Clan Stewart of Appin are direct cousins of the Royal Stewarts.
They share the same great-grandfathers since all time and up to Alexander the 4th High Steward of Scotland and therefore also since the inception of the surname Stewart.
The surname Stewart was derived from the venerable office of being Great or High Steward of Scotland. In the 12th century King David I of Scotland first gave the title to Walter fitz Alan, a nobleman from Brittany, whose descendants adopted the surname "Steward", later "Stewart" and later founded the royal House of Stewart.
Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland had 2 sons; James and John. James being the firstborn, became the 5th High Steward of Scotland and his son Walter became the 6th.
Walter married King Robert the Bruce's daughter and their son Robert Stewart, being the 7th High Steward of Scotland inherited the throne of Scotland via his mother and became King Robert II of Scotland, the first Stewart Monarch. This is when the title or office of High Steward of Scotland merged into the Crown.
2nd born son Sir John Stewart was a Scottish knight and military commander during the First Scottish War of Independence. Sir John was therefore Walter's uncle. Sir John's offspring who form the Stewart's of Appin clan are Walter's cousins and therefore cousins of his offspring, including Robert 2nd and of course the beloved Bonnie Prince Charlie.
The spelling of "Stuart" came about because King James 5th wife Marie De Guise (Queen Mary's mother) was French and there was no W in the French language, so they used U instead.
Scottish Gaelic: Quhidder Will Zie = Whither Will Ye? ..... as in what do you choose? War or Peace?
Said in defence of the Royal Stewart Clan and against attacks from England.
Clan Stewart of Appin led or joined many Jacobite rebellions and fought in the Wars of Independence, including Culloden, where 91 clansmen died.
