Queen Margaret had sought to regain the…

Queen Margaret had sought to regain the regency, but in vain.

Young King James is kept a virtual prisoner by Albany, and Margaret is allowed to see her son only once between 1516 and 1524, the end of Albany's regency.

The triumph over the Hamiltons has had an unsettling effect upon the Earl of Angus.

He has made free of the Queen's rents and abducted Lord Traquair's daughter.

The Queen has set about to obtain a divorce, and has used her influence, secretly, for the return of Albany as a means of undoing her husband's power.

When Albany returns in November 1521, with a large body of French men-at-arms, Margaret now sides with him against her husband.

Thus Albany is able to keep an upper hand in regard to the ambitious Angus.

The regent takes the government into his own hands, compelling Angus, with the Bishop of Dunkeld and others, to flee to the Borders.

From this retreat Gavin Douglas is sent by the earl to the English court, to ask for aid against the French party and against the queen, who is reported to be the mistress of the regent.

Meanwhile, he is deprived of his bishopric, and forced, for safety, to remain in England, where he effects nothing in the interests of his nephew.

The declaration of war by England against Scotland, in answer to the recent Franco-Scottish negotiations, prevents his return.

His case is further complicated by the libelous animosity of James Beaton, Archbishop of Glasgow (whose life he had saved in the "Cleanse the Causeway" incident), who is anxious to put himself forward and thwart Douglas in the election to the archbishopric of St Andrews, left vacant by the death of Forman.

Albany in December 1521 puts Angus under charges of high treason.