Mary Stewart, Countess of Buchan (1434 or 1435 – 20 March 1465) was the fifth daughter of

James I of Scotland James I (late July 1394 – 21 February 1437) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scots from 1406 until his assassination in 1437. The youngest of three sons, he was born in Dunfermline Abbey to King Robert III of Scotland, Robert III and ...

and

Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scots Joan Beaufort ( 1404 – 15 July 1445) was Queen of Scots from 1424 to 1437 as the spouse of King James I. During part of the minority of her son James II (from 1437 to 1439), she served as the regent of Scotland, the first dowager Queen of ...

. She married Wolfert VI of Borselen, a

Zeeland Zeeland (; ), historically known in English by the Endonym and exonym, exonym Zealand, is the westernmost and least populous province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the southwest of the country, borders North Brabant to the east ...

er nobleman,Poswick, Eugène (1886)
"Histoire du Comté de Fallais"
''Bulletin de l'Institut Achéologique Liégeois'', vol. XIX, Léon de Thier, Liége, pp. 185–506 and lived in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

until her death in 1465. She had two children who died young.

Family

Mary had five sisters and twin brothers, one of whom died in infancy. Her surviving brother became

James II of Scotland James II (16 October 1430 – 3 August 1460) was King of Scots from 1437 until his death in 1460. The eldest surviving son of James I of Scotland, he succeeded to the Scottish throne at the age of six, following the assassination of his fathe ...

. Her sisters married into various European royal dynasties. Her sister

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

became the dauphine of France, but died childless at age 20, apparently of fever. Her sister

Isabella Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpo ...

became the duchess of

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

and had two daughters. Another sister,

Eleanor Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It was the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages">Provençal dialect ...

, married a

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

archduke and lived in Austria, but died without any offspring. Her sister Joan, a

deaf-mute Deaf-mute is a term which was used historically to identify a person who was either deaf and used sign language or both hearing impairment, deaf and muteness, could not speak. The term continues to be used to refer to deaf people who cannot speak ...

, stayed in Scotland and married a Scottish earl, leaving four children, and her youngest sister,

Annabella Annabella, Anabella, or Anabela is a feminine given name. Notable people with the name include: *Annabella of Scotland (c. 1433–1509), daughter of King James I *Annabella (actress) (1907–1996), stage name of French actress Suzanne Georgette C ...

, was married twice and divorced twice and had children with her second husband, a Scottish earl.

Marriage

In 1444, Princess Mary married Wolfert VI van Borselen in

Veere Veere (; ) is a municipality with a population of 22,000 and a town with a population of 1,500 in the southwestern Netherlands, in the region of Walcheren in the province of Zeeland. History The name ''Veere'' means "ferry": Wolfert Van Bors ...

. He was the son of Hendrick van Borselen, Count of Grandpré and Jean van Halewyn. The marriage stimulated commercial relations between Scotland and the Low Countries. The Scottish king granted Mary's husband the title of

Earl of Buchan The Mormaer () or Earl of Buchan () was originally the provincial ruler of the medieval province of Buchan. Buchan was the first Mormaerdom in the High Medieval Kingdom of the Scots to pass into the hands of a non-Scottish family in the male l ...

, and so Mary became the Countess of Buchan.McGladdery, Christine, James II (Edinburgh, 2015 revised edn), p. 73 In 1464, her husband was a

Marshal of France Marshal of France (, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to General officer, generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1793–1804) ...

, and he was later created Wolfart VI, Lord of Veere and Count of Grandpre. They had two children, who both died young: * Charles. died in 1451. * Jean.

Death

Mary died on 20 March 1465, 30 to 40 years old, without surviving issue. She was buried in Sandenburg, ter

, Zeeland. After her death, her husband married Charlotte de Bourbon, daughter of

Louis I, Count of Montpensier Louis de Bourbon (1405 – May 1486) was the third son of John I, Duke of Bourbon and Marie, Duchess of Auvergne. He was Count of Montpensier, Clermont-Ferrand, Clermont-en-Auvergne and Sancerre and Rulers of Auvergne, Dauphin of Auvergne an ...

. Their daughter Anna married a grandson of

Philip the Good Philip III the Good (; ; 31 July 1396 – 15 June 1467) ruled as Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death in 1467. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty, to which all 15th-century kings of France belonged. During his reign, ...

. Wolfart died 1487. The title of Buchan was eventually conferred, in 1469, on her half-brother

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military aviator. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morali ...

(her mother's son by her second marriage), who was called the 1st Earl of Buchan.

Ancestry

References

15th-century births 1465 deaths

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

Scottish countesses Mary Stewart, Countess of Buchan Medieval Dutch nobility 15th-century Scottish people 15th-century Scottish women Medieval Dutch women 15th-century women from the Holy Roman Empire Daughters of kings {{Scotland-earl-stub