Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox

He was the son and heir of John Stewart, 5th Seigneur d'Aubigny (d.1567) (a younger son of John Stewart, 3rd Earl of Lennox) by his wife Anne de la Queuille, a French noblewoman. His father had inherited (through adoption from his great uncle Sir Robert Stewart, 4th Seigneur d'Aubigny (c.1470–1544)), the French Seigneurie (lordship of the manor) of Aubigny and its estates, including the Château d'Aubigny at Aubigny-sur-Nère in the ancient province of Berry, central France, built by him, also the nearby secondary seat of Château de la Verrerie.

He spent much of his life in France and succeeded his father as 6th Seigneur d'Aubigny in 1567. At the age of 37 he came to Scotland, where he was introduced to his first cousin once removed, the 13-year-old James VI of Scotland, when the latter made his formal entry into Edinburgh and began his personal rule. Esmé was an exotic visitor who fascinated the young James, who began to shower him with rewards and preferments.[5] He was appointed to the Privy Council of Scotland, was created Earl of Lennox on 5 March 1580 (which title having been inherited by King James from his paternal grandfather had merged into the crown), and then Duke of Lennox on 5 August 1581. He was also created Earl of Darnley, Lords Tarboulton and Dalkeith and received other favours.[6]

James VI gave him jewels that remained from the collection of Mary, Queen of Scots, including in June 1581 a belt of knots of pearls and diamonds, and in October 1581 a gold cross with diamonds and rubies, the "Great Harry" or "Great H of Scotland", a chain of rubies and diamonds,with a diamond "carcan" necklace with roses of gold and a pair of matching hair garnishings, another suite of carcan and back and fore hair garnishings, and other pieces. The gift was witnessed by Elizabeth Stewart, Countess of Arran, and officials of the wardrobe.[7]

During his rise he was careful to maintain his popularity with the Burgh administrators of Scotland's towns. For example in July 1580 the English diplomat Robert Bowes reported that Lennox had obtained fishing rights in Aberdeen, which the deposed Regent Morton had given to his servant George Auchinleck of Balmanno, and had then arranged for the King to give this valuable source of income to the town.[8]

In Presbyterian Scotland, the thought of a Catholic duke irked many, and Lennox had to make a choice between his Catholic faith and his loyalty to the king. Lennox chose the latter, who taught him the doctrines of Calvinism. Nevertheless the Church of Scotland remained suspicious of Lennox after his public conversion and took alarm when he had the Earl of Morton tried and beheaded on charges of treason.

In response the Scottish nobles plotted to oust Lennox. They did so by luring James to Ruthven Castle as a guest where they kept him as prisoner for ten months. The Lord Enterprisers then forced James to banish Lennox. A lengthy denunciation of Lennox was issued from Stirling Castle on 17 September 1582, citing his religion, association with the murderers of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley (King James's father) and Regent Moray and Regent Lennox and his control over the royal household and international intrigue.[9] Lennox stayed for a while at Dumbarton Castle. In December whilst travelling south from Berwick on Tweed, by chance near Northallerton he encountered the French ambassador, M. de la Mothe Fénelon, who was travelling northward to treat with the Gowrie Regime. In London the Scottish poet William Fowler pumped Lennox for information which he sent to Francis Walsingham.[10]

Lennox returned to France where he started a secret correspondence with King James. He met a frosty reception in France as an apostate. Although the Scottish nobles believed that they would be proved right in their belief that Lennox's conversion was artificial following his return France, he remained a Presbyterian.

He died in Paris on 26 May 1583. His final letter to James Stewart, Lord Doune, requested him to take care of his son and to recover his former possessions in Scotland for his benefit.[11] William Schaw took his heart back to King James in Scotland, followed by his wife and eldest son Ludovic Stewart. King James had repeatedly vouched for Lennox's religious sincerity and memorialized him in a poem called "Ane Tragedie of the Phoenix", which compared him to an exotic bird of unique beauty killed by envy. King James I regarded all Lennox's family with great affection, and instructed his son King Charles I to do well by them. Charles faithfully fulfilled this obligation, and as a result the Lennox family had considerable influence at the Scottish and English Courts over the next two generations.

In about 1572 he married Catherine de Balsac (d.post-1630), a daughter of Guillaume de Balsac, Sieur d'Entragues, by his wife Louise d'Humières. Catherine outlived her husband by many years and spent her later life at the family estate at Aubigny, where she was entrusted with the upbringing of her grandchildren. By Catherine he had five children:

• 5 March 1579/80: Earl of Lennox, Lord Darnley and Dalkeith;
• 5 August 1581: Duke of Lennox, Earl of Darnley, Lord Dalkeith, Torboltoun and Aberdour.[12]

• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Lennox" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 419–420.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)