John Erskine, Earl of Mar (1558–1634)

[6] Mar made an unusual arrangement with his Edinburgh tailor John Murdo and his wife Mause Balgaskry, giving them an income in teinds of cereal crops in exchange for making his clothes with further payment.

[7] After some futile communications between the governments of England and Scotland in 1585 the Earl of Mar and his friends gathered an army, entered the presence of the king at Stirling, and were soon in supreme authority.

Henceforward he stood high in the royal favour, becoming governor of Edinburgh Castle and then tutor to James's son, Prince Henry.

[3] His great achievement was the recovery of the Mar estates, alienated by the Crown during the long period that his family had been out of possession, including Kildrummy, the seat of the earldom.

[13] Mar performed in the tournament at the baptism of Prince Henry dressed as a "Christian Knight" in a team with the king and Sir Thomas Erskine.

[14] Elizabeth I contributed to the costs of the Prince's household, James VI assigned £5000 Scots to Mar in 1595 from the English subsidy or annuity.

[16] James VI wrote a note to Mar in June 1595 instructing him, in the event his death, not to deliver Henry to Anne of Denmark or the Parliament of Scotland until he was 18 and gave the order himself.

[20] In 1596 Queen Elizabeth, via the Earl of Essex and his secretary Anthony Bacon, sent her miniature portrait by Nicholas Hilliard to Prince Henry, and this was received by Mar at Stirling.

[27] While Anne of Denmark was recovering, Mar returned to Stirling and made his apology for the events to members of the Scottish Privy Council who had assembled at the castle.

[28] A letter from Mar to Cecil on 20 May expressed his hopes that the king thought his "young son and honest poor friends have done nothing but served him faithfully".

[29] The Earl of Montrose, Lord Chancellor of Scotland, made efforts to calm the controversy and help set Anne of Denmark on her way to England in June.

[32] In a letter to Anne of Denmark, King James emphasised that Mar had not made counter-accusations against her suggesting the events at Stirling were part of a wider plot, a supposed "Spanish course".

[34] King James reconciled Mar and his wife after their coronation, but French diplomats noted that her resentment over the affront at Stirling continued.

[35] The French ambassador the Marquis de Rosny identified Mar as an influential courtier, and gave him a hatbadge or enseigne in the form of a bouquet of flowers set with diamonds, rubies and other stones.

[37] In November 1603 the Spanish ambassador, the Count of Villamediana, invited the Duke of Lennox and the Earl of Mar to dinner, and according to Arbella Stuart asked them "to bring the Scottish ladies, for he was desirous to see some natural beauties."

[39] In January 1608, Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton, formerly one of the "secret correspondents", wrote to Mar asking for the recipe that would restore his favour with Anne of Denmark.

[42] King James came to Scotland in 1617 and during his return journey he wrote to Mar on 16 August from Hoghton Tower asking him to send a couple of terriers or earth dogs for fox hunting.

[49] King Charles sent a warrant in June 1625 for Mar and Archibald Napier, treasurer-depute, to appoint a "skillfull and well experimented gardener in England" to reside at Stirling Castle and repair the orchards.