The House of Stewart (also known as thew House of Stuart) originated in Scotland, and eventually became the Stuart Kings of Great Britain, however the dynasty’s patrilineal ancestors were from Dol-de-Bretagne, Brittany, France.
They held the office of High Steward of Scotland since the 12th century, after arriving by way of Norman England. The royal Stewart line was founded by Robert II, and they were Kings and Queens of Scots from the late 14th century until the union with England in 1707. Mary, Queen of Scots, was brought up in France, where she adopted the French spelling of the name, Stuart. Her son, James VI of Scotland, inherited the thrones of England and Ireland upon the death of Elizabeth I in 1603. Except for the period of the Commonwealth, 1649–1660, the Stuarts were monarchs of the British Isles and its growing empire, until the death of Queen Anne in 1714.
In total, nine Stewart/Stuart monarchs ruled Scotland alone from 1371 until 1603. James VI of Scotland then inherited the realms of Elizabeth I of England, becoming James I of England and Ireland in the Union of the Crowns. Following the Glorious Revolution in 1688, two Stuart queens ruled the isles: Mary II and Anne. Both were the Protestant daughters of James VII and II by his first wife. Their father had converted to Catholicism and his new wife gave birth to a son in 1688, who would be brought up a Roman Catholic and would precede his half-sisters; so James was deposed by Parliament in 1689, in favor of his daughters. But neither had any children who survived to adulthood, so under the terms of the Act of Settlement 1701 and the Act of Security 1704, the crown passed to the House of Hanover on the death of Queen Anne in 1714.
Based on data collected from the FTDNA Stewart Surname Project AND the Stewart (Royal) YDNA Project it is now known that their YDNA SNP signature is R-P310 > P312 > Z290 > L21 > DF13 > Z39589 > DF41 > S775 > L746:
* James Stewart (5th High Stewart) (1260-1309) was Y6071 > S781; and
* Sir John of Bonkyl (1246 – 1298) was Y6071 > S781; and
* King Robert III (1337-1406) was Y6071 > Z38845 > ZZ52.