots, the first monarch of the House of Stewart, and Euphemia became Queen of Scots.

Euphemia and Robert had four children. The children of Robert II from both his marriages considered themselves the rightful heirs to the throne of Scotland, causing considerable family conflict.

David Stewart, Earl of Strathearn (1357 – circa 1386), married a sister of David Lindsay, 1st Earl of Crawford, whose first name is unknown, had one child Euphemia Stewart, Countess of Strathearn
Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl (circa 1360 – 1437), married Margaret Barclay, Lady of Brechin, had issue, beheaded for his involvement in the assassination of James I, King of Scots
Elizabeth Stewart, married David Lindsay, 1st Earl of Crawford, had issue
Egidia Stewart, married William Douglas of Nithsdale, had issue

Euphemia Stewart, Countess of Strathearn, granddaughter of Euphemia and Robert through their son David Stewart, Earl of Strathearn, is an ancestor of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother formerly Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. As an only child, Euphemia Stewart was heir to her father’s earldoms. She married Patrick Graham and their daughter Elizabeth married Sir John Lyon, 1st Master of Glamis, the son of Sir John Lyon who had married Jean Stewart, daughter of Robert II and Elizabeth Mure (see above). See Wikipedia: Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne for more information.

Euphemia de Ross, Queen of Scots died in 1386 and was buried at Paisley Abbey in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. Her husband Robert II, King of Scots survived her by four years, dying on April 19, 1390.

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Works Cited