Margaret Knox

Margaret Knox (née Stewart; 1547 – after 1612) was a Scottish noblewoman and the second wife of Scottish reformer John Knox, whom she married when she was 17 years old and he 54. The marriage caused consternation from Mary, Queen of Scots, as the couple had married without having obtained royal consent. Family Margaret Stewart was born in 1547, the daughter of Andrew Stewart, 2nd Lord Ochiltree, and Agnes Cunningham. The family was staunchly Protestant, and also related to the Scottish royal family and the Hamiltons. Margaret had three sisters and four brothers, including James Stewart, Earl of Arran. Marriages and children On 26 March 1564, she married her first husband, John Knox, leader of the Scottish Reformation, and a close friend of her father. His first wife, Marjorie Bowes, had died in December 1560, leaving him with two small sons, Nathaniel and Eleazer. The marriage was strongly criticised by Queen Mary, as they had married without having first obtained her consent. Margaret, as the Queen's relative, was required to ask the monarch for permission to marry. The couple made their home on Edinburgh's Royal Mile, and together they had three daughters: Martha Knox (1565–1592), married Alexander Fairlie, by whom she had issue. Margaret Knox (b.1567), married Zachary Pont, by whom she had issue. Elizabeth Knox (1570- January 1622), married in 1594, John Welsh, minister of Ayr, by whom she had issue.