View source for James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault

{{Short description|Regent of Scotland from 1543 to 1554}}
{{Other people|James Hamilton}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Infobox noble
| name        = James Hamilton
| title       = {{Unbulleted list|1st [[Duke of Châtellerault]]|2nd [[Earl of Arran (Scotland)|Earl of Arran]]}}
| image       = James Hamilton (Earl of Arran).jpg
| caption     = The Duke of Châtellerault wearing the collar of the [[Order of St Michael]]
| tenure      = 1529–1575
| predecessor = [[James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran|James, 1st Earl of Arran]]
| successor   = [[James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran|James, 3rd Earl of Arran]]
| spouse      = [[Margaret Douglas, Countess of Arran|Margaret Douglas]]
| issue       = [[James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran|James]], [[John Hamilton, 1st Marquess of Hamilton|John]], [[Claud Hamilton, 1st Lord Paisley|Claud]], [[Anne Hamilton, Countess of Huntly|Anne]] & others
| issue-link  = #chldrn
| father      = [[James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran|James, 1st Earl of Arran]]
| mother      = Janet Bethune
| birth_date  = {{circa|1519}}
| death_date  = 22 January 1575
| death_place = [[Hamilton Palace|Hamilton Castle]], [[Lanarkshire]], Scotland
}}

'''James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Châtellerault, 2nd Earl of Arran''' ({{c.|1519}} – 22 January 1575), was a [[Kingdom of Scotland|Scottish]] nobleman and [[List of regents|Regent of Scotland]] during the minority of [[Mary, Queen of Scots]] from 1543 to 1554. At first pro-[[Kingdom of England|English]] and [[Protestant]], he converted to [[Catholicism]] in 1543 and supported a pro-[[early modern France|French]] policy. He reluctantly agreed to [[Wedding of Mary, Queen of Scots, and Francis, Dauphin of France|Mary's marriage]] to [[Francis II of France|Francis]], eldest son of King [[Henry II of France]], and was rewarded by Henry by being made [[Duke of Châtellerault]] in 1549. During the [[Scottish Reformation]], he joined the Protestant [[Lords of the Congregation]] to oppose the regency of [[Mary of Guise]].

== Family ==
James Hamilton was born about 1519 in [[Hamilton, South Lanarkshire|Hamilton]] in [[Lanarkshire]].{{Sfn|Merriman|2004|p=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_0198613741/page/827/ 827]}} He was the eldest legitimate son of [[James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran]] by his second wife, Janet Beaton (or Bethune).<ref>''HMC 11th Report Part VI: Hamilton'' (London, 1887), pp, 51-52.</ref>  His paternal grandmother, [[Mary Stewart, Countess of Arran|Mary]], was the eldest daughter of King [[James II of Scotland|James II]]. His father's family descended from [[Walter fitz Gilbert of Cadzow|Walter FitzGilbert]], the founder of the [[Clan Hamilton|House of Hamilton]],{{Sfn|Chisholm|1911b|p=[[:s:1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Hamilton (family)|878, lines eight and nine]]|ps=: "... the first authentic ancestor is one Walter FitzGilbert. He first appears in 1294–1295 ..."}} who had received the barony of [[Cadzow]] from [[Robert the Bruce]].{{Sfn|Paul|1907|p=[https://archive.org/details/scotspeeragefoun04paul/page/341/ 341, line 12]|ps=: "At a later but uncertain date he received the barony of Cadzow from King Robert ..."}} His mother was the daughter of [[David Beaton of Creich|Sir David Beaton of Creich]]. She was the widow of Robert Livingstone of Easter Wemyss, and the second wife of the 1st Earl of Arran. They had married in 1516.{{Sfn|Paul|1907|p=[https://archive.org/details/scotspeeragefoun04paul/page/360/ 360]}}{{Sfn|Dunlop|1890|p=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofnati25stepuoft/page/168/ 168]}}

In 1529 he succeeded his father as [[Earl of Arran (Scotland)|Earl of Arran]] while still a minor.{{Sfn|Dunlop|1890|p=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofnati25stepuoft/page/168/ 168]}} He was made a ward of [[James Hamilton of Finnart]], his illegitimate elder half-brother.{{Sfn|Paul|1907|p=[https://archive.org/details/scotspeeragefoun04paul/page/366/ 366]}}

=== Marriage ===
[[File:KinneilArmorialStone.png|thumb|upright|Arms of the earl of Arran (left) and his wife Margaret Douglas (right), [[Kinneil House]]]]

In 1532 Lord Arran married [[Margaret Douglas, Countess of Arran|Margaret Douglas]], who was about ten years older than him. She was a daughter of [[James Douglas, 3rd Earl of Morton]], and Catherine Stewart, herself a natural daughter of [[James IV]].{{Sfn|Paul|1907|p=[https://archive.org/details/scotspeeragefoun04paul/page/368/ 368]}} The marriage was arranged by James Hamilton of Finnart. Margaret Douglas was given the house and lands of [[Kinneil House]] for her lifetime should her husband die before her. James Hamilton of Finnart paid Morton 4,000 [[Mark (currency)|marks]] as part of the marriage settlement.{{Sfn|Laing|1850|p=[https://archive.org/details/descriptivecata01laingoog/page/n119/ 72, line 5]|ps=: "Appended to a Receipt granted by him [Hamilton, Sir James] to James Earl of Morton for 3400 merks ... for the marriage of Margaret Douglas, daughter of the Earl of Morton, with his brother James, Earl of Arran. A.D. 1532."}}

James and Margaret had five sons:
# [[James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran|James]] (1537–1609), succeeded him as the 3rd Earl of Arran but became insane in 1562;{{Sfn|Paul|1907|p=[https://archive.org/details/scotspeeragefoun04paul/page/368/ 368, line 34]|ps=: "... who was born in 1537 or in 1538 ..."}}
# Gavin, died young;{{Sfn|Paul|1907|p=[https://archive.org/details/scotspeeragefoun04paul/page/369/ 369, line 11]|ps=: "Gavin, styled second son ... appears to have died before August 1547 in his youth."}}
# [[John Hamilton, 1st Marquess of Hamilton|John]] (1540–1604), became the 1st [[Duke of Hamilton|Marquess of Hamilton]];{{Sfn|Debrett|1828|p=[https://archive.org/details/debrettspeerage01debrgoog/page/n21/ 443, line 10]|ps=: "John, 2d son of the Duke of Chatelherault, succeeded on his father's death to the family estates ..."}}
# David (died 1611);<ref>Chatellherault's will, NAS ECC8/8/4</ref>{{Sfn|Burke|Burke|1915|p=[https://archive.org/details/b3136410x/page/54/ 54, left column, line 55]|ps=: "3. David, d. [died] unm. [unmarried] 1611."}}
# [[Claud Hamilton, 1st Lord Paisley|Claud]] (1546–1621), from whom descend the [[Duke of Abercorn|earls, marquesses and dukes of Abercorn]].{{Sfn|Debrett|1828|p=[https://archive.org/details/debrettspeerage01debrgoog/page/n21/ 443, line 9]|ps=: "Claud, ancestor of the marquess of Abercorn ..."}}

— and three daughters:
# [[Barbara Hamilton (courtier)|Barbara]], in February 1549 married or betrothed to [[George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly|Alexander, Lord Gordon]],<ref>John G. Harrison, "The Bread Book and the Court and Household of Marie de Guise in 1549", ''Scottish Archives'', 15 (2009), p. 40.</ref><ref>Amy Blakeway, ''Regency in Sixteenth-Century Scotland'' (Boydell, 2015), pp. 127–128.</ref> and married in 1553 [[James Fleming, 4th Lord Fleming]];{{Sfn|Dunlop|1890|p=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofnati25stepuoft/page/170/ 170]}}{{Sfn|Paul|1907|p=370}}
# Jean, married [[Hugh Montgomerie, 3rd Earl of Eglinton]] in 1555;{{Sfn|Dunlop|1890|p=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofnati25stepuoft/page/170/ 170, right column, line 37]|ps=: "Jane, who married Hugh Montgomery, third earl of Eglintoun."}}{{Sfn|Paul|1907|p=[https://archive.org/details/scotspeeragefoun04paul/page/370/ 370, line 15]|ps=: "Jean or Jane ... was married (contract dated 13 February 1553–1554) to the earl of Eglinton."}}
# [[Anne Hamilton, Countess of Huntly|Anne]] (c. 1535 – before April 1574), married [[George Gordon, 5th Earl of Huntly]] in 1558;<ref>Melanie Schuessler Bond, ''Dressing the Scottish Court 1543–1553: Clothing in the Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland'' (Boydell, 2019), pp. 453, 459.</ref>

In 1544 Arran tried to divorce his wife. She seemed to have been suffering of poor mental health. Significantly two of their sons, James and Claud, later became insane.<ref>Amy Blakeway, "The attempted divorce of James Hamilton, earl of Arran, Governor of Scotland", ''The Innes Review'', 61:1 (May 2010), pp. 1–23 {{doi|10.3366/inr.2010.0001}}</ref>

An inventory of a chest of Margaret Douglas's clothes includes a purple velvet night gown with gold [[passementerie]] lined with red taffeta, a gown of black cloth of gold with gold [[passementerie]] lined with black taffeta, and other gowns and kirtles.<ref>Melanie Schuessler Bond, ''Dressing the Scottish Court 1543–1553: Clothing in the Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland'' (Boydell, 2019), pp. 657–8.</ref>

== Regent of Scotland ==
In 1536, on the death of [[John Stewart, Duke of Albany]], grandson of King [[James II of Scotland|James II]], Lord Arran, came to be next in line to the throne after the King's descendants. Several of the children of the immediate royal family proved to be short-lived, so on the death of King [[James V]] on 14 December 1542, the [[Earl of Arran (Scotland)|Earl of Arran]] stood next in line to the Scottish throne after the king's six-day-old daughter [[Mary, Queen of Scots]], for whom Arran was appointed [[Lord Protector|Governor and Protector of Scotland]].{{Sfn|Chisholm|1911a|p=643}} In 1543, supporters of [[Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox]], challenged Arran's claim and legitimacy by suggesting that his father's divorce and second marriage were invalid.{{Sfn|Dickinson|1942|p=[https://archive.org/details/twomissionsofjac00dick/page/n24/ 7, line 25]}}{{Sfn|Bain|1898|p=[https://archive.org/details/calendarstatepa00baingoog/page/n739/ 691]}}

=== Pro-English policy ===
[[File:Enrique VIII de Inglaterra, por Hans Holbein el Joven.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Portrait of Henry VIII at Age 49|Henry VIII]] by [[Hans Holbein the Younger]], 1540]]

Initially, Arran was a [[Protestant]] and a member of the pro-English party. In 1543 he helped to negotiate the marriage of the young Queen Mary to [[Edward VI|Edward]], son of King [[Henry VIII]] of England, who had [[English Reformation|broken with Rome]]. In the same year, he authorised the [[Bible translations in the Middle Ages|translation and reading of the Bible in the vernacular]].{{Sfn|Chisholm|1911a|p=[[:s:1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Arran, Earls of|643]]}} On 27 January 1543 he arrested [[Cardinal Beaton]], who favoured the [[Auld Alliance]]. Beaton was imprisoned at [[Dalkeith Palace]] and then [[Blackness Castle]]. Acting on pro-English advice, in March 1543 Arran prevented Mary of Guise from moving Mary, Queen of Scots from [[Linlithgow Palace|Linlithgow]] to [[Stirling Castle]].<ref>Rosalind K. Marshall, ''Mary of Guise'' (Collins, 1977), p. 119.</ref>

However, Henry VIII doubted Arran's commitment to English policy and wanted him deposed. On 18 March 1543, Arran met the English ambassador, [[Ralph Sadler]], in the garden at [[Holyrood Palace]].<ref>Rosalind K. Marshall, ''Mary of Guise'' (Collins, 1977), p. 121.</ref> Later that day [[George Douglas of Pittendreich]], brother of [[Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus|Lord Angus]], told Sadler, that despite their successes:

<blockquote>if there be any motion now to take the Governor from his state, and to bring the government of this realm to the king of England, I assure you it is impossible to be done at this time. For, there is not so little a boy but that he will hurl stones against it, and the wives will handle their distaffs, and the commons universally will rather die in it, yea, and many noblemen and all the clergy be fully against it.{{Sfn|Clifford|1809|p=[https://archive.org/details/statepaperslette01sadluoft/page/70/ 70, line 19]|ps=(Sadler later attributed a similar speech to [[Adam Otterburn]].)}}</blockquote>

=== Pro-French policy ===
Regent Arran celebrated the Treaty of Greenwich at the [[Holyrood Abbey]] on 25 August 1543.<ref>[[Rosalind K. Marshall]], ''Mary of Guise'' (Collins, 1977), p. 132.</ref> However, in September Arran turned around. He secretly met Cardinal Beaton at [[Callendar House]] and reconciled himself with his former enemy. Shortly after he became [[Catholic]] and joined the pro-French faction.{{Sfn|Bain|1892|p=[https://archive.org/details/cu31924091786040/page/n53/ 15]}}<ref>Retha M. Warnicke, ''Mary Queen of Scots'' (Routledge, 2006), p. 28.</ref> Around this time [[Friar Mark Hamilton]] wrote a history of the Hamilton family.<ref>Thomas James Salmon, [https://archive.org/details/borrowstounnessd00salmrich/page/24/mode/2up ''Borrowstounness and District'' (Edinburgh: William Hodge, 1913), p. 24]</ref><ref>J. Foggie, ''Renaissance Religion in Urban Scotland: The Dominican Order, 1450–1560'' (Brill, 2003), pp. 59, 71, 285.</ref> Arran made penance for his "godly fit" at the Franciscan Friary in Stirling. Mary, Queen of Scots, was [[Coronation of Mary, Queen of Scots|crowned at Stirling]] on 9 September.<ref>[[Rosalind K. Marshall]], ''Mary of Guise'' (Collins, 1977), p. 133.</ref>

Arran captured [[Dalkeith Palace|Dalkeith Castle]] in November 1543, but failed to capture the pro-English [[George Douglas of Pittendreich|George Douglas]]. In December, the [[Parliament of Scotland]] declared the [[Treaty of Greenwich]] void due to shipping incidents.<ref>[[Rosalind K. Marshall]], ''Mary of Guise'' (Collins, 1977), p. 141.</ref> The seven-year war with England now called the [[Rough Wooing]] was declared on 20 December 1543. Arran spent Christmas with [[Mary of Guise]] at [[Stirling Castle]] where they played cards.<ref>[[James Balfour Paul]], ''Accounts of the Treasurer'', vol. 8 (Edinburgh, 1908), p. 242.</ref> The declaration of war was brought by [[Berwick Pursuivant|Henry Ray]] to give to Parliament. Arran replied that the parliament was dissolved, and so he thought it expedient not to answer Henry VIII on the points raised at the time.{{Sfn|Bain|1892|p=238}}

In 1544 an attempt was made to transfer the regency from him to Mary of Guise. A convention of nobility at Stirling in June suggested she should be regent instead.<ref>Pamela E. Ritchie, ''Mary of Guise'' (Tuckwell, 2002), p. 18.</ref> Conflict seemed possible, but Arran when fortified Edinburgh her forces retired.<ref>[[Rosalind K. Marshall]], ''Mary of Guise'' (Collins, 1977), p. 142.</ref> Later, in March 1545, he agreed to abandon some of his responsibilities to her and she formed an advisory council. Arran and Cardinal Beaton decided to act against the Earl of Lennox and besieged [[Glasgow Castle]] in March 1544.<ref>[[Rosalind K. Marshall]], ''Mary of Guise'' (Collins, 1977), p. 144.</ref>

In June 1547 Arran gathered a large army to expel the English from [[Langholm]] and the surrounding area.<ref>David Caldwell, Vicky Oleksy, Bess Rhodes, ''The Battle of Pinkie, 1547'' (Oxbow, 2023), pp. 28–31.</ref> He had a banner made from taffeta decorated with gold foil and colours, and another banner for his trumpeter. Horses dragged the artillery and carts laden with cannonballs and tents out of Edinburgh Castle. The guns were dragged toward Langholm with oxen.<ref>[[James Balfour Paul]], ''Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotland'', vol. 9 (Edinburgh, 1911), pp. 84–97.</ref> Arran had an armoured "[[Jack of plate|jack]]" covered with purple taffeta, then changed his mind, choosing purple velvet.<ref>''Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotland'', vol. 9 (Edinburgh, 1911), pp. 97–98.</ref> A Scottish spy, David Maitland, who signed himself "Ye Wait Quha" wrote of the preparations to [[Thomas Wharton, 1st Baron Wharton|Thomas Wharton]], that it was "the starkest host and the monest, and with the best order that wes sen Flodwn", that is, "the strongest host and most numerous, in the best order since Flodden."<ref>Joseph Bain, ''Calendar State Papers Scotland: 1547–1563'', vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1898), p. 8: Amy Blakeway, 'Spies and Intelligence in Scotland', in Sara Butler & Krista Kesselring, ''Crossing Borders: Boundaries and Margins in Medieval and Early Modern Britain'' (Leiden, 2018), pp. 95–96: See Arran's household book, National Records of Scotland, E31/9 ff. 57–59.</ref>

[[File:Francois II Scotland 1558.jpg|thumb|upright|A 1558 coin depicting Queen Mary and King Francis]]

In September 1547 Arran assembled a large Scottish army to resist an English invasion led by [[Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset]] but was defeated at the [[battle of Pinkie]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911a}} He was forced to abandon some of his clothes at the battlefield.<ref>James Balfour Paul, ''Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotland'', vol. 9 (Edinburgh, 1911), p. 140.</ref> He nevertheless held onto the regency and continued to lead forces against the occupying troops. For two weeks in February 1548, Arran led a campaign in [[Teviotdale]] with [[André de Montalembert|Monsieur d'Essé]] to recapture [[Ferniehirst Castle]] and punish borderers. He held discussions at [[Jedburgh]] with [[Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon]] over the site and financing of a new fort.<ref>[[Annie Cameron]], ''Scottish Correspondence of Mary of Lorraine'' (Edinburgh: SHS, 1927), pp. 289–290.</ref>

Arran reluctantly agreed in July 1548 to Mary's marriage to [[Francis II of France|Francis]], eldest son of [[Henry II of France]]. Henry II, by the [[Treaty of Haddington]] claimed to be Protector of Scotland,<ref>Amy Blakeway, ''Regency in Sixteenth-Century Scotland'' (Boydell, 2015), pp. 196–197, 205.</ref> and rewarded Arran by making him [[Duke of Châtellerault]] on 8 February 1549 and a knight of the [[Order of Saint Michael]].{{sfn|Paul|1907|p=[https://archive.org/details/scotspeeragefoun04paul/page/367/ 367]}}

On 19 April 1550, Regent Arran and his [[Privy Council of Scotland|Privy Council]] made legislation about foodstuffs and rising prices. The people of Scotland were to reduce their diets and banqueting. Prices were set for wild birds and rabbits, swans would be 5 shillings, plovers 5 pence. River birds including herons and ducks were to be caught by hawking. It was forbidden to shoot deer or birds for the table with "half hag or culverin or pistolate". These acts were ratified by Parliament.<ref>[[John Hill Burton]], ''Register of the Privy Council'', vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1877), pp. 94–95.</ref>

Arran came to the north of Scotland in 1552, visiting Aberdeen, [[Dunnotar Castle]], and [[Huntly Castle]] where his daughter Barbara Hamilton lived with the family of her husband Alexander, Lord Gordon. He held "justice ayres" or courts and was accompanied by musicians, much like a Scottish monarch on progress.<ref>Amy Blakeway, ''Regency in Sixteenth-Century Scotland'' (Boydell, 2015), pp. 174–175.</ref>

== Post-regency ==
[[File:YoungMaryStuart.jpg|thumb|upright|right|Mary, Queen of Scots, by [[François Clouet]], {{Circa}} 1555]]

In 1554, Châtellerault, as he was now, surrendered the regency to Mary of Guise, and was appointed her lieutenant in Scotland.{{Sfn|Blakeway|2015|p=23}} He gave up the regency on the condition that he would be Queen Mary's heir if she died childless. The Scottish succession, however, had been secretly promised to France.

Châtellerault was still recognised as a significant figure in Scotland. In September 1557, [[Philip II of Spain]], as the husband of [[Mary I of England]] sent [[List of ambassadors of Spain to the United Kingdom|Christophe d'Assonleville]] to broker peace between Scotland and England. Assonleville was instructed to speak to Mary of Guise, the Duke of Châtellerault, and representatives of Edinburgh. He was also instructed to speak with Châtellerault about amicable relations between the Scots and their Flemish trading partners. Assonleville's instructions still include his former title of "governor", though "lieutenant" was now correct.<ref>Gonzalo Velasco Berenguer, 'The Select Council of Philip I: A Spanish Institution in Tudor England, 1555–1558', ''The English Historical Review'', 139:597 (April 2024), pp. 326–359. {{doi|10.1093/ehr/cead216}}: William B. Turnbull, ''Calendar State Papers Foreign, 1553–1558'' (London, 1861), p. 335–336.</ref>

In the first months of the [[Scottish Reformation]], Châtellerault continued to support Mary of Guise. He faced a Protestant army with the French commander at [[Cupar Muir]] in June 1559. He changed his allegiance in August 1559, joining the Protestant [[Lords of the Congregation]] to oppose the regency of Mary of Guise, and as a result his French dukedom and its estates were taken back by the new French king, [[Francis II of France|Francis II]], the husband of Mary, Queen of Scots. In order to discredit Châtellerault with the English government, a letter was forged by his enemies, in which Châtellerault declared his allegiance to Francis II, but the plot was exposed. On 27 February 1560, he agreed to the [[Treaty of Berwick (1560)|Treaty of Berwick]] with Queen [[Elizabeth I]] of England, which placed Scotland under English protection and made provision for an English army to come to the [[siege of Leith]].{{Sfn|Chisholm|1911a|p=643}}

After the death of Mary of Guise on 15 June 1560, Châtellerault persuaded the [[Parliament of Scotland]] to back a plan to marry his son [[James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran|James Hamilton]] to Elizabeth I, and then after the death of Francis II on 5 December 1560, he attempted, without success, to arrange for James to marry the young widowed Queen Mary.<ref>''Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland'', vol. 2 (1814), 605-606; ''HMC Hamilton'' (London, 1887), 42, August 1560.</ref>{{Sfn|Chisholm|1911a}} However, Mary married [[Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley|Lord Darnley]] in 1565.

In 1566 Châtellerault withdrew to his former estates in France, where he made vain attempts to regain his confiscated duchy, which in 1563 had been granted to [[Diane de France]]. In 1569, he returned to Scotland in support of Mary, but was imprisoned by the [[James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray|Earl of Moray]], Regent of Mary's infant son, [[James VI]]. Parliament declared him a traitor. Moray was assassinated on 23 January 1570 while Châtellerault was still in prison. Nevertheless, Châtellerault was rumoured to have been an accomplice in the regent's murder by [[James Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh]].{{Sfn|Merriman|2004|p=833}} Châtellerault was released from prison on 20 April 1570. In 1573 he gave up his support for Mary and recognised her infant son as king.{{Sfn|Dunlop|1890|p=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofnati25stepuoft/page/170/ 170]}}

Châtellerault died at Hamilton on 22 January 1575.<ref>''Historie of King James the Sext'' (Edinburgh: Bannatyne Club, 1825), p. 151.</ref>{{Sfn|Paul|1907|p=368}} He was succeeded by his eldest son James as the 3rd Earl of Arran. However, as James was insane, John his younger brother stood in for him.

== Timeline ==
{|{{Table|hide}}
!colspan=3|Timeline
|-
|colspan=3|''As his birth date is uncertain, so are all his ages.''
|-
!align="left"|Age!!align="left"|Date!!align="left"|Event
|-
|0||1519, about||Born, probably in [[Hamilton, South Lanarkshire]], [[Lanarkshire]], Scotland.{{Sfn|Merriman|2004|p=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_0198613741/page/827/ 827, right column]|ps=: "Hamilton, James, second Earl of Arran ... (c. 1519–1575) ... was born at Hamilton, Lanarkshire, the eldest son of James Hamilton, first Earl of Arran (1475?) and his second wife, Jane Beaton (d. c. 1522)".}} 
|-
|{{Age|1519|1522}}||1522, about||Mother died
|-
|{{Age|1519|1529}}||1529||Father died; he succeeded as the '''2nd Earl of Arran'''{{Sfn|Dunlop|1890|p=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofnati25stepuoft/page/168/ 168, left column, line 1b]|ps=: "... succeeded to the earldom on the death of his father in 1529."}}
|-
|{{Age|1519|23 Sep 1532}}||1532, c. 23 September||Married Margaret Douglas, daughter of the Earl of Morton{{Sfn|Paul|1907|p=[https://archive.org/details/scotspeeragefoun04paul/page/368/ 368, line 30]|ps=: "He married, about 23 September 1532, Margaret, eldest daughter of James Douglas, third Earl of Morton."}}
|-
|{{Age|1519|14 Dec 1542}}||''1542, 14 Dec''||''Accession of [[Mary, Queen of Scots]], succeeding [[King James V]]''{{Sfn|Fryde|Greenway|Porter|Roy|1986|p=[https://archive.org/details/handbookofbritis0000unse/page/61/ 61, line 8]|ps=: "Mary ... acc. 14 Dec. 1542 ..."}}
|-
|{{Age|1519|1543}}||1543, early||Appointed regent for [[Mary Queen of Scots]]{{Sfn|Chisholm|1911a|p=[[:s:1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Arran, Earls of|643, third para, lines two and three]]|ps=: "... was, in consequence of his position as next successor to the throne after the infant Mary, proclaimed protector of the realm and heir-presumptive of the crown in 1543"}}
|-
|{{Age|1519|Sep 1543}}||1543, Sep||Turned around: Met [[Cardinal Beaton]] at [[Callendar House]] and became Catholic
|-
|{{Age|1519|20 Dec 1543}}||1543, 20 Dec||England declared war, starting the [[Rough wooing]]
|-
|{{Age|1519|1544}}||1544||Tried to divorce his wife but failed
|-
|{{Age|1519|10 Sep 1547}}||1547, 10 Sep||Defeated by the English at the [[Battle of Pinkie Cleugh]]
|-
|{{Age|1519|8 Feb 1549}}||1549, 8 Feb||Created '''Duke of Châtellerault''' by [[Henry II of France]]{{Sfn|Paul|1907|p=[https://archive.org/details/scotspeeragefoun04paul/page/367/ 367, line 25]|ps=: "On 8 February 1548–1549 the duchy of Chatelherault was granted to the earl and his heirs."}}
|-
|{{Age|1519|1554}}||1554||Lost the regency to [[Mary of Guise]]
|-
|{{Age|1519|1558}}||1558||Queen Mary married Francis, Dauphin of France
|-
|{{Age|1519|1559}}||1559, 10 Jul||Henry&nbsp;II of France died.
|-
|{{Age|1519|1560}}||1560, 27 Feb||[[Treaty of Berwick (1560)|Treaty of Berwick]] negotiated.
|-
|{{Age|1519|1560}}||1560 5 Dec [[Old Style and New Style dates|N.S.]]||Francis II of France died.
|-
|{{Age|1519|1562}}||1562||Son James, his eldest, declared insane
|-
|{{Age|1519|1565}}||1565||Queen Mary remarried to [[Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley|Darnley]]
|-
|{{Age|1519|24 Jul 1567}}||''1567, 24 Jul''||''Accession of [[King James VI of Scotland]], succeeding [[Mary, Queen of Scots|Queen Mary I]]''{{Sfn|Fryde|Greenway|Porter|Roy|1986|p=[https://archive.org/details/handbookofbritis0000unse/page/61/ 61, line 16]|ps=: "James VI ... acc. 24 Jul. 1567 ..."}}
|-
|{{Age|1519|1568}}||1568, 13 May||Queen Mary lost the [[Battle of Langside]] and fled to England.
|-
|{{Age|1519|1570}}||1570, 23 Jan||Regent [[James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray|Moray]] murdered; Châtellerault might have been involved
|-
|{{Age|1519|1575}}||1575, 22 Jan||Died at [[Hamilton, South Lanarkshire]]
|}

== Genealogical chart ==
{{chart top|Hamilton's relationship to the house of Stuart<ref>{{Harvnb|Warnicke|2006|p=xvi–xvii}}</ref>}}
{{tree chart/start}}
{{tree chart|border=0| | | | | | | | | | |Jim|y|Mary|Jim=[[James II of Scotland|James II]]|Mary=[[Mary of Guelders]]}}
{{tree chart| | | | | | | | | |,|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|.| }}
{{tree chart|border=0| | | | | | | | |Jim| |Alexander| |Mary|y|James|Mary=[[Mary Stewart, Countess of Arran|Mary Stewart]]|Jim=[[James III of Scotland|James III]]|Alexander=[[Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany]]|James=[[James Hamilton, 1st Lord Hamilton]]}}
{{tree chart| | | | | | | | | |!| | | |!| | | |,|-|^|-|.| }}
{{tree chart|border=0| | | | | | | | |James| |John| |Jim| |Betty| | | | | | |Betty=Elizabeth Hamilton|Jim=[[James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran]]|John=[[John Stewart, Duke of Albany]]|James=[[James IV]]}}
{{tree chart| | | | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | |!| | | |!| | | | | | | | | }}
{{tree chart|border=0| | | | | | | | | |!| | | | | | |Jim| |John| ||John=[[John Stewart, 3rd Earl of Lennox]]|Jim='''James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault'''}}
{{tree chart| | | | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | |!| |}}
{{tree chart|border=0| | | | |MaryG|v|Jim| | | | | | | | | |Matt| | | | | | | | |Jim=[[James V]]|Maggie=[[Margaret Douglas]]|Matt=[[Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox]]|MaryG=[[Mary of Guise]]}}
{{tree chart| | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | | |}}
{{tree chart|border=0| | | | | | |Mary|~|~|~|~|y|~|~|~|~|~|~|Henry| | | | | | | | | |Mary=[[Mary, Queen of Scots|Mary I]]|Henry=[[Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley]]|Jim=[[James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray]]}}
{{tree chart| | | | | | | | | | | | | |!|}}
{{tree chart|border=0| | | | | | | | | | | | |Jim| |Jim=[[James VI]]}}
{{tree chart/end}}
{{chart bottom}}

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Sources ==
* {{Cite book |editor-last=Bain |editor-first=Joseph |date=1898 |title=Calendar of the State Papers Relating to Scotland and Mary, Queen of Scots 1547–1603 |volume=I |publisher=Her Majesty's General Register House |location=Edinburgh |oclc=1137227125 |url=https://archive.org/details/calendarstatepa00baingoog/}} – 1547 to 1563
* {{Cite book |editor-last=Bain |editor-first=Joseph |date=1892 |title=The Hamilton Papers |volume=II |publisher=Her Majesty's General Register House |location=Edinburgh |oclc=877556059 |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924091786040/}} – 1543 to 1590 (for the letter, dated the 4 September 1543, from Ralph Sadler to Suffolk and Tunstall)
* {{Cite book |last=Blakeway |first=Amy Louise |date=2015 |title=Regency in Sixteenth-Century Scotland |publisher=The Boydell Press |location=Woodbridge, Suffolk |isbn=978-1-84383-980-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V5-fBwAAQBAJ}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Burke |first1=Bernard |author1-link=Bernard Burke |last2=Burke |first2=Ashworth Peter |date=1915 |title=A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage and Baronetage, the Privy Council, Knightage and Companionage |edition=77th |publisher=Harrison |location=London |oclc=1155471554 |url=https://archive.org/details/b3136410x/}}
* {{Cite EB1911 |wstitle=Arran, Earls of |volume=02 |editor-last=Chisholm |editor-first=Hugh |pages=642–644 |date=1911a}}
* {{Cite EB1911 |wstitle=Hamilton (family) |volume=12 |editor-last=Chisholm |editor-first=Hugh |pages=878–879 |date=1911b}} – for Walter FitzGilbert
* {{Cite book |last=Clifford |first=Arthur |authorlink=Arthur Clifford |date=1809 |title=The State Papers and Letters of Ralph Sadler, Knight-Banneret |volume=I |publisher=Archibald Constable |location=Edinburgh |oclc=1015501369 |url=https://archive.org/details/statepaperslette01sadluoft/}}
* {{Cite book |last=Debrett |first=John |author-link=John Debrett |date=1828 |title=Peerage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland |edition=17th |volume=II |publisher=F. C. and J. Rivington |location=London |oclc=54499602 |url=https://archive.org/details/debrettspeerage01debrgoog/}} – Scotland and Ireland
* {{Cite journal |last=Dickinson |first=Gladys |date=1942 |title=Two Missions of Jacques de la Brosse |journal=Publications of the Scottish History Society |series=3 |volume=36 |pages=7–8 |url=https://archive.org/details/twomissionsofjac00dick/ |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite encyclopedia |last=Dunlop |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Dunlop (historian) |editor-last=Lee |editor-first=Sidney |editor-link=Sidney Lee |date=1890 |title=Hamilton, James, second Earl of Arran and Duke of Châtelherault (d. 1575) |encyclopedia=[[Dictionary of National Biography]] |volume=XXIV |publisher=[[MacMillan and Co.]] |location=New York |pages=167–170 |oclc=8544105 |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofnati25stepuoft/page/167/}} <!-- The URL contains the number 25, but the volume is 24. -->
* {{Cite book |editor-last=Fryde |editor-first=Edmund Boleslaw |editor-link=Edmund Fryde |editor2-last=Greenway |editor2-first=D. E. |editor3-last=Porter |editor3-first=S. |editor4-last=Roy |editor4-first=I. |date=1986 |title=Handbook of British Chronology |publisher=Offices of the Royal Historical Society |edition=3rd |series=Royal Historical Society Guides and Handbooks, No. 2 |location=London |isbn=0-86193-106-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/handbookofbritis0000unse/ |url-access=registration}} – (for timeline)
* {{Cite book |editor-last=Laing |editor-first=Henry |date=1850 |title=Descriptive Catalogue of Impressions from Ancient Schottish Seals |publisher=T. Constable |location=Edinburgh |url=https://archive.org/details/descriptivecata01laingoog/page/n119/mode/2up}}
* {{Cite encyclopedia |last=Merriman |first=Marcus |author-link=Marcus Merriman |editor1-last=Matthew |editor1-first=Colin |editor1-link=Colin Matthew |editor2-last=Harrison |editor2-first=Brian |editor2-link=Brian Harrison (historian) |date=2004 |title=Hamilton, James, second earl of Arran (c. 1519–1575) |encyclopedia=[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]] |volume=24 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=New York |pages=827–833 |isbn=0-19-861374-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_0198613741/page/827/ |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite book |last=Paul |first=Sir James Balfour |author-link=James Balfour Paul |date=1907 |title=The Scots Peerage, Founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland |volume=IV |publisher=David Douglas |location=Edinburgh |oclc=505064285 |url=https://archive.org/details/scotspeeragefoun04paul/}} – Fife to Hyndford (for Duke of Hamilton)
* {{Cite book |last=Warnicke |first=Retha M. |authorlink=Retha Warnicke |title=Mary Queen of Scots |location=New York |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-415-29182-8}}

== Attribution ==
* {{EB1911|wstitle=Arran, Earls of |volume=2 |pages=642–644}}

== Further reading ==
* Franklin, David Byrd (1995). ''The Scottish Regency of the Earl of Arran: A Study in the Failure of Anglo-Scottish Relations''. Edwin Mellen Press.
* Melanie Schuessler Bond, ''Dressing the Scottish Court: 1543–1553'' (The Boydell Press: Woodbridge, Suffolk, 2019).
* [https://vanishedcomforts.org/2020/01/04/kinneil-house-the-power-of-women/ "Kinneil House and the Power of Women, Arran's wall paintings", Michael Pearce]

{{S-start}}
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{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chatellerault, James Hamilton, Duke of}}
[[Category:1510s births]]
[[Category:1575 deaths]]
[[Category:Nobility from South Lanarkshire]]
[[Category:16th-century Scottish peers]]
[[Category:16th-century Scottish landowners]]
[[Category:16th-century regents]]
[[Category:Court of James V]]
[[Category:Dukes of Châtellerault|501]]
[[Category:Earls of Arran|202]]
[[Category:Heirs presumptive to the Scottish throne|James Hamilton]]
[[Category:House of Hamilton|James]]
[[Category:Members of the pre-1707 Parliament of Scotland]]
[[Category:Privy Council of Mary, Queen of Scots]]
[[Category:Regents of Scotland]]
[[Category:Scottish people of the Rough Wooing]]
[[Category:Scottish Protestants]]
[[Category:Scottish Reformation]]
[[Category:Scottish Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:Year of birth uncertain]]
[[Category:Converts to Roman Catholicism from Protestantism]]
[[Category:16th-century French nobility]]