Margaret Stuart (1598–1600)

For other princesses so named, see Margaret of Scotland.

Margaret Stuart
Margaret accompanies her siblings in an 1814 mezzo-tint by Willem van de Passe.
Born	(1598-12-24)24 December 1598 Dalkeith Palace, Edinburgh
Died	March 1600 (aged 1) Linlithgow Palace, Linlithgow
Burial	Holyrood Abbey, Edinburgh
House	House of Stuart
Father	James VI and I
Mother	Anne of Denmark
Religion	Anglicanism

Margaret of Scotland (Margaret Stuart; 24 December 1598 – March 1600) was the second daughter of King James VI of Scotland by Anne of Denmark, daughter of Frederick II of Denmark. Sometime in March 1600, Margaret died of an unknown illness and she was buried in the now ruined Abbey of Holyrood. Three years later, her father ascended the throne of England.

Life

Born on Christmas Eve 1598, Princess Margaret was the second daughter of James VI of Scotland, future James I of England, by Anne, daughter of Frederick II of Denmark by Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow. Her baptismal ceremony was postponed until April 1599, as the winter, part of the "Little Ice Age", had been exceptionally cold and there were worries that the princess should catch a cold and expire. King James wrote a letter to a friend, in expectation for his daughter's baptism: "We greet you well: having appointed the baptism of our dearest daughter to be here at Holyrood House, upon Sunday, the 18th of April next, in such honorable manner as that action craved: we have therefore though good right effectually to request and desire you to send us such offerings and presents against that day, as is best then in season and convenient for that action, as you regard our honor and will merit our special thanks. So, not doubting to find your greater willingness to pleasure us herein, since you are to be invited to take part of you own good cheer, we commit you to God." James paid 400 pounds Scots for furniture made for Margaret and her sister Elizabeth on occasion of the child baptism. After the baptism, Margaret and her sister were put into the care of Alexander Livingston, 1st Earl of Linlithgow and of his wife, Lady Livingston; her wet nurse was named Helena Crichton.

Death and burial

In March 1600, Margaret was taken ill, but her disease is not known. Alexander Barclay, apothecary, and Doctor Martene Schenes, official doctor of the king, were called to "supply certain drugs, medicaments, and other geer, for the use of the Lady Margaret, during the time of her sickness" and assist the infant, but to no avail. Margaret died sometime during the very same month she became ill, but the exact date was never recorded. Later in March, she was embalmed, her body was decorated with flannel, crimson silk and Florence ribbon, to prepare her for the funeral. She was transported from Linlithgow to Edinburgh and was privately interred in Holyrood Abbey, now in ruins.

Ancestors

Family of Margaret Stuart (1598–1600)

16. John Stewart, 3rd Earl of Lennox 8. Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox 17. Elizabeth Stewart 4. Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley 18. Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus 9. Margaret Douglas 19. Margaret Tudor (= 21) 2. James VI and I 20. James IV of Scotland 10. James V of Scotland 21. Margaret Tudor (= 19) 5. Mary, Queen of Scots 22. Claude, Duke of Guise 11. Mary of Guise 23. Antoinette de Bourbon 1. Princess Margaret of Scotland 24. Frederick I of Denmark (= 30) 12. Christian III of Denmark 25. Anna of Brandenburg 6. Frederick II of Denmark 26. Magnus I, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg 13. Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg 27. Catherine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel 3. Anne of Denmark 28. Albrecht VII, Duke of Mecklenburg 14. Ulrich, Duke of Mecklenburg 29. Anna of Brandenburg 7. Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow 30. Frederick I of Denmark (= 24) 15. Elisabeth of Denmark 31. Sophie of Pomerania

References

Bibliography

• Everett Green, Mary Anne (1857). Lives of the princesses of England. London: Longman, Brown, Green, Longman, & Roberts. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)