 | 'What is whispered about is that young Crofts is lawful son of the King, the King being married to his mother. How true it is, God knows.' Samuel Pepys Diary, October 1662. |  |
| 'What is whispered about is that young Crofts is lawful son of the King, the King being married to his mother. How true it is, God knows.' Samuel Pepys Diary, October 1662. | |
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| HM the Queen, by Rolf | Lucy Walter (c.1630 - 1658), first wife of Charles II |
The officially recognised line of monarchs is included below. On the 11 th April 1689, the Scottish Parliament declared that James VII had forfeited the Scottish throne. William of Orange and his wife Mary were declared joint King and Queen of Scots as William II and Mary II. Following the death of Mary's younger sister, Anne, in 1714, the Westminster Parliament offered the throne to a distant German relative, the Elector of Hanover. His descendant Elizabeth of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha (aka Windsor) is the present Queen Elizabeth, with Prince Philip of Battenberg (aka Mountbatten), Duke of Edinburgh as her Prince Consort.
Most Scots are aware that the House of Hanover, who succeeded to the crown in 1714, were in fact extremely far out relatives of the Stuart dynasty, and that many closer heirs, both Catholic and Protestant, were passed over for political reasons. For information, a list of those who would have become monarchs had the laws of primogeniture been followed is included below. The present King would be Francis, Duke of Bavaria.
In 2005, Dr Michael Jones revealed evidence that the English King Edward IV was illegitimate, and that the claims of all his heirs to the kingdoms of England, and eventually the United Kingdom were therefore invalid. The true heir to the throne of England would have been George, Duke of Clarence, and his heir, Michael Abney-Hastings, the 14 th Earl of Loudoun, who lives in Australia, is the rightful King of England.
English Monarchs family tree
The illegitimacy of Edward IV would not affect Scotland. However, there is an alternative royal line in Scotland, in direct male descent from Charles II, which could claim the throne. In 1663, Anne Scott, Countess of Buccleuch in her own right, married James 'Crofts', the eldest son of Charles II. James adopted the surname Scott upon his marriage and was created Duke of Monmouth and Buccleuch. He was alleged to be illegitimate, having been born while Charles, then Prince of Wales, was in exile in Holland. At that time the restoration of the monarchy looked unlikely, and the Stewarts were not the most eligable of bachelors. Charles' brother James (later James VII) married a commoner, Anne Hyde and Charles II married Lucy Walter, while Louis XIV of France married Françoise d'Aubigné after the death of his first wife.
Few women in history, with the exception of Mary Queen of Scots, have been so traduced and vilified as Lucy Walters. She was described as a low-born prostitute by her enemies who saw her as a stumbling block to a future foreign royal match. In reality, Lucy was descended from the Lord of Wollfsdale, and High Sherrifs of Pembrokeshire and of Carmarthonshire on her father's side and from the Dukes of Norfolk, High Sherrifs of Carmarthonshire and the Lord Deputy of Ireland on her mother's side. Her maternal grandmother was the sister of the first Earl of Carbery.
Charles' mother, Queen Henrietta Marie, was furious when she heard of the marriage and threatened to have have her brother, the King of France, cut off Charles' pension if he did not repudiate Lucy Walter and her child. Charles acceded to the blackmail and repudiated Lucy. He went on to marry the Portugese princess Catherine of Braganza, but only in 1662, four years after the death of Lucy Walter, his first wife, had freed him from the crime of bigamy.
Charles II, while fond of his eldest son, never publically acknowledged him as legitimate. He died in 1685 and his brother James, Duke of York & Albany succeeded as James VII. Monmouth, the true heir, rebelled but, appearing to be an illigitimate usurper, failed to gain much support. His ill equipped army was defeated at the Battle of Sedgemoor. Monmouth was exectued and his own titles were attainted, his wife's were not.
Through Monmouth's marriage to the Countess of Buccleuch, he left several children. The eldest son, the Earl of Doncaster, died young, but the second son, the Earl of Dalkeith produced a large family, with the eldest son eventually succeeding his grandmother as Duke of Buccleuch.
Until recently, the direct male descendant of the Duke of Monmouth was the 9 th Duke of Buccleuch & Queensberry, who was Conservative MP for Edinburgh North from 1960 until 1973. He died on the 4 th September 2007 and was succeeded by his son Richard, the 10 th Duke. As the direct male descendant of the eldest legitimate son of Charles II, he is the legitimate heir of the Royal House of Stewart, with all that implies.
In 1935, the houses of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha and Buccleuch were reunited when Lady Alice Cristabel Montagu-Douglas-Scott, daughter of the 7 th Duke of Buccleuch, married Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, the third son of King George V.
| Union of the Crowns 1603 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 James VI (1567 - 1625) James Stuart, James VI of Scots James I of England Son of Mary Queen of Scots  Charles I (1625 - 1649) Charles Stuart Second son of James VI  Charles II (1649 - 1685) Charles Stuart Second son of Charles I |
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| House of Buccleuch (Stuart) (Heirs of Charles II by primogeniture and legitimacy) |
Houses of Stuart, Sardinia, Modena, and Bavaria (Heirs of James VII by primogeniture) |
Houses of Stuart, Orange, Hanover (Guelph) and Saxe-Coburg & Gotha (Wettin & Windsor) (Heirs of James VII by Acts of Parliament) |
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 James VII (1685) James 'Crofts' 1 st Duke of Monmouth, 1 st Duke of Buccleuch, K.G. Son of Charles II and his first wife, Lucy Walter Assumed name of Scott before his marriage to Anne Scott, Countess of Buccleuch in 1663 Executed and attainted 15 th July 1685  James VIII (1685 - 1705) James Scott Earl of Dalkeith Second son of James VII  Francis I (1705 - 1751) Francis Scott 2 nd Duke of Buccleuch Eldest son of James VIII  Henry I (1751 - 1812) Henry Scott 3 rd Duke of Buccleuch, and from 1810, 5 th Duke of Queensberry, K.G., K.T. Second son of Francis, Earl of Dalkeith, eldest son of James VIII  Charles III (1812 - 1819) Charles William Henry Montagu-Douglas-Scott 4 th Duke of Buccleuch, 6 th Duke of Queensberry, K.T. Elder son of Henry I  Walter I (1819 - 1884) Walter Francis Montagu-Douglas-Scott 5 th Duke of Buccleuch, 7 th Duke of Queensberry, K.G. Second son of Charles III  William II (1884 - 1914) William Henry Walter Montagu-Douglas-Scott 6 th Duke of Buccleuch, 8 th Duke of Queensberry K.G., K.T. MP for Midlothian 1853 - 1868 & 1874 - 1880 Eldest son of Walter I  John II (1914 - 1935) John Charles Montagu-Douglas-Scott 7 th Duke of Buccleuch, 9 th Duke of Queensberry, K.T. MP for Roxburghshire 1895 - 1906 Second son of William II Walter II (1935 - 1973) Walter John Montagu-Douglas-Scott 8 th Duke of Buccleuch, 10 th Duke of Queensberry, K.T. MP for Roxburgh &, Selkirkshire 1923 - 1935 Eldest son of John I  Walter III (1973 - 2007) Sir Walter Francis John Scott, K.T. 9 th Duke of Buccleuch, 11 th Duke of Queensberry MP for Edinburgh North 1960 - 1973 Only son of Walter II Discontinued use of surname Montagu-Douglas-Scott for himself and his eldest son in 1974  Richard (2007 -) Richard Walter John Scott, K.B.E. 10 th Duke of Buccleuch, 12 th Duke of Queensberry Nithsdale District Cllr 1984 - 1990 Eldest son of Walter III |
 James VII (1685 - 1701) James Stuart James VII of Scots James II of England Duke of Albany & York Third son of Charles I  James VIII (1701 - 1766) James Francis Edward Stuart James VIII of Scots James III of England Prince of Wales Duke of Rothesay &, Cornwall Recognised as King by France, Spain and the Papal States Named 'The Old Pretender' by Hanovarians Sixth (elder surviving) son of James VIII  Charles III (1766 - 1788) Charles Edward Louis Philip Casimir Stuart 'Bonnie Prince Charlie' Elder son of James VIII  Henry (1788 - 1807) Henry Benedict Mary Clement Stuart Henry of Scots Henry XIX of England 'Cardinal York' Second son of James VIII  Charles IV (1807 - 1819) Charles Emmanuel III, King of Sardinia Great-great-great grandson of Charles I Great grandson of Anne Marie, Princess of Orleans  Victor I (1819 - 1824) Victor Emmanuel I, King of Sardinia Brother of Charles IV  Mary II (1824 - 1840) Daughter of Victor I Mary Beatrice, Duchess of Modena  Francis I (1840 - 1875) Son of Mary II Francis Ferdinand, Duke of Modena  Mary III (1875 - 1919) Niece of Francis I Queen Consort of Bavaria  Robert IV (1919 - 1955) Son of Mary IV Rupert Maria Leopold Ferdinand, Crown Prince of Bavaria  Albert I (1955 - 1996) Son of Robert IV Albert Leopold Ferdinand Michael, Duke of Bavaria  Francis II (1996 -) Son of Albert I Francis Bonaventura Adalbert Maria, Duke of Bavaria |
James VII (1685 - 1688) James Stuart James VII of Scots James II of England Duke of Albany & York Third son of Charles I
 Anne (1702 - 1714) Anne Stuart Second daughter of James VII  George I (1714 - 1727) Georg Ludwig Guelph Duke & Elector of Hanover Duke of Brunswick-Luneberg Never crowned as King Eldest son of Sophia, duchess of Hanover, the second daughter of Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia, eldest daughter of James VI  George II) (1727 - 1760) Georg August Guelph Duke & Elector of Hanover son of George I  George III (1760 - 1820) Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Guelph Duke and from 1814, King of Hanover Grandson of George II  George IV (1820 - 1830) Georg August Friedrich Guelph King of Hanover Eldest son of George III  William III (1830 - 1837) Wilhelm Heinrich Guelph William III of Scots William IV of England King of Hanover Third son of George III  Victoria (1837 - 1901) Alexandrina Victoria Guelph 1 Empress of India (from 1877) Crown Princess of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha Daughter of fourth son of George III  Edward I (1901 - 1910) Albert Edward Wettin, Edward I of Scots Edward VII of England Emperor of India Prince of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha Duke of Saxony Eldest son of Victoria  George V (1910 - 1936) George Frederick Ernest Albert Wettin Emperor of India Prince of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha Changed the family name to Windsor during the First World War Second son of Edward I  Edward II (1936) Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David Windsor Edward II of Scots Edward VIII of England Emperor of India Duke of Windsor Never crowned as King Eldest son of George V  George VI (1936 - 1952) Albert Frederick Arthur George Windsor Emperor of India Duke of York Second son of George V  Elizabeth (1952 -) Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor Elizabeth of Scots Elizabeth II of England Duchess of Edinburgh Elder daughter of George VI |
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Further Reading:
Britian's Real Monarch (Channel 4)
Britian's Real Monarch(Serendipity)
Buccleuch family tree
Lucy Walter
Lord George Scott (1947). Lucy Walter: Wife or Mistress. Harrap, London, Sydney, Toronto, Bombay.
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