Robert III of Scotland - Lieutenant of The Kingdom

Lieutenant of The Kingdom

Robert II's policy of building up Stewart domination in Scotland through the advancement of his sons saw Carrick as the pre-eminent Stewart magnate south of the Forth-Clyde line just as his younger brother Alexander, earl of Buchan, lord of Badenoch and Ross was in the north. Buchan's use of cateran supporters drew criticism from Northern nobles and prelates and demonstrated Robert II's inability or reluctance to control his son and resulted in him losing council support. The king's failure to take a leading role in prosecuting the war with England and Buchan's abuse of royal power in the north was the backdrop to the general council meeting at Holyrood Abbey in November 1384 where the decision was taken to sideline the king and provide the ruling powers to Carrick. In July 1385, under Carrick's lieutenancy, a Scottish army that included a French force commanded by Admiral Jean de Vienne penetrated into the north of England without any serious gains but provoked a damaging retaliatory attack by Richard II. In 1385, the general council sharply condemned Buchan's behaviour and sat with the intention of maneuvering Carrick into firmly intervening in the north.

... considering that there are, and have been now for a considerable time, great and numerous defects in the governing of the kingdom by reason of the king's disposition, both by reason of age and for other reasons, and the infirmity of the lord his firstborn son ... have amicably chosen Sir, earl of Fife, second-born son of the king, and brother german of the same lord the firstborn son, guardian of the kingdom under the king, ... for putting into effect justice and keeping the law internally, and for the defence of the kingdom with the king's force, as set out before, against those attempting to rise up as enemies.

Despite this, Carrick did not bring Buchan under control and many of the lieutenant's supporters although pleased at the resumption of hostilities with England were unhappy at the continued northern lawlessness. Carrick had been made the king's lieutenant partly on the need to curb Buchan's excesses yet despite this by February 1387 Buchan had become even more powerful and influential when he was appointed Justiciar north of the Forth.

A series of truces halted any further significant fighting but on 19 April 1388, English envoys sent to Scotland to again extend the ceasefire returned to Richard's court empty-handed—by 29 April Robert II was conducting a council in Edinburgh to authorise renewed conflict with England. Although the Scots army defeated the English at the Battle of Otterburn in Northumberland in August 1388, its leader James, earl of Douglas was killed. Douglas died childless triggering a series of claims on his estate—Carrick backed his brother-in-law Malcolm Drummond, the husband of Douglas's sister while Carrick's brother Fife took the side of Sir Archibald Douglas, lord of Galloway who held an entail on his kinsman's estates and who ultimately succeeded to the earldom. Fife, with his powerful Douglas ally together with those loyal to the king ensured at the December 1388 council meeting that the lieutenancy of Scotland would pass from Carrick (who had recently been badly injured from a horse-kick) to Fife.

There was general approval of Fife's intention to properly resolve the situation of lawlessness in the north and in particular the activities of Buchan his younger brother. Buchan was stripped of his position of justiciar which would soon be given to Fife's son, Murdoch Stewart. In January 1390 Robert II was in the north-east perhaps to strengthen the now changed political outlook in the north of the kingdom. He returned to Dundonald Castle in Ayrshire in March where he died on 19 April and was buried at Scone on 25 April.