David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay
David Stewart was the eldest son of Robert III of Scotland and his wife, Annabella Drummond. The heir apparent to the Scottish throne from 1390 until his death, David held the titles of Prince of Scotland, Duke of Rothesay, and Earl of Carrick. David was named by a general council to rule Scotland as regent, on behalf of his infirm and politically ineffective father, in 1399. He was responsible for the defense of Scotland during the English invasion in 1400. After coming into conflict with his uncle, Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, David was arrested and removed from power in late 1401. He died in mysterious circumstances at Falkland Palace shortly afterwards. David's younger brother, James, eventually succeeded their father as King of Scots.
Life
David was born on 24 October 1378. He was the third child and eldest son of John Stewart, Earl of Carrick, himself the eldest son and heir apparent of King Robert II, and Annabella Drummond. David was probably named after his great-granduncle, King David II, who had supported his parents' marriage. David's birth in 1378 resolved tensions over the Scottish royal succession that had existed since 1373, when the Parliament of Scotland restricted the succession rights of his elder sisters, Margaret and Elizabeth, in favor of David's uncle, Robert, Earl of Fife, and his cousin Murdoch. At the moment of his birth, David became second in line to the Scottish throne.David had received his own retinue by late 1386. David's retainers were drawn from among the political allies of his father, John, Earl of Carrick. David's father, who had been named as regent for his grandfather in 1384, was replaced in office by his uncle, Robert, Earl of Fife, in 1388. The Earl of Carrick's removal from power was justified by a declaration that he was physically incapable of governing, probably after he had been severely injured by a horse. The general council which met in Edinburgh in December 1388, with the purpose of removing the Earl of Carrick from the regency, observed that David was too young to exercise authority on his father's behalf. David's grandfather, Robert II, died in 1390, whereupon David's father became King of Scots under the regnal name of Robert III.
Rise to prominence
David was granted the title of Earl of Carrick after his father's accession. As heir apparent, David's household was controlled by his father, Robert III. The king appointed Thomas Mather, his former chaplain, as David's schoolmaster. David attained financial independence from his father in 1392, when he was granted a large annual pension of £640 from royal customs revenue.The influence of the Douglas family, particularly the relatives of James, 2nd Earl of Douglas, in David's household sparked political tension. After James' death at the Battle of Otterburn in 1388, his lands had successfully been claimed by his cousin, Archibald the Grim, a close ally of Robert, Earl of Fife, in opposition to David's maternal uncle, Malcolm Drummond. By 1393, the presence of Drummond and his allies, particularly James Lindsay of Crawford, in David's entourage was viewed as a political threat by Archibald and Robert. David's uncle, the Earl of Fife, who had been reappointed as regent for Robert III in 1390, returned power to the king in February 1393, probably as a result of David's emergence into adulthood.
After 1393, David exercised an increasingly important role in Scotland, effectively performing many of his father's duties as king. David formally complained to Clement VII, the Avignon antipope, against the Abbot of Newbattle in 1394. In his petition to Avignon, David complained that the abbot, John, had been "exceedingly ungrateful" in his presence. Possibly in 1394, David assumed the title of Lord of Nithsdale. This was probably viewed by Archibald, 3rd Earl of Douglas, as a challenge to his own power in Galloway. David may have supported the Kennedy and Agnew families in their opposition to Archibald's authority within Galloway. In 1396, David led a royal campaign to restore law and order in the Scottish Highlands, amidst a violent feud between the Clan Chattan and another clan, possibly Clan Cameron. The Battle of the North Inch, a staged battle between the two clans held at Perth in September 1396, was likely the outcome of David's campaign in the north.
David enjoyed considerable authority within Scotland by the end of 1397. During the summer of that year, he openly challenged Archibald, Earl of Douglas, by supporting the marriage of his younger sister, Mary, to George Douglas, Lord of Angus, a member of the rival Red Douglas line of the Douglas family. David's political power was reflected in a complaint made by officials of the Scottish exchequer in Edinburgh in May 1397, around the time of his sister's betrothal to George, Lord of Angus. The officials accused David of taking royal funds without written permission, remarking that they did not dare to contrevene his actions. David was named as a member of his father's council in 1397, and around that time he took a leading role in Anglo-Scottish diplomacy. In March 1398, David defended Scottish claims to Jedforest in negotiations with John of Gaunt, the uncle of Richard II of England. On 28 April 1398, Robert III elevated David to the new title of Duke of Rothesay during a general council at Scone Abbey. David's influence was further reflected by the creation of his ally, David Lindsay of Crawford, as Earl of Crawford during the same council.
Marital disputes
David was betrothed to marry Elizabeth Dunbar, a daughter of George Dunbar, 10th Earl of March, by August 1395, when antipope Benedict XIII granted a dispensation to the couple. David's marriage to Elizabeth never took place. Robert III did not approve of his son's marriage. The king attacked Dunbar Castle, the seat of George, Earl of March, probably during the autumn of 1396, in order to prevent David's marriage to the earl's daughter. Robert III's opposition to the marriage forced David's prospective father-in-law, the Earl of March, to seek refuge in England during 1397. In March 1397, Benedict XIII issued a second dispensation to David and Elizabeth, suggesting that David had personally lobbied the antipope for permission to marry Elizabeth. Despite this dispensation, there is no indication that David and Elizabeth had contact with each other after 1397. Elizabeth's father, the Earl of March, still expected the marriage to take place as late as 1400.David married Mary Douglas, a daughter of Archibald, 3rd Earl of Douglas, at Bothwell Castle in February 1400. Although he had previously supported his brother-in-law, George Douglas, in his violent raids on the estates of Archibald's allies in 1397, David now married Archibald's daughter as a sign of his reconciliation with the Earl of Douglas, a close associate of his uncle, Robert, Duke of Albany. David's repudiation of his betrothal to Elizabeth Dunbar led the latter's father, George, Earl of March, to complain to Henry IV of England that he had been "gretly wrangit" by the prince. This complaint was a major factor in the English invasion of Scotland later that same year.
Regency
By April 1398, Robert III's rule of Scotland was facing severe criticism in many parts of the kingdom. The king, who suffered from periodic bouts of illness, was accused of failing to maintain order in northern Scotland. At the time of his creation as Duke of Rothesay that same month, David was tasked by the general council with leading an army into the Highlands to confront Donald, Lord of the Isles, who had recently raided in Moray. David's uncle, Robert, who had been created Duke of Albany on the same day as David's own elevation to ducal status, was appointed as joint leader of the expedition against Donald. The royal campaign in the north was derailed when Walter Danielston, a brother of the former castellan of Dumbarton Castle, seized control of the castle against Robert III's wishes. Although he laid siege to Dumbarton with a large army in late 1398, Robert III was unable to remove Danielston from the castle. David joined his father at the siege of Dumbarton, where he was given the earldom of Atholl in September 1398, possibly as a reward for his efforts to pacify northern Scotland. Robert III's failure to recapture Dumbarton was the final blow to his prestige and political authority. David attended a gathering of noblemen at Falkland Palace, the residence of his uncle Robert, Duke of Albany, in November 1398, where the two men likely decided to remove the king from power.At a general council held at Perth in January 1399, Robert III was forced to surrender power to David as regent of the kingdom. The king's subjects were ordered to obey and support David "as they should do with the king's person". He was officially styled as "lieutenant" for his father. David's assumption of power was supported by Archibald, 3rd Earl of Douglas, in the prelude to David's marriage to the earl's daughter the following year. David was also supported by his mother Annabella, who had arranged for him to be knighted at a tournament in Edinburgh. At the beginning of his regency, David cooperated with his uncle, the Duke of Albany, in the governance of Scotland. The parliamentary statutes that had allowed David to assume power also required him to take advice from a council of twenty-one noblemen and prelates, including Robert, Duke of Albany, and Walter Stewart of Brechin, another of David's uncles. David's maternal uncle, Malcolm Drummond, reconciled with the Duke of Albany in 1399, likely as part of a general rapprochement between the affinities of David and Robert.
David convened a parliament at Scone in February 1401, where he was responsible for new statutes of criminal and property law. One of the decrees of this parliament was that widows and orphans should have greater access to David and other royal officials, a measure intended to allow poor petitioners to complain to the king's council more easily. David also issued statutes on hunting and the burning of moorland.
File:Illumination of Henry IV.jpg|thumb|right|220px|Henry IV of England, who challenged David by invading Scotland in 1400.