| In 1485, under the designation of Michael Balfour, junior, he got a lease of the lands of Easter and Wester Duchra in Menteith, with leave to work iron and have servants, so that by this date he may be presumed to have been at least upwards of twenty-one. On 5 July 1490 he had a charter from the King, on the resignation of his father, of the lands and barony of Burleigh, the lands of Balgarvy and others and the Mill of Skeoch near Bannockburn, a grant which was confirmed to him on 16 February 1505-6 as grandson of John Balfour of Balgarvy. On 11 July 1502, under the designation of Michael Balfour of Burleigh 'familiaris armiger regis,' he and his wife got a grant of the lands of Monchaster and others, This shows that his father must then have been dead. He held an office in the King's ale cellar, and was knighted in 1503, about the time of the King's marriage. He was appointed 'carver' to the Queen, and received fees as such in 1506. He and his wife received a charter of the lands of Shanwell, in co. Kinross, 28 May 1512. Michael Balfour was alive on 28 January 1524-25, when he resigned his barony in favour of his son, but must have died shortly afterwards, as he is styled 'quondam' in the accounts of the Chamberlain of Fife, including the period from July 1525 to April 1526, and his son is styled of Burleigh in 1526.6 |