William Murray inherited the main family residence at
Tullibardine Castle, in the village of
Tullibardine, north of
Auchterarder,
Perth and Kinross, from his grandfather (also William Murray) in 1525. During the war with England known as the
Rough Wooing, William Murray and his wife Katherine Campbell communicated with
Thomas Wharton at Carlisle. In July 1543, he signed the "
Secret Bond", a protest against the policies of
Regent Arran which led to
Mary, Queen of Scots moving from
Linlithgow Palace to
Stirling Castle. He was subsequently an opponent of the party of
Cardinal Beaton in Scotland and became a member of the Lennox faction. Murray attacked the Cardinal's baggage train at
Dunning in May 1544, and took his silverware. According to
John Lesley, Murray sailed to
Chester with Earl of Lennox and the
Bishop of Caithness after the
Burning of Edinburgh in 1544. In December 1544, Wharton forwarded a newsletter written by Katherine Campbell to the
Earl of Lennox so he could show it to the council of
Henry VIII, although Murray suggested it should first be edited and "sundry vain words might be razed forth". Wharton told Murray it was a "wise letter convenient in all points to be seen". Murray hoped that Lennox could effect a reconciliation between
Mary of Guise and the
Earl of Bothwell. Katherine Campbell planned to come to Carlisle with her friend, a French
maid of honour from the household of Mary of Guise. The French woman, Mademoiselle "Latushowe" (
Françoise d'Avantigny, Mme de la Touche), intended to come to England to plead for the release of her father who had been captured at the
siege of Boulogne. Françoise's mother Renée had been governess of the maids of honour at the Scottish court. Murray told Wharton that his wife Katherine and Lennox's sister
Helen Stewart, Lady Erroll were now "much cherished" by Mary of Guise. The
Privy Council of Scotland ordered Katherine to remain at Tullibardine Castle, and she petitioned to be allowed to visit her husband's other properties and houses. The
Privy Council of England made William Murray custodian of his brother David "in ward", as David Murray was not thought to be an ally of England and the Earl of Lennox. William Murray was summoned to London in April 1546, his own loyalty to the English cause was questioned, and he was sent to the
Fleet Prison. Thomas Bishop later wrote that David Murray was sent to the
Tower of London and Tullibardine was "half a year" in the Fleet. According to
Alexander Crichton of Brunstane (or
John Cockburn of Ormiston), the
Parliament of Scotland considered forfeiting William Murray for his dealings at Carlisle. Apparently forgiven by the Scottish council, Murray obtained a reward of £25 and a passport from
Henry VIII to return to Scotland in September 1546. Murray was sympathetic to the
Scottish Reformation. He was one of the Scottish aristocrats who accompanied Mary of Guise to France and England in 1550 at the conclusion of the Rough Wooing. In 1560, he was one of
Lords of the Congregation who opposed Guise and French rule in Scotland. He signed a commission for the
Treaty of Berwick which facilitated the entry of an English army into Scotland to fight at the
siege of Leith. He died in 1562. ==Marriage and children==