Editing Robert III of Scotland (section)

=== Rothesay's lieutenancy ===
In 1392, Robert III strengthened the position of his son David, now Earl of Carrick, when he endowed him with a large annuity that allowed the young prince to build up his household and affinity, and then in 1393 regained his right to direct rule when the general council decided that Fife's lieutenancy should end and that Carrick, now of age, should assist his father.<ref>Boardman, ''Early Stewart Kings'', pp. 195–196</ref> This independence of action was demonstrated in 1395–1396, when he responded to Carrick's unauthorised marriage to Elizabeth Dunbar, daughter of [[George I, Earl of March|George]], [[Earl of March]], by ensuring its annulment.<ref name="Boardman, Robert III, ODNB"/> The king appears to have also taken over the conduct of foreign affairs, preserving the peace with Richard II and managing to increase the power of the [[Red Douglas]] Earl of Angus in the southeast of the country as a counterbalance to Fife's [[James Douglas, Lord of Douglas|Black Douglas]] ally. He further showed his authority when in an attempt to reduce inter-clan feuding and lawlessness, he arranged and oversaw a gladiatorial limited combat between the clans of Kay and Quhele ([[Clan Chattan]]) in [[Perth, Scotland|Perth]] on 28 April 1396.<ref>Penman, ''Kings & Queens of Scotland'', p. 131</ref> Carrick progressively acted independently of his father taking control of the Stewart lands in the south-west, while maintaining his links with the Drummonds of his mother, and all at a time when Fife's influence in central Scotland remained strong.<ref>Grant in Jones et al., ''New Cambridge Medieval History'', p. 361</ref>

[[File:Falkland Palace.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Falkland Palace built close to the site of Falkland Castle]]

The king was increasingly blamed for his failure to pacify the [[Gaels|Gaelic areas]] in the west and north. The general council held in [[Perth, Scotland|Perth]] in April 1398 criticised the king's governance, and empowered his brother Robert and his son David — now respectively the Dukes of Albany and Rothesay — to lead an army against [[Donald, Lord of the Isles]], and his brothers.<ref name="Boardman, Robert III, ODNB"/> In November 1398, an influential group of magnates and prelates met at [[Falkland Castle]] that included Albany, Rothesay, Archibald, Earl of Douglas, Albany's son Murdoch, justiciar North of the Forth along with the bishops Walter of St Andrews and Gilbert of Aberdeen — the outcome of this meeting manifested itself at the council meeting held in January 1399 when the king was forced to surrender power to Rothesay for three years.<ref name="BoardmanEarly" />

The kin of the border earls took advantage of the confusion in England after the deposition of [[Richard II]] by [[Henry IV of England|Henry IV]] and harried and forayed into England causing much damage, and taking Wark Castle around 13 October 1399.<ref>Boardman, ''Early Stewart Kings'', p. 226</ref> A far-reaching dispute between Rothesay and George Dunbar, Earl of March, occurred when Rothesay, rather than remarrying Elizabeth Dunbar as previously agreed, decided to marry Mary Douglas, daughter of the Earl of Douglas. Enraged, March wrote to Henry IV on 18 February 1400, and by July had entered Henry's service.<ref>Sadler, ''Border Fury'', p. 296</ref> In 1401, Rothesay took on a more assertive and autonomous attitude, circumventing proper procedures, unjustifiably appropriating sums from the customs of the burghs on the east coast, before provoking further animosity when he confiscated the revenues of the temporalities of the vacant [[bishopric of St Andrews]].<ref>Boardman, ''David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay'', ODNB</ref> Rothesay also confronted Albany's influence in central Scotland in conjunction with his uncle, Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan. As soon his lieutenancy expired in 1402, Rothesay was arrested and imprisoned in Albany's Falkland Castle where he died in March 1402.<ref>Grant in Jones et al., ''The New Cambridge Medieval History'', p. 362</ref> Rothesay's death probably lay with Albany and Douglas, who would have looked upon the possibility of the young prince acceding to the throne with great apprehension. They certainly fell under suspicion, but were cleared of all blame by a general council, ''"where, by divine providence and not otherwise, it is discerned that he departed from this life".''<ref>Barrell, ''Medieval Scotland'', p. 149</ref><ref>Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to 1707, 14 May 1402, Edinburgh. http://www.rps.ac.uk/</ref>