Britain - Historical Biography - Rulers & Royal Families, 17th Century British History - Stuart Restoration, 1660-1714, Britain - Historical Biography - 17th Century, 17th Century British History - Stuart Dynasty, 1603-1649

Anna, Countess of the Covenant

Name: Anna, Countess of the Covenant
Author: Mary McGrigor
ISBN: 9781841586687

by Mary McGrigor

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Overview

Lady Anna Mackenzie, daughter of Lord Seaforth, was born in 1621. Famed for her beauty, she married the Earl of Balcarres when she was nineteen, but her happy life at Balcarres Castle in Fife was shattered by the Civil War. Following the death of Charles I, Balcarres raised an army to fight for Charles II. Defeated by Cromwell he fled with his wife to Holland where, reduced to great poverty, Anna 'the angel of the exiled court' became a governess to Prince William of Orange, later William III. Balcarres died tragically in his wife's arms. Returning to Scotland to struggle with financial and familial difficulties – as her correspondence reveals – she managed to save the family estates from bankruptcy for her surviving son, before she married Archibald, 9th Earl of Argyll. Too soon tranquillity vanished again as Argyll conspired with Monmouth to overthrow James VII. Upon his capture he was beheaded. Countess Anna, imprisoned, was spared execution. She survived to remain as the mainstay of her family until her death at the age of eighty-five in 1707. Anna, Countess of the Covenant is an extraordinary account of an extraordinary woman in one of the most fascinating periods in Scottish, British and European history.

About the Author, Mary McGrigor

Mary McGrigor grew up in a 15th-century Scottish castle which inspired her love of history. When she was twenty she married Sir Charles McGrigor who eventually retired to become a hill farmer in Argyll. Inspired by local artifacts she wrote a number of local histories before branching out into articles for Scottish Field. Her book Argyll, Land of Blood and Beauty was published in 2000. She lives near Port Sonachan in Argyll.