John Beaton (courtier)
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John Beaton (1538–1570) was a Scottish courtier who served as a Master of Household to Mary, Queen of Scots.
He was a son of John (or James) Beaton of Auchmuty (Auchmowteis) and Balfarg in Fife,[1] and a brother of James Beaton, Archbishop of Glasgow. His mother was Helen Melville of Drummaird (near Kennoway).[2]
James Beaton studied law, and, according to his epitaph, joined Queen Mary's service as a taster of her food.[3]
In 1569, John Beaton arranged the marriage of his sister Jonet Beaton (died 1579) to Robert Lundy of Conland near Glenrothes, a son of the laird of Balgonie,[4] She married secondly Captain David Wemyss of Dron.[5][6]
Battle of Carberry Hill
In 1567, Beaton rode from Edinburgh with Robert Anstruther, Captain of Inchkeith, an officer of the Gardes Écossaises, to join Mary and Bothwell at Dunbar Castle. He wrote a letter describing how Queen Mary was besieged at Borthwick Castle and then captured at the battle of Carberry Hill.[7] The letter was at first attributed by historians to a "James Beaton".[8] John Beaton had a cousin, John Beaton of Balfour (died 1579), who was married to Robert Anstruther's sister Agnes Anstruther.[9]
Mary's escape
In May 1568 when Mary escaped from Lochleven Castle, Beaton waited on the shore of Loch Leven with George Douglas of Helenhill. Beaton carried news of the escape to England and France. According to Claude Nau, he gave Mary's token of a ring with a diamond shaped like a rock to Elizabeth I. Elizabeth instructed her ambassador Henry Norris to ask Charles IX of France to refrain from sending soldiers to Scotland.[10] Beaton's narrative of events was recorded by Petrucci, the Florentine ambassador in Paris. Beaton asked for money and troops, but Mary had already been defeated at the battle of Langside.[11]