Malcolm Fleming, 3rd Lord Fleming


Malcolm Fleming, 3rd Lord Fleming, was Lord Chamberlain of Scotland to King James V, from 1524.

Early life

He was the son and heir of John Fleming, 2nd Lord Fleming, who was killed in a feud with the Tweedie of Drumelzier family in 1524.

Prisoner

In November 1542, he was taken prisoner by the English at the Battle of Solway Moss, but released at a ransom of 1,000 marks, paid on 1 July 1548. During the Regency of the Earl of Arran he took messages from Mary of Guise to the English ambassador Ralph Sadler. He was also happy to receive English messengers at his home at Cumbernauld Castle in 1544.

Personal life

Fleming's principal house was Boghall at Biggar, where he founded the collegiate church in 1545. The Tweedie family had already endowed a chaplain there in 1531 as part of the resolution of the feud.
Malcolm married Janet Stewart, illegitimate daughter of King James IV of Scotland, after being granted a dispensation on 26 February 1524/5.
Their children included:
He also had illegitimate sons called John and William.
He died on 10 September 1547, aged 53, being slain at the Battle of Pinkie. His will included £50 owed to him by Mary of Guise, and in it he wished to be buried in his new church and his father's remains to be taken there from Boghall. Cumbernauld Castle went to his eldest son, James Fleming. His wife was to have Boghall excepting its artillery.