The Birthplace of Valor: Scotland and the House of Hamilton

Griswoldi

Banned
Prologue
It wasn't until the fifth of January, 1569, that Lord James Hamilton, Lord of Arran, received the letter explaining the crisis in Scotland. Mary, Queen of Scots, had been arrested, passed around from prison to prison, and was now in England, awaiting a trial. Her son, the infant Prince James VI, had been declared King in her absence. However, in December the child had passed away (i) under the regency of his uncle, James Stewart. Steward had subsequently declared himself James VII, King of Scots, and was fighting against the supporters of Queen Mary. Stewart's assumption of the throne negated Hamilton's own claim - when he gave up the regency, he'd been promised by Mary of Guise that if Mary (Queen of Scots) died without issue, he would sit upon the throne of Scots. If Mary was awaiting execution (ii) and her son had met his demise, Hamilton was rightfully the King of Scotland! It was absurd that Stewart could make a power play like that, with a lesser claim! Naturally, Lord Hamilton was infuriated at the news, suspecting foul play on the part of Stewart, as well as being cross that the oath he had made with Mary of Guise had been broken. Immediately he departed from his estates in France (where he had retired once Queen Mary originally announced her pregnancy with the late James VI), and began the journey back to his homeland. On the fourteenth of January he arrived in Aberdeen, where he met with a group of his supporters. Among them were his sons James and John. In a weeks time they would march on Edinburgh Castle, and in quick succession topple Stewart's fragile regime and crown Hamilton as King. Stewart was thrown in prison on suspicion of murder, where he would stay for three years before finally being hanged, quartered and drawn for tge crime of regicide (iii). That very day, on January 22, 1569, in a very touching ceremony, James Hamilton was crowned James VII, (iv) King of Scots. Thus ended the rule of the House of Stuart over Scotland, and so would begin the rule of the House of Hamilton, one of the longest reigning royal houses in Europe.

In September of 1569, Mary, Queen of Scots, formally signed away her claim on the throne of England (v), and since she could not return with an army of Scotsmen, Queen Elizabeth released her from custody. Mary however, did try to return to Scotland and regain power: in November she, with a group of Stuart loyalists, attempted a coup to push King James VII out of power. It failed miserably, with most of her faction drifting off. She was captured, and King James VII had her sign a similar agreement to the one she signed with Elizabeth, revoking her claim on the throne of Scotland - even though by all rights she was the true monarch of Scotland. He considered executing her, but in the end decided that would just weaken his own legibility as King of Scots. With Elizabeth in England, Hamilton in Scotland, and Catherine de Medici in France, Mary Stuart had no where to go. The former Queen of Scots took her fortunes and headed east, never to be seen again (vi). However, although beaten, bloodied, and thrown out of Scotland, history was not yet finished with the House of Stuart.

Afternotes
(i) The POD, is, of course, the death of James VI under the regency of James Stewart. He did not die at the hands of his uncle, as history books would say, but of fever.
(ii) Of course, no body truly knew that she would be executed, but as in OTL, once she was out of the picture she was rapidly forgotten about. Hamilton guessed that if Elizabeth had her hands on her, she was a goner. Poor Mary.
(iii) It was deemed fitting that an English puppet would die of an English execution style.
(iv) Technically, it would be James VIII, but he decided to forego the extra I - he refused to recognize James Stewart as a legitimate monarch.
(v) With her son dead and a new Dynasty in Scotland, Elizabeth sees Mary as less of a threat and merely has her sign away her claim and banished from England.
(iv) She did in fact, head east, to Milan, where a catholic woman could live in peace. She assumed the name of Mary Dunbar and passed herself off as the heiress to minor noble family back in Scotland. Eventually she married a Venetian merchant named Lorenzo. The two had four children and lived to the ripe ages of seventy (her) and seventy two (him). A much happier ending for someone who never really got to experience happiness.
 
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Griswoldi

Banned
Chapter I
King James VII (or King Hamilton, as historians would call him) had a lot on his plate, but the first issue he resolved as King was to validate his son as his heir. Scotland had been through a long bout of instability, with different factions vying for control of the Kingdom. Designating an heir and straightening out the matter of succession would do much to bring stability.

But which son? Hamilton had two sons; his elder son, James, and a younger one, John. James technically would be his heir, as he was older, but the strain of war and the like had stressed him to the point of mental insanity! John was a solid figure, very intelligent - he would be a shrewd King indeed. Even if James was made to be the technical King, John would probably rule as regent in light of James' mental health. Hamilton, in the end, believed it was not up to him. Instead, he'd put together a council of the most powerful politicians of the Kingdom to help decide this great matter. This group would be the first of many council groups, which later would be formed into an official governing body, the Pàrlamaid (i). Included in this group were noblemen such as William Keith and Ludovic Stewart (ii), both very influential individuals in Scotland. It should be noted that this council was not made up of nobles that were favored by the King; it was made of up the most power nobles, whether they were allies of the King or not.

"James is the Elder." Ludovic stated plainly. "Therefore, he is the next in the line of succession. This meeting can be -"

"Your Majesty, if I may make a suggestion?" George Gordon, 5th Earl of Huntly and the Lord Chancellor interrupted. "James, and I mean no offense when I say this, is unfit to be King, even with a regent. A mad King is not something a newly established royal family wants. It makes his reign a ripe fruit for rebellion and claimants forcing their way to power."

"So what is your advice, Huntly?"

"Name John as your heir."

"That is nontraditional!" Ludovic hollered from the back.

"This is a new era, and new traditions should be forged." Colin Campbell, the Earl of Argyll argued back. "If tradition would bring instability to the realm, then to hell with tradition."

"Breaking tradition is what brings instability to the realm!"

"And a mad King wouldn't? Don't be a fool, Lennox." The Lord Chancellor sighed. "John needs to be the next in the line of succession, your Majesty, otherwise i'm almost certain it won't be a year after your death when a new," he looked at the Stewarts in the room, "or an old dynasty place themselves on the throne."

His suspicious gaze towards the Earl of Lennox confirmed the same suspicions that the King himself had - that if he placed James on the throne, a Stewart would make a grab for power with their weak claim on the throne. After hours of bickering it was finally decided that John would ascend to the throne as John II. The question of succession was answered, for the time being. Hamilton decided it was high time to get his son married, then. And with the next issue on his list, he could possibly knock out two birds with one stone (iii).

Afternotes
(i) Scottish for Parliament.
(ii) The former is the Earl of Marischal, and the latter is the Earl of Lennox.
(iii) The next issue on his list is a very traditional alliance made by the monarchs of Scotland... hehehe.
 
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I would argue that they would probably proclaim insanity as a bar to the throne thus James could be passed over without disfavour.
The issues would come if James ever regained his sanity, though I guess they could instate him (and any possible heirs) below that of John's.
 

Griswoldi

Banned
I would argue that they would probably proclaim insanity as a bar to the throne thus James could be passed over without disfavour.
The issues would come if James ever regained his sanity, though I guess they could instate him (and any possible heirs) below that of John's.

That's what happened. :p
 
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