History of the Stewarts | Battles and Historic Events
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In 1525, Angus returned from exile with the strong backing of Margaret´s brother, Henry VIII of England. Although Margaret tried to keep him out of Edinburgh by threatening to fire on him with the cannons of Edinburgh Castle, Angus used the backing of Henry to ensure he was a member of the Council of Regency. It was agreed amongst the Council that there should be a scheme for the physical custody of the young King to be rotated between each of four groups every three months; the rotation scheme reflected the main divisions between the magnates. Angus was one the leaders of the first group and Arran one of the leaders of the second. James Beaton, Archbishop of St Andrews, was one of the leaders of the third, and Lennox one of the leaders of the fourth.
The King was now technically responsible for his own decisions, and did not need to have physical guardianship shared between the magnates. In reality, he was effectively a prisoner in Edinburgh controlled by Angus and a royal household filled with Douglas adherents who were effectively his jailers. This may not have been just a bid by Angus for sole power but a means of preserving his position as one of the lords of Scotland. By holding onto the King and declaring his majority, a tactic which Margaret´s supporters had used in 1524, Angus acquired not just a cloak of legitimacy but also a degree of protection, as an attack on him could be interpreted also as an attack on the King. The most likely source of that attack was his former wife Margaret.
Walter Scott of Branxholme and Buccleuch attempted to rescue the young James V of Scotland from the powerful Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus. Guardianship of the young James V of Scotland had been secured by Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus in what was supposed to be a three monthly arrangement whereby each of the four members of the Council of Regency would care for James. However, Douglas refused to hand James over to the Earl of Arran whose turn it was next. James sent a message out to Sir Walter Scott asking him to launch a rescue attempt. The young King James, while being escorted on a journey to Edinburgh by Douglas was intercepted by a large body of Border men led by Sir Walter Scott at Melrose.
Angus´s force mainly consisted of Kerrs and stood its ground and to drove off the attackers. Scott led as many as
1000 men down Eildon Hill at Melrose. Angus’s men charged and Scott’s men stood their ground also.However, the Lord Hume arrived with a reinforcement of 80 Kerrs to support Angus, they attacked Scott´s force again and the Scotts and Elliots began to fall back and run. During the pursuit Andrew Kerr of Cessford was killed by one of the Elliotts. Scott lost about 80 of his men while the Earl of Angus lost about 100, but still won the battle.
The young James stayed at Darnick Tower in Melrose on the night after the battle and then travelled to Edinburgh the next day. On 4 September 1526 the Battle of Linlithgow Bridge took place where once again anti-Douglas forces attempted to rescue the young King James from the Earl of Angus.