James Stewart, Earl of Arran

Captain James Stewart, Earl of Arran (died 1595) was created Earl of Arran by the young King James VI, who wrested the title from James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran. He rose to become Lord Chancellor of Scotland and was eventually murdered in 1595.

He was the second son of Andrew Stewart, 2nd Lord Ochiltree, by his wife Agnes, the daughter of John Cunningham, 5th of Capringtoun, Ayrshire. Stewart's sister, Margaret, was married to the reformer John Knox.

In April 1573, James was sent as a 'pledge' or hostage to England for the security of the English army and artillery sent to the 'Lang Siege' of Edinburgh Castle. (The Castle was held by supporters of Mary Queen of Scots). Regent Morton gave him £55 for his expenses in England. He was Captain of the Royal Guard of James VI.

James was a follower of Esmé Stewart, and in January 1580 he accused the former Regent Morton, still the effective power in Scotland, of participation in the murder of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. Stewart was rewarded as Tutor of Arran, with powers over the earldom of the mentally-ill James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran, then made Earl of Arran on 22 April 1581.

In July he married Elizabeth Stewart, the divorced former wife of the King's great-uncle, Robert Stewart, once Earl of Lennox and now Earl of March. Elizabeth, the Countess of Arran, born 1549, was the daughter of John Stewart, 4th Earl of Atholl.

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