Alexander Cunningham was the son of
William Cunningham, 4th Earl of Glencairn by his first wife, Catherine Borthwick, the second daughter of
William Borthwick, 3rd Lord Borthwick. He followed in his father's footsteps as a
Protestant and was among the first of the Scots' nobility who concurred with the
Scottish Reformation. By 1540, Cunningham, who was then styled as
Lord Kilmaurs, was associated with the cause of reform, writing a satirical poem about the
Grey Friars, which was later reprinted by
John Knox in his
History of the Reformation in Scotland. Lord Kilmaurs succeeded as
Earl of Glencairn upon the death of his father in 1548.
Finlaystone House and estate in
Inverclyde was the seat of the Earls of Glencairn and chiefs of clan Cunningham from 1405 to 1796. In 1555, on the return of Knox to Scotland, he resorted openly to hear him preach. When Knox, at the request of the
Earl Marischal, addressed to the Queen Regent,
Mary of Guise a letter in which he earnestly exhorted her to protect the reformed preachers, and to consent to a Reformation in the church, Glencairn had the boldness to deliver it to Her Majesty, who, after glancing carelessly over it, handed to
James Beaton, Archbishop of Glasgow, and contemptuously said: "Please you, my lord, to read as pasquil!". In 1556, he entertained Knox at his house of
Finlaystone House, when the sacrament of the
Lord's Supper, after the manner of the Reformed church, was administered to his whole family and some friends. In December 1557 he was one of the leaders of the Reform Party who subscribed to the memorable
Covenant which had been drawn up for the support and defence of the
Protestant religion, and who thenceforth assumed the name the
Lords of the Congregation. In 1559, in consequence of the rigorous proceedings against Protestants by the Queen Regent, he and his relative,
Sir Hugh Campbell of Loudon, the Sheriff of
Ayr, requested an audience of Her Majesty, at which they reminded her of her promises of
religious toleration. On the Queen's replying that "promises ought not to be urged upon princes, unless they can conveniently fulfil them"; "then", they said, "since you are resolved to keep no faith with your subjects we will renounce our allegiance", an answer which induced her to stop her proceedings. In May of that year, when the Reformers at
Perth found it necessary to protect themselves by force of arms, Glencairn joined them with 1,200 horse and 1,300 foot, which he had raised in the west of the country. After the Protestant religion had been established by
parliament in 1560, the earl was nominated a member of Queen Mary's
Privy Council. He and the
Earl of Morton with
William Maitland of Lethington were sent as
ambassadors to
Queen Elizabeth I of England with a proposal, for the strengthening of the bonds of amity between the two nations, that she should accept as a husband the
Earl of Arran, the heir to the Scottish Crown, which she declined. Glencairn was amongst the nobles who opposed the marriage of
Mary, Queen of Scots, with
Lord Darnley. Glencairn later had a principal command in the army embodied against the Queen in June 1567 at the 'battle' of
Carberry Hill, and when the French ambassador came from the Queen, promising the forgiveness if they would disperse, he replied that "they came not to ask pardon for any offence they had done, but to grant pardon to those who had offended". When
Mary, Queen of Scots, was taken to
Lochleven Castle that month, Glencairn hastened with his domestics to the
Chapel Royal of
Holyroodhouse and destroyed all the sacred images, demolished the
altar, tore down the pictures, and defaced all the ornaments. == Succession ==