Stuart

The House of Stuart, originally Stewart, took its name from the office of High Steward of Scotland. Its ancestor Walter fitz Alan followed David I north in the twelfth century and was made hereditary steward, with lands in Renfrewshire.

The sixth steward, Walter Stewart, married Marjorie Bruce, daughter of Robert I. When David II died without an heir in 1371 their son became Robert II, the first Stewart king. Mary, Queen of Scots, adopted the French spelling Stuart; in 1603 her son James VI of Scotland inherited the English and Irish thrones as James I, uniting the crowns.

Charles I was executed in 1649, but the dynasty returned in 1660. James II was deposed in 1688, and after Mary II and Anne the crown passed to Hanover in 1714. Stuart heirs kept their claim alive through the Jacobite risings of 1715 and 1745.