James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth

James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth
James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth

James Crofts, later James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth and of Buccleuch (April 9, 1649 – July 15, 1685) was born in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the son of Charles II and his mistress, Lucy Walter, who had followed him into continental exile after the execution of King Charles I.

Biography

Lucy Walter had almost as bad a reputation as the prince himself, and it is not at all certain that Charles was the natural father of James. There were rumours that Charles and Lucy did marry, secretly, which would have made James the true and legitimate heir to the throne. Whatever the truth, Charles recognised James as his son, but did not make him his heir. After succeeding to the throne, Charles married the Portuguese princess, Catherine of Braganza; by this time Lucy Walter was dead.

In 1663, at the age of 14, shortly after having been brought to England, James was created Duke of Monmouth with the subsidiary titles of Earl of Doncaster and Baron Scott of Tynedale, all three in the Peerage of England, and married off to the wealthy Anne Scott, 4th Countess of Buccleuch. The day after his marriage, they were made Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch. Although he showed no aptitude for government, James was popular, particularly since he was a Protestant, whereas the official heir to the throne, James, Duke of York, was a Catholic.

In 1665, at the age of 16, Monmouth served in the English fleet under his uncle the Duke of York in the Second Anglo-Dutch War. Later in the war, he returned to England to assume his first military command as commander of a troop of cavalry. In 1669 he was made colonel of the King's Life Guards, one of the most senior appointments in the army. When the Captain General of the army, George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle, died in 1670, Monmouth became the senior officer in the army at the age of 21. At the outbreak of the Third Anglo-Dutch War in 1672, a brigade of 6,000 British troops was sent to serve as part of the French army (in return for money paid to King Charles), with Monmouth as its commander. In the campaign of 1673 and in particular at the siege of Maastricht, Monmouth gained a considerable reputation as one of England's finest soldiers.

In 1678 Monmouth was commander of the Anglo-Dutch brigade, now fighting for the United Provinces against the French. He distinguished himself at the battle of St Denis, further increasing his reputation. The following year, after his return to England, he commanded the small army raised to put down the rebellion of the Scottish Covenanters. Despite being heavily outnumbered, he decisively defeated the rebels at the Battle of Bothwell Bridge on June 22, 1679. By this time it was becoming apparent that Charles II would have no legitimate heir, and Monmouth was regarded by many as preferable to the Duke of York.

Following the discovery of the so-called Rye House Plot in 1683, Monmouth was obliged to go into exile in the Dutch United Provinces. On his father's death Monmouth led the "Monmouth Rebellion", an attempt to take the throne from his uncle. He declared himself King on June 20, 1685 at Taunton. On July 6, 1685 the two armies met at the Battle of Sedgemoor, the second last to be fought on English soil. Monmouth's makeshift force could not compete with the regular army, and was soundly defeated. Monmouth himself was captured and arrested. Despite begging for mercy, he was executed by Jack Ketch on July 15, 1685, on Tower Hill. It is said that it took eight blows of the axe to sever his head.

His dukedoms of Monmouth and Buccleuch were forfeited, but the subsidiary titles of the dukedom of Monmouth were restored to the Duke of Buccleuch.

Following his execution, according to tradition, it was realised only too late that there was no official portrait of the Duke - for someone who had claimed the throne, albeit in vain, this was unheard of. So his body was exhumed, the head stiched back on the body, and it was sat for its portrait to be painted.

One theory states that the Duke of Monmouth was in fact The Man in the Iron Mask. By this theory, James II would not execute his own nephew; someone else was executed instead; and James II arranged for Monmouth to be taken to France and put in the custody of Louis XIV of France.

Children

His marriage to Anne Scott resulted in the birth of seven children:

His affair with mistress Eleanor Needham, daughter of Sir Robert Needham of Lambeth resulted in the birth of three children:

Toward the end of his life he conducted an affair with Lady Henrietta Wentworth.

 

References

  • Violet Wyndham, Protestant Duke: Life of the Duke of Monmouth (ISBN 0297770993).


Preceded by:
The Earl of Oxford		 Justice in Eyre
south of the Trent
1673–1679		 Succeeded by:
The Earl of Chesterfield
Preceded by:
New Office		 Commander-in-Chief of the Forces
1674–1679		 Succeeded by:
Vacant
Preceded by:
Robert Brooke		 Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire
1677–1679		 Succeeded by:
The Earl of Sunderland
Preceded by:
The Lord Paget		 Custos Rotulorum of Staffordshire
1678–1680
Preceded by:
Vacant		 Captain-General
1678–1679		 Succeeded by:
Vacant


Preceded by:
New Creation		 Duke of Monmouth
1663–1685		 Succeeded by:
Forfeit
Duke of Buccleuch
1663–1685

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