House of Stuart

The   House of Stewart, or   Stuart, is a European   royal house. Founded by   Robert II of Scotland, the Stewarts first became monarchs of the   Kingdom of Scotland  during the late 14th century, and subsequently held the position of the Kings of England, Ireland, and Great Britain. Their patrilineal ancestors (from   Brittany) had held the office of   High Steward of Scotland  <span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;line-height:19.200000762939453px;">since the 12th century, after arriving by way of <span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;line-height:19.200000762939453px;">  Norman England<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;line-height:19.200000762939453px;">. The dynasty inherited further territory by the 17th century which covered the entire <span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;line-height:19.200000762939453px;">  British Isles<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;line-height:19.200000762939453px;">, including the <span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;line-height:19.200000762939453px;">  Kingdom of England<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;line-height:19.200000762939453px;">  <span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;line-height:19.200000762939453px;">and <span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;line-height:19.200000762939453px;">  Kingdom of Ireland<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;line-height:19.200000762939453px;">, also maintaining a claim to the  Kingdom of France<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;line-height:19.200000762939453px;">.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">In total, nine Stewart monarchs ruled just Scotland from 1371 until 1603. After this there was a Union of the Crowns under James VI & I who had become the senior genealogical claimant to The Crown holdings of the extinct House of Tudor. Thus there were six Stewart monarchs who ruled both England and Scotland as well as Ireland (although the later Stuart era was interrupted by an interregnum lasting from 1649–1660, as a result of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms). Additionally, at the foundation of the Kingdom of Great Britain after the Acts of Union, which politically united England and Scotland, the first monarch was Anne of Great Britain. After her death, all the holdings passed to the House of Hanover, under the terms of the Act of Settlement 1701.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">During the reign of the Stewarts, Scotland developed from a relatively poor and feudal country into a prosperous, fairly modern and centralised state. They ruled during a time in European history of transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. Monarchs such as James IV were known for sponsoring exponents of the Northern Renaissance such as the poet Robert Henryson, and others. After the Stewarts gained control of all of Great Britain, the arts and sciences continued to develop; many of William Shakespeare's best known plays were authored during the Jacobean era, while institutions such as the Royal Society and Royal Mail were established during the reign of Charles II.