Agnes Keith, wife of 6th Earl of Argyll

April 18, 2013 by Clan Keith

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Keith lives of note: Lady Agnes Keith (b~1540 to 16 July 1588). Lady Agnes Keith was born at Dunnottar Castle, the daughter of William Keith, 4th Earl Marischal and Margaret Keith of Inverugie. Ag...

Keith lives of note: Lady Agnes Keith (b~1540 to 16 July 1588). Lady Agnes Keith was born at Dunnottar Castle, the daughter of William Keith, 4th Earl Marischal and Margaret Keith of Inverugie. Agnes was well educated, and on 8 February 1562 she married James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, half brother to, Mary, Queen of Scots. Queen Mary attended the wedding, which took place in St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh and was conducted by John Knox. It was followed by a grand reception provided by the Queen at Holyrood Palace. After three days of wedding festivities John Knox condemned her as a harlot (as he was wont to do). Agnes was pregnant when James Stewart rebelled against Mary in 1565 and unable to join him in his subsequent exile in England. Instead she remained at the family home at St Andrews Priory and managed the estates. After the downfall of Mary in 1567, James Stewart was appointed Regent of Scotland for the infant James VI., Lady Agnes became one of the most powerful women in the country. James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, was assassinated in Linlithgow on 23 January 1570, becoming the first recorded person in history to be assassinated by a firearm. Agnes spent the following two years managing the estates and fighting a series of legal battles seeking to obtain compensation for Moray's time as Regent. Meanwhile she was bringing up her two surviving daughters. In January 1572, Agnes married Colin Campbell, who inherited the title of 6th Earl of Argyll the following year and served as Chancellor of Scotland. They had two sons and a daughter, and Agnes was seen as being the power behind the throne, both during both her husband's time as 6th Earl of Argyll and after their son Archibald became 7th Earl of Argyll in 1584. Agnes' second husband the 6th Earl of Argyll recorded that he was 'much advised by his wife' and she was considered an 'Intelligent and frightening politician'. In another document it was recorded that Sir Colin was "overmuch ledd by his wyf". Agnes was excommunicated by the Church on 25 April 1573 for non-adherence to her husband. Agnes had obtained most of Queen Mary's jewels which were left behind in the Earl of Moray's custody when the queen was removed to Lochleven Castle in 1567. Mary, Queen of Scots, had written to Agnes from Tutbury Castle soon after Moray's assassination on 28 March 1570 regarding these jewels. Mary wanted them sent to her in England including a piece made up of diamonds and rubies called the "H". This was the "Great Harry", a diamond given to Mary on the occasion of her first marriage by her father-in-law, King Henry II of France. The Earl of Huntly asked for the jewels on Mary's behalf on 1 November 1570, and Mary herself wrote again for them on 27 January 1571. However, the Regent Lennox had also asked for them on 13 September 1570. Facing a dilemma between handing the jewels over to Mary or the Scottish government, (knowing also that Moray had sold some of the crown jewels to Elizabeth I of England to fund the civil war), Agnes chose to hang onto the jewels. It was Agnes' desire to hold onto these valuable jewels which provoked a feud between her second husband and the Regent Morton, who demanded their return on behalf of King James VI of Scotland, threatening the couple with arrest if they failed to deliver the jewels which he insisted belonged to the Scottish Crown. Agnes argued that she retained the jewels as a pledge for the debts owed to her for the expenses that the Earl of Moray had laid out as Regent of Scotland. When Agnes and her husband failed to hand them over, they were both "put to the horn" (declared rebels) on 3 February 1574. Agnes appealed to the Scottish Parliament, and wrote several articulate, formal letters to Queen Elizabeth requesting her intervention which would permit Agnes to retain the jewels.The lengthy inquiry and litigation with Regent Morton over the custody of the precious stones, ended on 5 March 1575, when the earl, in his own name and that of Agnes, surrendered them to Morton. After her death in 1588, Agnes was buried in the tomb of James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, in St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh.

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