Murray was initially a supporter of the robust policies of
Lord Lauderdale, taking part in a 1678 raid against the Covenanters, but he then temporarily lost royal favour by counselling moderation concerning the measures taken against them. In 1679, however, he was present at the
Battle of Bothwell Bridge; in July 1680 he was made
vice-admiral of Scotland, and in 1681 president of parliament. In 1684 he was appointed lord-lieutenant of Argyll, fought vigorously against the
9th Earl of Argyll in
Argyll's Rising of 1685 and was instrumental in defeating him. Murray was
knighted in 1687. He showed himself to be lukewarm to the accession of
William III and waited on the event. Finally in April 1689 he wrote to William to declare his allegiance, and in May took part in the proclamation of William and Mary as king and queen at
Edinburgh. But during
Viscount Dundee's insurrection he allowed his troops to be used at the
Battle of Killiecrankie against the supporters of the new king, which helped bring about the defeat of the government's troops. He was then summoned to London and imprisoned during August. In 1690 he was implicated in the
Montgomery plot to restore James and subsequently in further
Jacobite intrigues. In June 1691 he received a pardon, and acted later for the government in the pacification of the Highlands. Ironically, given Murray's rumoured Jacobite leanings but public opposition to the group, his grandson,
Lord George Murray became a famed general of the Jacobites and was responsible for their success throughout the greater part of the
1745 uprising. Murray was described by Lord Macaulay as "the falsest, the most fickle, the most pusillanimous of mankind", regarding Murray's indecisive position surrounding the succession of William of Orange and the deposition of King James." ==Marriage==