Jean or Janet Sinclair was the Scottish nurse of Mary, Queen of Scots.
In a letter to Mary of Guise written in 1553, Sinclair mentions her long service starting as nurse to her short-lived son Prince James, born in 1540. [1]
Mary, Queen of Scots was born at Linlithgow Palace in December 1542. At Linlithgow on 22 March 1543, Mary of Guise asked Jean Sinclair to unwrap the queen from her swaddling clothes to show the English ambassador Ralph Sadler that she was a healthy infant. [2] The scene was depicted by a 19th-century artist Benjamin Haydon. [3] Cardinal David Beaton gave the nurse at Linlithgow £11 on 29 December 1542. [4]
In July 1543, the infant queen was moved to Stirling Castle. As the war with England now known as Rough Wooing continued, Mary and her household including her governess Janet Stewart, Lady Fleming went to Dumbarton Castle on the Clyde and sailed to France. [5]
When Jean Sinclair wrote to Mary of Guise from the Château de Blois in 1553 she signed her letter "Jaine Syncler, nureis to our soveraine lady". [6]
She was anxious that she had been omitted from the household allowances and hoped that Mary of Guise would be able to help. Sinclair wrote that she was "come of honest folks" and would not be persuaded to abandon the service of Queen Mary. [7]
Around this time, Françoise de Paroy, d'Estainville, Mary's governess, wrote to Mary of Guise that more attendants, beside the nurse or nourrice were required. [8] The young queen's household in France was re-organised again in 1554 by Comptroller Astier, who subsequently came to Scotland as director of military finance during the refortification of Eyemouth and Inchkeith. [9]
She was granted lands at Cornton. Her husband was John Kemp, probably a brother of Henry Kemp of Thomastoun, pursemaster to James V and keeper of his jewels. [10]
Jean (or Janet) Sinclair died sometime before 1557. [11]
Mary of Guise, also called Mary of Lorraine, was a French noblewoman of the House of Guise, a cadet branch of the House of Lorraine and one of the most powerful families in France. She was Queen of Scotland from 1538 until 1542, as the second wife of King James V. As the mother of Mary, Queen of Scots, she was a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that marked mid-16th-century Scotland, ruling the kingdom as regent on behalf of her daughter from 1554 until her death in 1560.
The ruins of Linlithgow Palace are located in the town of Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland, 15 miles (24 km) west of Edinburgh. The palace was one of the principal residences of the monarchs of Scotland in the 15th and 16th centuries. Although maintained after Scotland's monarchs left for England in 1603, the palace was little used, and was burned out in 1746. It is now a visitor attraction in the care of Historic Environment Scotland.
Patrick Hepburn, 3rd Earl of Bothwell was the son of Adam Hepburn, Lord Hailes, who died at the Battle of Flodden the year after Patrick's birth.
Sir Ralph Sadler or Sadleir PC, Knight banneret was an English statesman, who served Henry VIII as Privy Councillor, Secretary of State and ambassador to Scotland. Sadler went on to serve Edward VI. Having signed the device settling the crown on Jane Grey in 1553, he was obliged to retire to his estates during the reign of Mary I. Sadler was restored to royal favour during the reign of Elizabeth I, serving as a Privy Councillor and once again participating in Anglo-Scottish diplomacy. He was appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in May 1568.
Alexander Livingston, 5th Lord Livingston of Callandar PC was the guardian of Mary, Queen of Scots, during her childhood.
Janet Stewart, Lady Fleming, called la Belle Écossaise, was a Scottish courtier. She was an illegitimate daughter of King James IV of Scotland who served as governess to her half-niece Mary, Queen of Scots. Janet was briefly a mistress of King Henry II of France, by whom she had a legitimated son: Henri d'Angoulême. Her daughter, Mary Fleming, was one of the young queen's "Four Marys".
Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney and Lord of Zetland (Shetland) was a recognised illegitimate son of James V, King of Scotland, and his mistress Eupheme Elphinstone. Robert Stewart was half-brother to Mary, Queen of Scots and uncle to James VI and I of Scotland and England.
Mary Seton was a Scottish courtier and later a nun. She was one of the four attendants of Mary, Queen of Scots, known as the Four Marys. She was a sister at the Convent of Saint Pierre les Dames in Reims at the time of her death.
Henri Cleutin, seigneur d'Oisel et de Villeparisis, was the representative of France in Scotland from 1546 to 1560, a Gentleman of the Chamber of the King of France, and a diplomat in Rome 1564-1566 during the French Wars of Religion.
Jacques de la Brosse, cupbearer to the king, was a sixteenth-century French soldier and diplomat. He is remembered in Scotland for his missions in 1543 and 1560 in support of the Auld Alliance.
George Seton IV, 6th Lord Seton was a Lord of the Parliament of Scotland.
George Douglas of Pittendreich was a member of the powerful Red Douglas family who struggled for control of the young James V of Scotland in 1528. His second son became James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton and Regent of Scotland. Initially, George Douglas promoted the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots and Prince Edward of England. After war was declared between England and Scotland he worked for peace and to increase the power of Mary of Guise, the widow of James V.
Françoise d'Estamville, Dame de Paroy also called Mme de Parois or de Parroys, was a French court official. Some French sources give her name and title as, "Françoise d'Estainville, dame de Chevreaul et de Perroye".
Timothy Cagnioli was an Italian merchant and banker in Scotland.
Annie Isabella Cameron (1897-1973) was a Scottish historian.
Marie Pieris, Lady Seton was a French lady in waiting at the Scottish court.
James, Duke of Rothesay was the first of the two sons and three children born to King James V of Scotland and his second wife, Mary of Guise. From the moment of his birth James was Duke of Rothesay and heir apparent to the Scottish throne.
James Stewart, Commendator of Kelso and Melrose was a member of the Scottish royal family.
Nicolas Roy was a French stone mason who worked in Scotland for James V and his second wife Mary of Guise.
Bartolomew de Villemore was a French courtier and administrator to Mary of Guise, the mother of Mary, Queen of Scots.