Margaret Masterton
Margaret Masterton or Maistertoun was employed in 1594 at Stirling Castle as the nurse of Prince Henry, the son of James VI and I and Anne of Denmark.[1]
She was a daughter of Janet Couston and Alexander Masterton of Bad in Perthshire and Masterton near Dunfermline, and Parkmill in Clackmannanshire.[2][3] She married a lawyer, James Primrose of Barhill, Culross.[4] He kept a record of his legal work, known as a "Protocol Book", which is preserved by the National Records of Scotland.[5]
Margaret may have obtained her place in Prince Henry's household through the influence of a relation. A Gilbert Maistertoune worked for the Earl of Mar, and was paid £500 sterling in September 1595 from the English subsidy for the Prince's expenses.[6]
In early modern Scotland married women did not usually adopt their husband's surnames.[7][8] However, Margaret Masterton was sometimes known as "Mistress Primrose" and received annuity payments from Prince Henry under that name.[9] Their son George Primrose was a clergyman at Hereford Cathedral and preacher at the Eignbrook Chapel in 1662.[10]
Margaret Masterton may have been the wet-nurse to the Prince described by George Nicholson who became ill and was replaced in January 1595 by the wife of Henry Murray, a Stirling burgess.[11] The baby would not feed unless his first nurse was present.[12] Roger Aston also mentioned the change of nurse in a letter of May 1595.[13] The Prince's laundress was Elizabeth Moncreif. She was provided with soap and "stiffing" (starch) for his clothes.[14]
References
[edit]- ^ Sarah Fraser, The prince who would be king: the life and death of Henry Stuart (William Collins, 2017), p. 7: David Masson, Register of the Privy Council, vol. 5 (Edinburgh, 1882), p. 200.
- ^ Robert Douglas, The Baronage of Scotland (Edinburgh, 1798), p. 320.
- ^ V. A. Noël Paton, "Masterton Papers", Miscellany of the Scottish History Society, 1 (Edinburgh, 1893), p. 459.
- ^ Robert Douglas, The Baronage of Scotland (Edinburgh, 1798), p. 320.
- ^ National Records of Scotland, NP1/61.
- ^ Miles Kerr-Peterson & Michael Pearce, "James VI's English Subsidy and Danish Dowry Accounts, 1588-1596", Miscellany of the Scottish History Society, XVI (Edinburgh: SHS, 2020), p. 83.
- ^ Jenny Wormald, Court, Kirk, and Community (London, 1981), p. 30.
- ^ History Workshop, What's in a Surname? Rebecca Mason
- ^ Peter Cunningham, Extracts from the Accounts of the Revels (London, 1842), p. xvii: Thomas Birch, The Life of Henry, Prince of Wales: Eldest Son of King James I (London, 1760), p. 467.
- ^ Joseph Jones, Hereford Cathedral and City: a handbook for the public buildings and objects of interest (Hereford, 1858), p. 114.
- ^ Maureen Meikle, 'Anna of Denmark', Julian Goodare & Michael Lynch, Reign of James VI (Tuckwell, 2000), p. 135.
- ^ Sarah Fraser, The Prince Who Would Be King: The Life and Death of Henry Stuart (William Collins, 2017), p. 20: Annie Cameron, Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 11 (Edinburgh, 1936), pp. 504 no. 438, 506 no. 440 (TNA SP 52/55 f.1 & f.3).
- ^ Thomas Birch, Memoirs of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, vol. 1 (London, 1754), p. 248.
- ^ Letters to King James the Sixth from the Queen, Prince Henry, Prince Charles etc (Edinburgh, 1835), p. lxxii