First years as governor
Robert's nephew, James I, became King of Scots after the death of Robert III. James' captivity in England, however, forced the Scottish estates to recognize Robert's power as regent once again. Unlike on previous occasions, Robert adopted the title of "Governor" in 1406, and began to adopt many royal privileges. By 1410, Robert was using the style of Dei Gratia, traditionally reserved for kings, in diplomatic correspondence. For several years after becoming governor, Robert maintained the legal position that his nephew was merely the heir to the vacant Scottish monarchy, as he had never been crowned.
Robert's main concern after becoming governor was the course of Anglo-Scottish relations. He sought to resume negotiations with Henry IV in December 1406, sending a large embassy to meet with the English king in London. Despite this diplomacy, and the captivity of his eldest son, Murdoch, in England, Robert's relationship with Henry IV was ambivalent. Robert seemingly reversed course in 1407 by allowing the exiled Earl of Northumberland, a rebel against Henry IV, to seek refuge in Scotland. The earl gathered an army and attacked northern England in February 1408, but was killed by Henry IV's forces. Archibald, Earl of Douglas, who had been released on parole from English captivity by Henry IV in 1407, initially swore to remain loyal to the English king, but quickly broke this oath. When his parole expired early in 1409, Douglas failed to return to England.
A Scottish army attacked and captured Jedburgh Castle in May 1409. Robert ordered Jedburgh, a symbol of the English occupation of southern Scotland since the Wars of Scottish Independence, to be destroyed after it fell into Scottish hands. Renewed naval conflict between Scotland and England erupted in 1409, when an English fleet led by Robert de Umfraville attacked the Firth of Forth. Henry IV opened negotiations with Robert in 1410, seeking to exchange Douglas for Robert's eldest son. These negotiations ultimately proved futile, as Douglas paid a large ransom to Henry IV to secure his freedom.
The major political event of Robert's first years as governor was the return of George Dunbar, Earl of March, from exile in England. The Earl of March, who had previously sought English support against Robert's late nephew, David, Duke of Rothesay, abandoned Henry IV in June 1408 and travelled back to Scotland. Robert accepted the Dunbar family's pledges of loyalty, and began attempting to reconcile Dunbar with his old enemy, the Earl of Douglas. Robert's support of Dunbar's return provoked a dispute with Douglas, which he sought to resolve by meeting the earl at Inverkeithing in June 1409. Renewed political discussions led to a final meeting between Robert, Douglas, and Dunbar at Haddington in October 1409. During this meeting, Robert supervised an exchange of land between Douglas and Dunbar as a mark of peace between the two noblemen. Robert arranged the marriage of his eldest son by his second marriage, John, Earl of Buchan, to Douglas' daughter in 1410, in a final sign of his rapprochement with the earl.
After 1410, Robert largely left the governance of southern Scotland in the hands of Archibald, 4th Earl of Douglas, the most powerful non-royal nobleman in the kingdom. Although he rebuked Douglas that same year for taking funds illegally from the Scottish exchequer, Robert allowed significant grants to be made to the earl for the remainder of his rule. Douglas effectively robbed Robert's regency government of large sums of money, and began abusing the customs revenue of Edinburgh to supply his personal income. The nadir of this difficult period for the royal finances came in 1418, when Douglas besieged Edinburgh Castle in order to arrest members of his own affinity who worked in the exchequer. Robert was unwilling to challenge the Douglas family or its strong affinity, and restricted his interference in southern Scotland to confirming the earl's charters with the Great Seal.
