Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney

In 1539 Robert was made Commendator of Holyrood Abbey, and Commendator of Charlieu Abbey in France by 1557.[2] On 9 February 1560 he testified against the Hamilton Duke of Châtellerault and Earl of Arran, and the Protestant Lords of the Congregation to James MacGill and John Bellenden of Auchnoule. They were collecting evidence for Henri Cleutin and Jacques de la Brosse, the French advisors of his step-mother Mary of Guise who planned to have the Hamiltons charged with treason against his half-sister, Mary, Queen of Scots and France. Robert himself had signed some of the letters that were to be cited as evidence.[3]

Robert, his half-brother Lord John, the Marquis of Elbeuf and others performed at the sands of Leith in a tournament in December 1561. There was "running at the ring" on the sands of Leith, with two teams of six men, Robert's team dressed as women, the other as exotic foreigners in strange masquing garments. Robert's team were the winners.[4] There was a similar tournament in 1594 at the baptism of Prince Henry at Stirling Castle.

He was knighted as Sir Robert Stewart of Strathdon on 15 May 1565, as part of marriage celebrations of Mary, Queen of Scots and Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley.[5] In 1581 he was named, by James VI, the 1st Earl in a second creation of the Earldom of Orkney. The new earldom replaced a short-lived Dukedom of Orkney, which had been awarded in 1567 by Mary, Queen of Scots, to her notorious third husband James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell. This dukedom was forfeit later that same year after Mary was forced to abdicate and Bothwell was charged with treason. Prior to this dukedom there had existed an Earldom of Orkney that was surrendered in 1470 by William Sinclair, 3rd Earl of Orkney.

Mary wrote a will at Sheffield in 1577 ineffectually declaring his title to Orkney null and void,[6] after Robert was imprisoned in 1575 for obtaining a letter from the King of Denmark-Norway, Frederick II declaring him sovereign of Orkney. His crimes included colluding with Shetland pirates. The Earl was imprisoned at Linlithgow Palace.[7] He was released in 1579. He built the Palace of Birsay on Orkney. On his death in 1593 the earldom passed to his son Patrick Stewart, 2nd Earl of Orkney.

On 14 December 1561 Robert Stewart married Lady Jean Kennedy, daughter of Gilbert Kennedy, 3rd Earl of Cassilis, and Margaret Kennedy.[8] They had several children:

• Mary, who married Patrick Gray, 6th Lord Gray (b. late 1562)[9]
• Jean, who married Patrick Leslie, 1st Lord Lindores (b. 1563?)[10]
• Henry, who became Master of Orkney (b. February 1565 - 1590)[11]
• Patrick (1565/66 - 6 February 1615), who inherited the title Earl of Orkney and married Margaret Livingstone.[12]
• John Stewart, who became Earl of Carrick and married Elizabeth Howard
• Robert, was knighted and known as Sir Robert Stewart of Middleton[13]
• James, was knighted and known as Sir James Stewart of Eday and Tullos, and married Margaret Lyon
• Elizabeth, who married James Sinclair of Murkle in Caithness (becoming the mother-in-law of John MacKay, Laird of Strathy in Strathnaver)
• Barbara, who married Hugh Halcro of Halcro

Robert Stewart also had a number of illegitimate children with several mistresses.[14]