David Stewart was heir apparent to the throne of Scotland from 1390 and the first Duke of Rothesay from 1398. He was named after his great-granduncle, David II of Scotland, and also held the titles of Earl of Atholl (1398–1402) and Earl of Carrick (1390–1402). He shares with his uncle and arch-rival, Robert Stewart, first Duke of Albany, the distinction of being first dukes to be created in the Scottish peerage. David never became king. His marriage to Mary Douglas, daughter of Archibald the Grim, the third Earl of Douglas, was without issue.

The Mormaer or Earl of Atholl was the title of the holder of a medieval comital lordship straddling the highland province of Atholl, now in northern Perthshire. Atholl is a special Mormaerdom, because a King of Atholl is reported from the Pictish period. The only other two Pictish kingdoms to be known from contemporary sources are Fortriu and Circinn. Indeed, the early 13th century document known to modern scholars as the de Situ Albanie repeats the claim that Atholl was an ancient Pictish kingdom. In the 11th century, the famous Crínán of Dunkeld may have performed the role of Mormaer.