Murdoch Stewart, Duke of Albany

Murdoch Stewart
Duke of Albany, Earl of Fife & Menteith
Detail from the seal of Murdoch Stewart
Governor of Scotland
Tenure	1420–1424
Predecessor	Robert Stewart
Successor	James I (as King)
Born	1362
Died	24 May 1425(1425-05-24)
Spouse	Isabella, Countess of Lennox
Issue	Robert Stewart (d. 1421) Walter Stewart (executed 1425) Alexander Stewart (executed 1425) James the Fat (Seamas Mòr) Stewart, fled to Ireland and died in 1429. Isabel, who married Sir Walter Buchanan, 13th Laird Buchanan
House	Stewart (Albany branch)
Father	Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany
Mother	Margaret, Countess of Menteith

Murdoch Stewart, Duke of Albany (Scottish Gaelic: Muireadhach Stiubhart) (1362 – 24 May 1425) was a leading Scottish nobleman, the son of Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany and the grandson of King Robert II of Scotland, who founded the Stewart dynasty. In 1389, he became Justiciar North of the Forth. In 1402, he was captured at the Battle of Homildon Hill and would spend 12 years in captivity in England. After his father died in 1420, and while the future King James I of Scotland was himself held captive in England, Stewart served as Governor of Scotland until 1424, when James was finally ransomed and returned to Scotland. However, in 1425, soon after James's coronation, Stewart was arrested, found guilty of treason, and executed, along with two of his sons. His only surviving heir was James the Fat, who escaped to Antrim, Ireland, where he died in 1429. Stewart's wife Isabella of Lennox survived the destruction of her family, and she would live to see the murder of James I and the restoration of her title and estates.

Stewart was born in 1362, the only son of Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany (1340–1420) and his wife Margaret Graham, Countess of Menteith. Duke Robert was a leading Scottish nobleman who was Regent of Scotland at various stages during the reigns of three kings, (Robert II, Robert III, and James I). In addition, Duke Robert held the titles of Earl of Menteith (28 February 1361), Earl of Fife (1361; resigned in 1372), Earl of Buchan (1394; resigned in 1406) and Earl of Atholl. In addition to exercising considerable power and wealth, the Albany Stewarts were potential heirs to the throne; Murdoch's grandfather was King Robert II of Scotland, who had founded the Stewart dynasty.