James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault

James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Châtellerault, 2nd Earl of Arran, was a Scottish nobleman and Regent of Scotland during the minority of Mary, Queen of Scots, from 1543 to 1554. At first pro-English and Protestant, he converted to Catholicism in 1543 and supported a pro-French policy. He reluctantly agreed to Mary's marriage to Francis, eldest son of King Henry II of France, and was rewarded by Henry by being made Duke of Châtellerault in 1549. During the Scottish Reformation, he joined the Protestant Lords of the Congregation to oppose the regency of Mary of Guise.