Margaret Masterton facts for kids
Margaret Masterton (also spelled Maistertoun) was an important person in the royal court of Scotland in the late 1500s. In 1594, she worked at Stirling Castle as the nurse for Prince Henry. Prince Henry was the son of James VI and I, who was the King of Scotland (and later England), and his wife, Anne of Denmark.
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Who Was Margaret Masterton?
Margaret Masterton came from a family with lands in different parts of Scotland. Her parents were Janet Couston and Alexander Masterton. Their family had connections to places like Perthshire, near Dunfermline, and Clackmannanshire.
Margaret's Family Life
Margaret Masterton married a lawyer named James Primrose. He was from a place called Barhill, near Culross. James Primrose kept detailed notes of his legal work in a special book called a "Protocol Book." This book is still kept safe today by the National Records of Scotland.
Because she was married to James Primrose, Margaret was sometimes known as "Mistress Primrose." She even received special payments, called annuities, from Prince Henry's household under that name. These payments were like a regular income.
Margaret and James had a son named George Primrose. He grew up to become a clergyman, which is a religious leader, at Hereford Cathedral in England. He also preached at a chapel called Eignbrook Chapel in 1662.
Margaret's Role as a Royal Nurse
Margaret Masterton's main job was to care for young Prince Henry. Being a royal nurse was a very important and trusted position. She would have been responsible for the prince's daily needs, making sure he was healthy and well.
A Change in Nurses
It is thought that Margaret Masterton might have been the wet-nurse for Prince Henry. A wet-nurse is a woman who breastfeeds and cares for another woman's baby. A diplomat named George Nicholson wrote about the prince's nurse. He mentioned that she became ill and had to be replaced in January 1595.
The new nurse was the wife of Henry Murray, a local citizen of Stirling. However, the baby Prince Henry was very attached to his first nurse. He would not feed properly unless Margaret Masterton was there. This shows how important her bond was with the young prince.
