Catherine Margaret Mary Maxwell Stuart, 21st Lady of Traquair (born 16 November 1964) is a Scottish landowner, politician, hotelier, brewer, and writer. She is the first female

Laird Laird () is a Scottish word for minor lord (or landlord) and is a designation that applies to an owner of a large, long-established Scotland, Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a Baronage of ...

Traquair Traquair () is a small village and civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish in the Scottish Borders; Counties of Scotland, until 1975 it was in the county of Peeblesshire. The village is situated on the B709 road south of Innerleithen at . H ...

and, at the time she succeeded her father in 1990, she was the only female laird in Scotland. She took over the management of the

lairdship Laird () is a Scottish word for minor lord (or landlord) and is a designation that applies to an owner of a large, long-established Scotland, Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a Baronage of ...

from her mother in 1999, which includes a bed and breakfast and ancient brewery. A lifelong

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

, Maxwell Stuart ran for public office four times as a Labour Party candidate, including in the

2003 Scottish Parliament election The 2003 Scottish Parliament election was the second election of members to the Scottish Parliament. It was held on 1 May 2003 and it brought no change in terms of control of the Scottish Government, Scottish Executive. Jack McConnell, the Sco ...

and the

2007 Scottish Parliament election The 2007 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the third general election to the devolved Scottish Parliament since it was created in 1999. 2007 Scottish local elections, ...

Early life and family

Maxwell Stuart was born in 1964 to Captain Peter D'Arcy Joseph Maxwell Stuart, 20th Laird of Traquair and Flora Mary Carr-Saunders Maxwell Stuart, Lady of Traquair. As a member of a

recusant Recusancy (from ) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation. The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign of Elizabeth I, and temporarily repea ...

family, she was raised in the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

faith. Her father was an officer in the

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

and a managing director at

Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 18 ...

. Maxwell Stuart's maternal grandfather was Sir Alexander Carr-Saunders. She is a great-great-granddaughter of William Constable-Maxwell, 10th Lord Herries of Terregles. A member of the

Clan Stewart Clan Stewart (Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic: ''Stiùbhart'') is a Scottish Highlands, Scottish Highland and Scottish Lowlands, Lowland Scottish clan, clan. The clan is recognised by Court of the Lord Lyon; however, it does not have a Scottish clan chi ...

and a descendant of the

Clan Maxwell Clan Maxwell is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Lowlands and is recognized as such by the Lord Lyon King of Arms. However, as the clan does not currently have a chief, it is considered an armigerous clan. History Origins of the clan The cla ...

, Maxwell Stuart is a relative of the

House of Stuart The House of Stuart, originally spelled Stewart, also known as the Stuart dynasty, was a dynasty, royal house of Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and later Kingdom of Great Britain, Great ...

and descends from the first laird in the female line through Henry Constable Maxwell Stuart. She is also a descendant of

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

. Maxwell Stuart grew up at

Traquair House Traquair House, approximately 7 miles southeast of Peebles, is claimed to be the oldest continually inhabited house in Scotland. Whilst not strictly a castle, it is built in the style of a fortified mansion. It pre-dates the Scottish Baronial s ...

, her family's estate in the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by West Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, and East Lothian to the north, the North Sea to the east, Dumfries and Galloway to the south-west, South Lanarkshire to the we ...

. She was educated at

Primary School and Peebles High School in

Peeblesshire Peeblesshire (), the County of Peebles or Tweeddale is a Counties of Scotland, historic county of Scotland. Its county town is Peebles, and it borders Midlothian to the north, Selkirkshire to the east, Dumfriesshire to the south, and Lanarkshire ...

Lairdship and career

In 1999, Maxwell Stuart took over the management of the Traquair estate from her mother, who had taken over after the death of the twentieth laird in 1990. Prior to her return to Scotland, she was working as a teacher in South America. At the time she inherited, she was the only female

in Scotland and the first female laird of Traquair. As a Scottish Laird, she is entitled to the old style of address of ''

The Much Honoured The Much Honoured (abbreviated to The Much Hon.) is an honorific Style (form of address), style applied to various nobles in Scotland, including Scots barons. Overview There were around 350 identifiable local baronies in Scotland by the early ...

'' and the title "Lady of Traquair". Traquair is the oldest continually inhabited stately home in Scotland. The castle was given to James Stuart, 1st Laird of Traquair, who was an illegitimate son of

James Stewart, 1st Earl of Buchan James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

and a cousin of

James III of Scotland James III (10 July 1451/May 1452 – 11 June 1488) was King of Scots from 1460 until his death at the Battle of Sauchieburn in 1488. He inherited the throne as a child following the death of his father, King James II, at the siege of Roxburg ...

, in 1491. Maxwell Stuart operates a

bed and breakfast A bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. In addition, a B&B sometimes has the hosts living in the house. ''Bed and breakfast'' is also used to ...

and a

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of b ...

at the castle, and works as a tour guide at the estate. She also hosts weddings, formal events, and summer festivities at Traquair. She owns the house in partnership with a charitable trust. A

, in 1999 Maxwell Stuart ran as a Labour Party candidate in a local government election, representing

Innerleithen Innerleithen () is a civil parish and a small town in the committee area of Tweeddale, in the Scottish Borders. It was formerly in the historic county of Peeblesshire or Tweeddale. Etymology The name "Innerleithen" comes from the Scottish G ...

and

Walkerburn Walkerburn () is a small village in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, on the A72 road, A72 about from Peebles and from Galashiels. It was founded in 1854 to house the workers for the tweed mills owned by the Ballantyne family. It is the h ...

, for the

Scottish Borders Council The Scottish Borders is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by West Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, and East Lothian to the north, the North Sea to the east, Dumfries and Galloway to the south-west, South Lanarkshire to the ...

. She lost by ninety votes. In 2001 she ran as a Labour candidate for

Roxburgh Roxburgh () is a civil parish and formerly a royal burgh, in the historic county of Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was an important trading burgh in High Medieval to early modern Scotland. In the Middle Ages it had at lea ...

and

Berwickshire Berwickshire (; ) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. The county takes its name from Berwick-upon-Tweed, its original county town, which was part of Scotland at the ...

in the General Election. Her platform included the construction of a new railway line, tackling crime, raising the minimum wage, and increasing the number of jobs in the

. She ran in the

and the

as a Labour candidate for Tweeddale, Ettrick, and Lauderdale. In 2016, Maxwell Stuart accepted the Four Star Gold Quality Assurance Award from

VisitScotland VisitScotland, formerly the Scottish Tourist Board (), is a national tourism organisation for Scotland. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government, with offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness, and ...

on behalf of Traquair House. That same year, she was featured in a

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

documentary titled ''Lady Lairds'', which followed women owners of castles and

country houses 300px, Oxfordshire.html" ;"title="Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire">Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a To ...

. She has written two books, ''All for Our Rightful King: Traquair's Jacobite Story, 1688–1842'' and ''A Family Life Revealed: The Stuarts at Traquair 1491–1875''. In April 2021, she was featured on the ''Duchess'' podcast, where she was interviewed by

Emma Manners, Duchess of Rutland Rachel Emma Manners, Duchess of Rutland (''née'' Watkins; born 2 September 1963) is a British noblewoman and podcaster. She is the estranged wife of David Manners, 11th Duke of Rutland, and chief executive of Belvoir Castle, the family estate ...

. In August 2024, Maxwell Stuart was appointed

Lord Lieutenant of Tweeddale This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Tweeddale. The office replaced the Lord Lieutenant of Peeblesshire in 1975. *''Scott had been Lord Lieutenant of Peeblesshire'' *1975–1980; Sir Robert Scott *1980–1994; L ...

, succeeding Sir Hew Strachan.

Personal life

Maxwell Stuart is a practising Catholic. The

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

holds a 1992 portrait of Stuart. In 1995 she married fashion designer John Grey in a Catholic ceremony at Traquair's chapel. Her husband died in 1998 from cancer. In 1999 she married Mark Muller, a human rights lawyer. She met Muller in the 1980s while studying at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

, and the two had been friends prior to their marriage. Muller was the Labour candidate for

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places *Detroit–Windsor, Michigan-Ontario, USA-Canada, North America; a cross-border metropolitan region Australia New South Wales *Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area Queen ...

at the 2001 General Election. She has three children: Isabella, Louis, and Charlotte.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Traquair, Catherine Maxwell Stuart, 21st Lady of 1964 births Living people People from Peebles Nobility from the Scottish Borders 20th-century Scottish landowners 20th-century Scottish women politicians 20th-century Scottish politicians 20th-century British women landowners 21st-century Scottish women politicians 21st-century Scottish politicians 21st-century Scottish women writers Alumni of the London School of Economics British hoteliers British women historians Catholic socialists Clan Maxwell Clan Stewart Lairds Lord-lieutenants of Tweeddale People educated at Peebles High School, Peeblesshire Scottish brewers Scottish Labour parliamentary candidates Scottish Roman Catholics Scottish socialists Scottish women in business 20th-century Scottish businesspeople 21st-century Scottish businesspeople 20th-century Scottish businesswomen 21st-century Scottish businesswomen