George Seton, 7th Lord Seton

1531 - 1585

He grew up serving in the courts of France, under the direction of his father, and followed the intellectual progresses of the time, and that in religion and philosophy and was often present at the court in France.  He had been also exposed to Michel de Nostradame through the influence of Catherine de Medici, Queen of Henri II of France, and in Scotland was also interested in the Reformation and followed the Preacher John Willock.  His grandfather and great-grandfather, George 5th and George 4th, Lords Seton respectively, had been much influenced by Leonardo de Vinci at the Courts in France and Rome, and they passed on their experiences successively which devolved to George, 7th Lord Seton and his family.

The 7th Lord Seton was one of the Commissioners appointed to oversee and arrange the marriage of the young Queen Mary Stuart to the then Dauphin of France, Francis, later briefly King Francis II, and was the famed loyal adherent to Queen Mary Stuart and her young son, James, soon to be King James VI.  The Seton influence was not lost on King James VI and (later) I,  who not only personally benefited from their experience himself, but entrusted the education of his young son Charles (later King Charles I) to the family under Alexander Seton, later to become 1st Earl of Dunfermline and Chancellor of Scotland.

Painting by Frans Pourbus, the Elder, Flanders.