Margaret Masterton
Margaret Masterton or Maistertoun was employed in 1594 at Stirling Castle as the nurse of Prince Henry, the son of James VI and I and Anne of Denmark.[1]
She was a daughter of Janet Couston and Alexander Masterton of Bad in Perthshire, Masterton near Dunfermline, and Parkmill in Clackmannanshire.[2]
She married a lawyer, James Primrose of Barhill, Culross.[3] He kept a record of his legal work, known as a "Protocol Book", which is preserved by the National Records of Scotland.[4] She was sometimes known as "Mistress Primrose" and received annuity payments from Prince Henry under that name.[5] Their son George Primrose was a clergyman at Hereford Cathedral and preacher at the Eignbrook Chapel in 1662.[6]
She may have been the wet-nurse to the Prince described by George Nicholson who became ill and was replaced in January 1595 by the wife of Henry Murray, a Stirling burgess.[7] The baby would not feed unless his first nurse was present.[8]
References[edit]
- ^ David Masson, Register of the Privy Council, vol. 5 (Edinburgh, 1882), p. 200.
- ^ Robert Douglas, The Baronage of Scotland (Edinburgh, 1798), p. 320.
- ^ Robert Douglas, The Baronage of Scotland (Edinburgh, 1798), p. 320.
- ^ National Records of Scotland, NP1/61.
- ^ Peter Cunningham, Extracts from the Accounts of the Revels (London, 1842), p. xvii: Thomas Birch, The Life of Henry, Prince of Wales: Eldest Son of King James I (London, 1760), p. 467.
- ^ Joseph Jones, Hereford Cathedral and City: a handbook for the public buildings and objects of interest (Hereford, 1858), p. 114.
- ^ Maureen Meikle, 'Anna of Denmark', Julian Goodare & Michael Lynch, Reign of James VI (Tuckwell, 2000), p. 135.
- ^ Sarah Fraser, The Prince Who Would Be King: The Life and Death of Henry Stuart (Harper Collins, 2017): Annie Cameron, Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 11 (Edinburgh, 1936), pp. 504 no. 438, 506 no. 440 (TNA SP 52/55 f.1 & f.3).