Margaret Graham, Countess of Menteith

Margaret Graham, Countess of Menteith (c. 1334 – c. 1380) was a Scottish noblewoman. She held the title Countess of Menteith in her own right, having inherited the title c. 1360 from her mother, Mary, Countess of Menteith, who was married to Sir John Graham. Graham was styled Earl of Menteith during his marriage with Mary, whom he predeceased. The Menteith region was situated partially in southwest Perthshire and partly in Stirlingshire.

Margaret Graham was married four times, two of her marriages occurring before the age of twenty. She married firstly Sir John Moray, Lord of Bothwell, (son of Sir Andrew Moray and Lady Christina Bruce). Because she and Moray were related within the forbidden degree of kinship, a papal dispensation was sought and received in 1348. Lady Margaret took her husband's surname and was known as Margaret of Moravia. Sir Andrew died, probably in late 1331. The couple had no children.

Margaret married secondly Thomas, 9th Earl of Mar, and once again a papal dispensation was needed due to kinship. However, charging that Margaret was unable to have children, Earl Thomas divorced her after four years, and she returned to live with her mother.

Around 1360, she married thirdly Sir John Drummond of Concraig, a marriage intended to relieve a long-standing feud between their respective clans. Once again Margaret took the surname of her husband. As before, the degree of kinship required a papal dispensation, but since their son John had been born before the couple sought the dispensation, they were required to do penance. Sir John died quite soon after the dispensation was granted, probably before the year was out.

Margaret’s fourth marriage was to Robert Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany , a son of King Robert II of Scotland and Elizabeth Mure of Rowallan. Sources disagree on both the number of Duke Robert’s children and their respective mothers, leaving a definitive statement regarding Margaret’s children by Robert unresolved. The Scots Peerage acknowledges her to be the mother of only Murdoch, 2nd Duke of Albany (1362-1425)Cracroft’s Peerage records her as the mother of six children, one son and five daughters: