6th of Holmains

George came of age during one of the most unstable periods in Scottish history. James V died in December 1542, leaving the crown to the infant Mary Queen of Scots, while Henry VIII attempted to force a marriage between Mary and his son Edward.

The resulting conflict, later called the Rough Wooing, brought repeated English invasions into southern Scotland. Annandale lay directly within this military frontier, meaning that the political crises surrounding the Scottish Crown were immediate realities for families such as the Carruthers.