by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2017

The first monarch of the House of Stewart, Robert II, King of Scots, was born at Paisley Abbey on March 2, 1316. He was the only child of Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland and Marjorie Bruce, the daughter of Robert I the Bruce, King of Scots. His 19-year-old mother Marjorie had been riding in Paisley, Renfrewshire Scotland. Her horse was suddenly startled and threw her to the ground. Marjorie went into premature labor and her child Robert was delivered by caesarean section at the nearby Paisley Abbey. Sadly, Marjorie died within a few hours.

Robert’s father Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland gave his name to the Royal House of Stewart (later Stuart). The surname Stewart comes from the word steward, which means one who organizes the house of a king. The title of High Steward or Great Steward was given in the 12th century to Walter FitzAlan and shortly afterward, it was made a hereditary title. Walter FitzAlan’s grandson started to use Stewart as his surname. In 1371, Robert II, the 7th, and the last High Steward inherited the throne of Scotland. Since that time, the title of High (or Great) Steward of Scotland has been held as a subsidiary title of Duke of Rothesay and Baron of Renfrew, among the titles traditionally held by the heir apparent of Scotland. When James VI, King of Scots succeeded to the English throne upon the death of Queen Elizabeth I, those titles for the heir apparent came with James. Even today, The Prince of Wales holds the titles traditionally held by the English heir apparent, but also the traditional titles of the Scottish heir apparent: Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, Prince and Great Steward of Scotland.

Robert had three half-siblings from his father’s second marriage to Isabel de Graham, daughter of Sir Nicholas de Graham, Lord of Dalkeith and Abercorn and Mary of Strathearn

• Sir John Stewart of Ralston, married Alicia Mure, had issue
• Sir Andrew Stewart, no issue
• Egidia Stewart, married (1) Sir James Lindsay, of Crawford, Lord of Crawford and Kirkmichael, had issue (2) Sir Hugh Eglinton, Laird of Aird Rosainb, Eglintoun and Ormdale (3) Sir James Douglas of Dalkeith

In 1318, two-year-old Robert was declared heir to the Scottish throne if his grandfather Robert I did not have any male issue. Six years later, Robert I and his second wife Elizabeth de Burgh had a son David, who became heir to the Scottish throne. Robert’s father Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland, died on April 9, 1326. He was buried at Paisley Abbey, alongside his first wife, Marjorie Bruce, and the previous five High Stewards. Ten-year-old Robert became the 7th High Steward of Scotland. The orphaned Robert was placed under the guardianship of his paternal uncle Sir James Stewart of Durrisdeer, who raised his nephew and served as his tutor.

On June 7, 1329, Robert’s grandfather Robert I the Bruce, King of Scots died at the age of 54 and was succeeded by his five-year-old son David II, King of Scots. Robert I’s funeral procession was led by a line of knights dressed in black, including Robert’s 13-year-old grandson Robert Stewart, 7th High Steward of Scotland, the future Robert II, King of Scots, the son of his daughter Marjorie Bruce. In 1326, the Scottish Parliament had restored Robert Stewart to the line of succession in the event his uncle David, who was eight years younger, did not have any male heirs. At the time of his restoration to the succession, Robert received grants of land in Argyll, Roxburghshire, and the Lothians.

However, David II’s accession to the throne sparked another war, the Second War of Scottish Independence, and Robert’s position as heir was threatened. The death of Robert I had weakened Scotland considerably and his successor David II was still a child. The year before he had died, Robert I had arranged for the marriage of his four-year-old David to the seven-year-old Joan of the Tower, youngest daughter of King Edward II of England, in hopes of strengthening relations with England.

However, in 1332-1333, David’s brother-in-law, King Edward III of England, invaded Scotland in support of Edward Balliol‘s claim to the Scots throne and defeated the Scots. Edward Balliol was the eldest son of John Balliol who had been King of Scots from 1292 – 1296. David and Joan sought refuge in France and remained there from 1334 until May of 1341 when David returned to Scotland and took control of the government. King Philippe VI of France persuaded David to invade England. However, the Scots forces were defeated at the Battle of Neville’s Cross on October 17, 1346, and David was taken prisoner. He was held by the English for 11 years and was finally freed in 1357 by the Treaty of Berwick which stipulated that a large ransom would be paid over the next 10 years. Robert Stewart played a major role in the Bruce resistance to Edward Balliol and acted as Guardian of the Kingdom (regent) during David II’s years in France and his imprisonment in England.

Robert had two wives. Elizabeth Mure died before Robert became king and Euphemia de Ross was his only Queen Consort. At first, Elizabeth Mure was the mistress of Robert Stewart. The couple married in 1346, but the marriage was not in agreement with the Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church. After receiving a papal dispensation, the couple remarried. The children born before their marriage were legitimized. Despite the legitimization of Elizabeth’s children, there were family disputes over her children’s right to the crown.

Elizabeth and Robert’s daughter Jean Stewart and her second husband Sir John Lyon, Lord of Glamis had one son Sir John Lyon. Through him, Jean, and therefore Elizabeth Mure and Robert II, are ancestors of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, formerly Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon.  The elder Sir John was a courtier and diplomat, and was appointed Keeper of the Privy Seal upon the accession of Robert II in 1371. The following year, Robert II granted him “the free barony of Glamuyss in the sheriffdom of Forfar.” Glamis has remained the seat of the family ever since. See Wikipedia: Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne for more information.

Elizabeth and Robert had at least ten children:

• • • Robert III, King of Scots; born John Stewart, Earl of Carrick (c.1337/40 – 1406), married Anabella Drummond, had issue
    • Walter Stewart, Lord of Fife (c.1338–1362), married Isabella MacDuff, Countess of Fife, no issue
    • Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany (c. 1340 – 1420), married (1) Margaret Graham, Countess of Menteith, had issue (2) Muriella Keith, had issue
    • Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan (1343 – 1405), married Euphemia I, Countess of Ross, no issue
    • Margaret Stewart, married John of Islay, Lord of the Isles, had issue
    • Marjorie Stewart, married (1) John Dunbar, Earl of Moray  (2) Sir Alexander Keith
    • Jean Stewart, married (1) Sir John Keith, (2) Sir John Lyon, Lord of Glamis, had one son (3) Sir James Sandilands
    • Isabella Stewart, married (1) James Douglas, 2nd Earl of Douglas, no issue (2) David Edmonstone
    • Katherine Stewart, married Sir Robert Logan of Grugar and Restalrig, Lord High Admiral of Scotland
    • Elizabeth Stewart, married Sir Thomas Hay, Lord High Constable of Scotland

Elizabeth Mure died before May 1355 and was buried at Paisley Abbey in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland.

Euphemia de Ross was the daughter and probably the only child of Hugh, 4th Earl of Ross and his second wife Margaret de Graham, daughter of Sir David de Graham of Montrose. On May 2, 1355, Euphemia married Robert Stewart, 7th High Steward of Scotland. In 1357, Robert was granted the title Earl of Strathearn, so Euphemia was then the Countess of Strathearn.

Euphemia and Robert had four children. The children of Robert II from both his marriages considered themselves the rightful heirs to the throne of Scotland, causing considerable family conflict.

• David Stewart, Earl of Strathearn (1357 – circa 1386), married a sister of David Lindsay, 1st Earl of Crawford, whose first name is unknown, had one child Euphemia Stewart, Countess of Strathearn
• Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl (circa 1360 – 1437), married Margaret Barclay, Lady of Brechin, had issue, beheaded for his involvement in the assassination of James I, King of Scots
• Elizabeth Stewart, married David Lindsay, 1st Earl of Crawford, had issue
• Egidia Stewart, married William Douglas of Nithsdale, had issue

Euphemia Stewart, Countess of Strathearn, granddaughter of Euphemia and Robert through their son David Stewart, Earl of Strathearn, is an ancestor of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother formerly Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. As an only child, Euphemia Stewart was heir to her father’s earldoms. She married Patrick Graham and their daughter Elizabeth married Sir John Lyon, 1st Master of Glamis, the son of Sir John Lyon who had married Jean Stewart, daughter of Robert II and Elizabeth Mure (see above). See Wikipedia: Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne for more information.

In the later years of his reign, David II, King of Scots continued to pursue peace with England and worked to make Scotland a stronger kingdom with a more prosperous economy. David II, aged 46, died unexpectedly on February 22, 1371, at Edinburgh Castle and was buried at Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh, now in ruins. As both his marriages were childless, David was succeeded by his nephew, his senior by eight years, the son of his half-sister Marjorie, who became Robert II, King of Scots, the first monarch of the House of Stewart.

Robert II, King of Scots was crowned at Scone on March 26, 1371, by William de Landallis, Bishop of St. Andrews. Immediately after his coronation, his eldest son John, Earl of Carrick, was recognized as the heir apparent. In order to dispel all conflict among the children of his two marriages, Robert II had a succession act passed in Parliament in 1373. If the heir apparent John, Earl of Carrick dies without sons, the succession would pass to Robert, Duke of Albany and then to his younger brothers from Robert II’s two marriages in order of birth. As his reign progressed, Robert II delegated more power to his three eldest sons, John, Earl of Carrick and heir to the throne; Robert, Duke of Albany and Alexander, Earl of Buchan, who became his lieutenant in the north of Scotland.

Fortunately, Robert II’s reign was more peaceful than previous reigns. Hostilities with England were renewed in 1378 and continued intermittently for the rest of Robert II’s reign. In 1384, when Robert II became senile, he left the administration of the kingdom to his eldest son John, Earl of Carrick.  Euphemia de Ross, Queen of Scots died in 1386 and was buried at Paisley Abbey in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. Robert II, King of Scots survived his wife by four years, dying on April 19, 1390, at the age of 74 at Dundonald Castle in Ayrshire. He was buried at Scone Abbey. His son John, Earl of Carrick succeeded him as Robert III, King of Scots.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• “David II, King Of Scots”. Unofficial Royalty. N.p., 2017. Web. 19 Apr. 2017.
• “High Steward Of Scotland”. En.wikipedia.org. N.p., 2017. Web. 19 Apr. 2017.
• “Robert I Of Scotland”. Unofficial Royalty. N.p., 2017. Web. 19 Apr. 2017.
• “Robert II Of Scotland”. En.wikipedia.org. N.p., 2017. Web. 19 Apr. 2017.
• “Walter Stewart, 6Th High Steward Of Scotland : Genealogics”. Genealogics.org. N.p., 2017. Web. 19 Apr. 2017.
• “Walter Stewart, 6Th High Steward Of Scotland”. En.wikipedia.org. N.p., 2017. Web. 19 Apr. 2017.
• Williamson, David. Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell, 1996. Print.
• “Wives of Robert II: Elizabeth Mure and Euphemia de Ross”. Unofficial Royalty. N.p., 2017. Web. 19 Apr. 2017.

by Susan Flantzer

The second wife of David II, King of Scots, Margaret Drummond was born in Perthshire, Scotland in about 1330. She was the daughter of Sir Malcolm Drummond, a minor Lennox and Perthshire lord, and his wife from the Graham family, possibly named Annabelle. In 1314, Sir Malcolm fought at the decisive Battle of Bannockburn, a landmark in Scottish history. Stirling Castle, a Scots royal fortress, occupied by the English, was under siege by the Scottish army. King Edward II of England, who was at the battle, assembled a formidable force to stop the siege. This attempt failed, and Edward II’s army was defeated by a smaller army commanded by Robert I the Bruce, King of Scots. Sir Malcolm is credited with the use of caltrops at the battle, a weapon made up of two or more sharp nails or spikes arranged in such a manner that one of them always points upward from a stable base to injure horses and unseat their riders. The caltrops were spread on the ground prior to the Battle of Bannockburn and were very effective against the English horses. After the battle, the Clan Drummond was given lands in Perthshire by Robert I the Bruce, King of Scots.  In memory of Malcolm’s feat, caltrops appear in many versions of the Drummond coat of arms and the Clan Drummond motto is “Gang Warily” (Go carefully).

Margaret had at least one sibling:

• Sir John Drummond of Stobhall (born circa 1300 – died circa 1360), married Mary de Montfichet, daughter and co-heiress with her sisters of Sir William de Montfichet, of Stobhall, Cargill, and Auchterarder, had issue including Annabelle Drummond who married John Stewart, Earl of Carrick (the future Robert III, King of Scots), son of Robert II, King of Scots

Margaret first married Sir John Logie, and the couple had a son John of Logie, born about 1350. As very young children, David II, King of Scots, son of Robert I the Bruce, King of Scots from his second marriage, and Joan of the Tower, daughter of King Edward II of England, were married under the terms of the peace which ended the Wars of Scottish Independence which were fought between Scotland and England. The marriage was unhappy and childless, and David had mistresses. Around 1360, David and Margaret began an affair.

In 1362, Joan of the Tower died, leaving David free to marry Margaret, who had lived with him for some time. Around 1363, either Margaret’s first husband died or her first marriage was annulled and David and Margaret made plans to marry. However, the marriage plans provoked a rebellion by supporters of David’s nephew and heir presumptive Robert Stewart, High Steward of Scotland. Robert was the only child of Marjorie Bruce, daughter of Robert the Bruce by his first wife Isabella of Mar. The rebels eventually submitted and on February 20, 1364, David and Margaret married at Inchmurdoch, the manor of the Bishop of St. Andrews near Crail, Scotland.

History has depicted Margaret as beautiful, but also arrogant and greedy. As Queen of Scots, Margaret received land in Perthshire and the customs revenue from Aberdeen and Inverkeithing. She also managed to procure royal lands in Annandale for her son John of Logie. Margaret pressed her husband into stripping his first cousin William, 5th Earl of Ross of his lands and title and briefly arresting his heir presumptive Robert Stewart, High Steward of Scotland.

By 1368, Margaret’s behavior and her failure to produce an heir had convinced David to annul their marriage. Instead, he planned to marry his current mistress Agnes Dunbar. David had the marriage annulled on March 20, 1369, on grounds of Margaret’s infertility. However, Margaret traveled to Avignon, in southern France, and made a successful appeal to the Pope Urban V to reverse the annulment which had been pronounced against her in Scotland. Since Margaret had a child in her first marriage, it seems likely that David himself was infertile, since his thirty-four-year marriage to his first wife was childless. David never did marry Agnes Dunbar. He died unexpectedly on February 22, 1371, at Edinburgh Castle and was buried at Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh, now in ruins. His nephew, the son of his half-sister Marjorie, succeeded him as Robert II, King of Scots, the first monarch of the House of Stewart. Around 1373, Margaret died in Marseilles, France. Pope Gregory XI paid for her funeral and burial. Her burial place is unknown, but it is assumed it is in France.

Wikipedia: Margaret Drummond, Queen of Scotland

Works Cited

• “Clan Drummond”. En.wikipedia.org. N.p., 2017. Web. 7 Apr. 2017.
• “David II Of Scotland”. En.wikipedia.org. N.p., 2017. Web. 7 Apr. 2017.
• Ewan, Elizabeth et al. The Biographical Dictionary Of Scottish Women. 1st ed. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007. Print.
• “Margaret Drummond: Genealogics”. Genealogics.org. N.p., 2017. Web. 7 Apr. 2017.
• “Margaret Drummond, Queen Of Scotland”. En.wikipedia.org. N.p., 2017. Web. 7 Apr. 2017.
• “Marguerite Drummond”. Fr.wikipedia.org. N.p., 2017. Web. 7 Apr. 2017.

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2017

Born in Ireland around 1284, Elizabeth de Burgh was the second wife of Robert I (the Bruce), King of Scots and his only Queen Consort. Robert’s first wife Isabella of Mar died in childbirth before Robert became king. Elizabeth was the third of the ten children of Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster and 3rd Baron of Connaught and his wife Margaret, possibly his cousin Margaret de Burgh or Margaret de Guines.

Elizabeth had nine siblings:

• Aveline de Burgh (born circa 1280), married John de Bermingham, 1st Earl of Louth, had issue
• Eleanor de Burgh (1282 – after August 1324), married Lord Thomas de Multon of Gilsland, had one daughter
• Walter de Burgh (circa 1285 – 1304)
• John de Burgh (c. 1286 – 1313), married Elizabeth de Clare, granddaughter of King Edward I of England, had one son
• Matilda de Burgh (circa 1288 – 1320), married Gilbert de Clare, 8th Earl of Gloucester, 7th Earl of Hertford, 10th Lord of Clare, 5th Lord of Glamorgan, grandson of King Edward I of England, no issue
• Thomas de Burgh (circa 1292 – 1316)
• Catherine de Burgh (circa 1296 – 1331), married Maurice Fitzgerald, 1st Earl of Desmond, had one son
• Edmond de Burgh ( 1298 – 1338), married ?, had issue
• Joan de Burgh (circa 1300 – 1359), married (1) Thomas FitzGerald, 2nd Earl of Kildare, had issue (2) Sir John Darcy, 1st Baron Darcy de Knayth, had issue

Elizabeth’s father Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster and 3rd Baron of Connaught was one of the most powerful Irish nobles of his time. He was the friend and ally of King Edward I of England and ranked first among the Earls of Ireland. He played a leading role among the Anglo-Irish nobility, supporting the expansion of the Norman barons in Ireland at the expense of the ancestral territories of the Irish Gaelic. Despite the marriage of his daughter to Robert the Bruce, that did not stop him from leading his forces from Ireland to support England’s King Edward I in his Scottish campaigns.

Through her father, Elizabeth was the descendant of the Irish Kings of Munster, Kings of Thomond, and also of the famous Brian Boru, High King of Ireland. Her father also had a line of descent from William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, called William the Marshal, the Anglo-Norman soldier and statesman who served five English kings: Henry II, his sons Henry the Young King, Richard I, John, and John’s son Henry III.

Richard’s great-granddaughter Elizabeth de Burgh, 4th Countess of Ulster married Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence who was the third, but the second surviving son of King Edward III of England and was one of the two people on whom the House of York would base its claim to the English throne during the Wars of the Roses.

Elizabeth probably met Robert the Bruce, then the Earl of Carrick, at the English court. Today, Earl of Carrick is one of the titles of the eldest living son and heir-apparent of the British sovereign. Along with Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick was one of the traditional titles of the eldest living son and heir-apparent of the throne of Scotland. When King James VI of Scotland also became King James I of England after the death of Queen Elizabeth I, the Scottish titles came along with him.

Elizabeth and Robert married at Writtle, near Chelmsford, Essex, England in 1302 when Elizabeth was about 18 years-old and Robert was about 28 years-old. This was the second marriage for Robert. His first wife Isabella of Mar died soon after giving birth to a daughter named Marjorie Bruce on December 12, 1296. Marjorie married Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland.  It was Marjorie’s son who succeeded to the Scots throne as King Robert II, the first monarch of the House of Stewart, after the death of Elizabeth and Robert the Bruce’s childless son King David II.

In 1302, when Elizabeth married Robert the Bruce, Scotland had been in political turmoil for some time. Alexander III, King of Scots (reigned 1249 – 1286) had only two surviving children, a son Alexander and a daughter Margaret who married King Eric II of Norway. Margaret of Scotland, Queen of Norway died in childbirth in 1283, giving birth to her only child Margaret, Maid of Norway. In 1284, the earls and barons of Scotland recognized Margaret, Maid of Norway as the heir to the throne of her grandfather King Alexander III of Scotland if he died without a male heir. Later that year, Alexander III’s 20-year-old Alexander died. When Alexander III died in 1286, his three-year-old granddaughter was the heir to his throne. The earls, barons, and clerics of Scotland met to select the Guardians of Scotland who would rule the kingdom for the rightful heir. In 1290, while on her way to Scotland, Margaret, Maid of Norway died.

The death of Margaret, Maid of Norway began a two-year interregnum in Scotland caused by the succession crisis. With Margaret’s death, the line of William I (the Lion), King of Scots became extinct and there was no obvious heir by primogeniture. Fifteen candidates presented themselves as candidates for the throne of Scotland.  The most prominent were John Balliol, great-grandson of William I’s younger brother David, Earl of Huntingdon, and Robert de Brus, 5th Lord of Annandale, David of Huntingdon’s grandson and the grandfather of Elizabeth’s husband.

The Scottish lords invited King Edward I of England to arbitrate the claims. Edward I agreed but forced the Scots to swear allegiance to him as their overlord. In 1292, it was decided that John Balliol should become King of Scots. After John Balliol became King, Robert, 5th Lord of Annandale resigned the lordship of Annandale and his claim to the throne to his eldest son Robert de Brus, the father of Elizabeth’s husband. Around the same time, Robert de Brus, 6th Lord of Annandale’s wife Marjorie, Countess of Carrick died, and the Earldom of Carrick, which Robert had ruled jure uxoris (by right of his wife), devolved upon their eldest son, also called Robert, Elizabeth’s husband. John Balliol proved weak and incapable, and in 1296 was forced to abdicate by Edward I, who then attempted to annex Scotland into the Kingdom of England. For ten years, there was no monarch of Scotland.

The Scots refused to tolerate English rule and the result was the Wars of Scottish Independence, a series of military campaigns fought between Scotland and England, first led by William Wallace and after his execution, led by Robert the Bruce, Elizabeth’s husband. Robert the Bruce as Earl of Carrick and 7th Lord of Annandale, held estates and property in Scotland, a barony and some minor properties in England, and a strong claim to the throne of Scotland

On February 10, 1306, Robert the Bruce and his supporters killed a rival for the throne, John III Comyn, Lord of Badenoch at Greyfriars Church in Dumfries, Scotland. The bad blood between the two men went far back, and they had found it impossible to work together as Guardians of the Realm. Shortly after, Robert and his followers went to Scone, the traditional coronation site of the Kings of Scots. On March 27, 1306, Robert the Bruce was proclaimed Robert I, King of Scots, and the crown was placed on his head by Isabella MacDuff, Countess of Buchan “in the presence and with the consent of four bishops, five earls, and with the consent of the people.” According to tradition, the ceremony of crowning the monarch was performed by a representative of Clan MacDuff.

And so Elizabeth de Burgh was now Queen of Scots. However, she did not think she would be queen for long because she feared her husband would be defeated by Edward I. She supposedly said, “Alas, we are but king and queen of the May! ” Both Robert the Bruce and John Comyn had sworn fealty to King Edward I of England. When Edward I heard that John Comyn had been murdered, he vowed “by the God of Heaven and these swans” to avenge Comyn’s death and the treachery of the Scots. On his demand, his knights took a similar oath, and they were sent off to Scotland to seek revenge.

In Scotland, Robert I, King of Scots was already engaged in a civil war with the family and friends of the murdered John Comyn. His coronation had given him some legitimacy, but his position was very uncertain. By the middle of June 1306, the English were in Perth, Scotland, and were joined by supporters of John Comyn. Robert, abiding by the conventions of feudal warfare, invited the English commander to leave the walls of Perth and join him in battle, but the English commander declined to do so. Robert, believing that the English refusal to accept his challenge was a sign of weakness, moved his forces a few miles to nearby Methven, where he made camp for the night. Before dawn on June 19, 1306, Robert’s army was taken by surprise and almost destroyed. Robert barely escaped and fled with a few followers to the Scottish Highlands.

Elizabeth was not so lucky. After the Battle of Methven, under the protection of his brother Niall, Robert sent Elizabeth, his daughter Marjorie from his first marriage, his sisters Mary and Christina and Isabella MacDuff, Countess of Buchan (who had crowned him) to Kildrummy Castle, the seat of the Earls of Mar, the family of his first wife Isabella of Mar. The English besieged Kildrummy Castle and Niall Bruce and all the men of the castle were hanged, drawn, and quartered. However, the women had escaped and sought sanctuary at St. Duthac’s Chapel in Tain, Scotland. The sanctuary was breached by William, Earl of Ross who had the women arrested and handed over to the English.

King Edward I of England sent his hostages to different places in England. Marjorie went to the convent at Watton, Yorkshire and her aunt Christina Bruce was sent to another convent. Marjorie’s aunt Mary Bruce and Isabella MacDuff, Countess of Buchan were imprisoned in wooden cages and exposed to public view. Mary’s cage was at Roxburgh Castle and Isabella’s was at Berwick Castle. Marjorie, Mary, and Christina were finally set free around 1314 – 1315, probably in exchange for English noblemen captured after the Battle of Bannockburn in June 1314. There is no mention of Isabella MacDuff, Countess of Buchan in the records, so she probably died in captivity.

Queen Elizabeth’s punishment was lighter than that of the other women because King Edward I needed the support of her father, the powerful Earl of Ulster. She was imprisoned for eight years by the English and was moved around quite a bit:

• October 1306 to July 1308 at the manor in Burstwick-in-Holderness, Yorkshire
• July 1308 to March 1312 at Bisham Abbey Manor House, Berkshire
• March 1312 to October 1312 at Windsor Castle
• October 1312 to March 1313 at Shaftesbury Abbey, Dorset
• March 1313 to March 1314 at Barking Abbey, Essex
• March 1314 to June 1314 at Rochester Castle, Kent

After the Scots’ victory at the Battle of Bannockburn where they routed the English in June 1314, Elizabeth was moved to York while prisoner exchange talks took place and where she had an audience with King Edward II of England who had succeeded his father in 1307. Finally, in November 1314, she was moved to Carlisle, close to the Scots border, just before the exchange and her return to Scotland.  Because of the turmoil in Scotland and Elizabeth’s imprisonment, Robert and Elizabeth did not have any children until after her return to Scotland in 1314.

Elizabeth and Robert had four children:

• Margaret (born between 1315 and 1323 – 1346), William de Moravia, 5th Earl of Sutherland, had one son John who died of the plague at age 20, Margaret died in childbirth
• Matilda (born between 1315 and 1323 – 1353), married Thomas Isaac, had two daughters
• David II, King of Scots (1324 – 1371), twin of John, married (1) Joan of The Tower, daughter of King Edward II of England, no issue (2) Margaret Drummond, no issue
• John (1324 – 1327), younger twin of David, died young

After falling from her horse, Elizabeth died on October 27, 1327, at Cullen Castle in Banffshire, Scotland, aged about 43-years-old. She was buried at Dunfermline Abbey in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, the resting place of many Kings and Queens of Scots. Robert I, King of Scots died 18 months later and was buried next to his wife. In 1560, Dunfermline Abbey was sacked by the Calvinists during the Scottish Reformation, and Elizabeth and Robert’s tomb was destroyed. During construction work on the new abbey in 1819, Robert’s coffin was discovered and then Elizabeth’s coffin was rediscovered in 1917. Both coffins were re-interred in the new abbey.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• Ashley, Michael. British Kings & Queens. 1st ed. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1998. Print.
• “Battle Of Methven”. En.wikipedia.org. N.p., 2017. Web. 3 Apr. 2017.
• Dodson, Aidan. The Royal Tombs Of Great Britain. 1st ed. London: Duckworth, 2004. Print.
• “Elizabeth De Burgh”. En.wikipedia.org. N.p., 2017. Web. 3 Apr. 2017.
• “Richard Óg De Burgh, 2Nd Earl Of Ulster”. En.wikipedia.org. N.p., 2017. Web. 3
• “Robert The Bruce”. En.wikipedia.org. N.p., 2017. Web. 3 Apr. 2017.
• Williamson, David. Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell, 1996. Print.

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2017

Isabella of Mar was the first wife of Robert I (the Bruce), King of Scots, but she died before her husband became king. She was born about 1277 at Kildrummy Castle and was the daughter of Domhnall (Donald), 6th Earl of Mar and Elen the Younger ferch Llywelyn, an illegitimate daughter of the de facto Prince of Wales, Llywelyn Fawr (Llywelyn the Great), Prince of Gwynedd and Prince of Powys Wenwynwyn.

Isabella’s father was the Earl of Mar, in Gaelic, the Mormaer of Mar. A mormaer was a regional or provincial ruler, second only to the King of Scots, and more senior than a taoiseach or chieftain. Mormaers were equivalent to English earls. Mar was located in present-day Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Kildrummy Castle near Kildrummy in Aberdeenshire, Scotland was the Mar family seat.

Isabella’s father Domhnall was very involved in the politics of Scotland. He was knighted by King Alexander III of Scotland in 1270 and succeeded his father as the 6th Earl of Mar in 1281. In the same year, his name appeared with that of other Scottish nobles on the marriage contract between King Eric II of Norway and Margaret, the only daughter of King Alexander III. In 1284, he was among those who recognized the daughter of this marriage, Margaret, Maid of Norway, as the heir to the throne of her grandfather King Alexander III of Scotland if he died without a male heir.

Isabella had at least five siblings:

• Gartnait, 7th Earl of Mar (circa 1270 – 1305), possibly married a sister of Robert the Bruce
• Duncan, married Christina, Lady of Garmoran of the Clan Ruaidhrí
• Alexander
• Marjory, married John Strathbogie, 9th Earl of Atholl
• Mary, married Kenneth de Moravia, 4th Earl of Sutherland

After the death of Margaret, Maid of Norway in 1290, Domhnall, 6th Earl of Mar became one of the first Scottish nobles who supported the claim of Robert the Bruce, Earl of Carrick to the throne of Scotland. Domhnall saw a great advantage to his family if one of his daughters married Robert. In 1295, Robert the Bruce, Earl of Carrick and Isabella of Mar married. Shortly after the wedding, Isabella became pregnant. Nineteen-year-old Isabella had a healthy pregnancy but died soon after giving birth to a daughter named Marjorie on December 12, 1296, at the Manor of Cardross in Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Isabella was buried at Paisley Abbey in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, but her tomb has not survived.

Isabella’s daughter, Princess Marjorie, once her father became Robert I, King of Scots in 1306, married Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland in 1315. On March 2, 1316, pregnant Marjorie, who was pregnant, was riding in Paisley, Renfrewshire. Her horse was suddenly startled and threw her to the ground. Marjorie went into premature labor and her child Robert was delivered by caesarean section at Paisley Abbey. Marjorie died within a few hours. She was 19-years-old at the time of her death, like her mother, who was the same age when she died in childbirth and like her mother, was also buried at Paisley Abbey. Her son became Robert II, King of Scots, the first monarch of the House of Stewart. Marjorie’s descendants include the House of Stuart, all their successors on the thrones of Scotland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom, and many other European royal families.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2017

Robert the Bruce is a Scottish national hero and was King of Scots during the First War of Scottish Independence. Robert de Bruis (or Brus), his birth name from his Norman ancestors, popularly called Robert the Bruce, was born on July 11, 1274. He was the eldest son and third of the eleven children of Robert de Bruis, 6th Lord of Annandale and Marjorie, Countess of Carrick in her own right. His birthplace is uncertain, but he was probably born at the Carrick family’s main castle, Turnberry Castle in Ayrshire, Scotland.

Robert had ten siblings. Three of his four brothers were executed and the fourth was killed in battle.

• Isabel Bruce (circa 1272 – 1358), married King Eric II of Norway (second marriage), had one daughter
• Christina Bruce (circa 1273 – circa 1356), married (1) Sir Christopher Seton; (2) Sir Andrew Murray
• Niall de Brus (circa 1276 – 1306), hanged, drawn, and quartered by the forces of King Edward I of England
• Edward Bruce (circa 1279 – 1318); possibly married to his mistress Isabella of Ross, had one son; proclaimed High King of Ireland, killed in battle
• Mary Bruce (circa 1282 – 1323); married (1) Sir Neil Campbell, had issue (2) Sir Alexander Fraser of Touchfraser and Cowie, had issue
• Margaret Bruce (born circa 1283), married Sir William Carlyle
• Sir Thomas de Brus (circa 1284 – 1307), married Helen Erskine; executed with his brother Alexander
• Alexander de Brus (circa 1285 – 1307), executed with his brother Thomas
• Elizabeth Bruce (born circa 1286), married Sir William Dishington of Ardross, Fife
• Marjorie Bruce (circa 1287 – circa 1323), married Hugh, Earl of Ross

Not much is known about Robert’s childhood. It can be assumed that he was trilingual. He and his brothers would have learned the Anglo-Norman language of their father, the Gaelic language of their mother, and Latin which would have given them an access to a basic education. The tutors for Robert and his brothers were most likely from the clergy, especially clergy associated with churches and abbeys their family patronized. Robert and his brothers would have had masters who taught them horsemanship, swordsmanship, jousting, hunting, and the code of chivalry. The family would have moved between the castles of their lordships: Lochmaben Castle, the main castle of the lordship of Annandale, and Turnberry Castle and Loch Doon Castle, the castles of the earldom of Carrick. When Robert was about twelve years old, his training for knighthood would have begun and he would have resided with one or more allied English noble families.

Robert’s family was involved in the political turmoil that occurred following the death of Alexander III, King of Scots. Alexander III, King of Scots (reigned 1249 – 1286) had only two surviving children, a son Alexander and a daughter Margaret who married King Eric II of Norway. Margaret of Scotland, Queen of Norway died in childbirth in 1283, giving birth to her only child Margaret, Maid of Norway. In 1284, the earls and barons of Scotland recognized Margaret, Maid of Norway as the heir to the throne of her grandfather King Alexander III of Scotland if he died without a male heir. Later that year, Alexander III’s 20-year-old Alexander died. When Alexander III died in 1286, his three-year-old granddaughter was the heir to his throne. The Scottish earls, barons, and clerics met to select the Guardians of Scotland who would rule the kingdom for the rightful heir. In 1290, Margaret, Maid of Norway died while traveling to Scotland,

The death of Margaret, Maid of Norway began a two-year interregnum in Scotland caused by the succession crisis. With Margaret’s death, the line of William I (the Lion), King of Scots became extinct and there was no obvious heir. Fifteen candidates presented themselves as candidates for the throne of Scotland.  The most prominent were John Balliol, great-grandson of William I’s younger brother David, Earl of Huntingdon, and Robert de Brus, 5th Lord of Annandale, David of Huntingdon’s grandson and the grandfather of Robert the Bruce.

The Scottish lords invited King Edward I of England to arbitrate the claims. Edward I agreed but forced the Scots to swear allegiance to him as their overlord. In 1292, it was decided that John Balliol should become King of Scots. After John Balliol became King, Robert, 5th Lord of Annandale resigned the lordship of Annandale and his claim to the throne to his eldest son Robert de Brus, the father of Robert the Bruce. Around the same time, Robert de Brus, 6th Lord of Annandale’s wife Marjorie, Countess of Carrick died, and the Earldom of Carrick, which Robert had ruled jure uxoris (by right of his wife), devolved upon their eldest son, Robert the Bruce. John Balliol proved weak and incapable, and in 1296 was forced to abdicate by Edward I, who then attempted to annex Scotland into the Kingdom of England. For ten years, there was no monarch of Scotland.

The Scots refused to tolerate English rule, resulting in the Wars of Scottish Independence, a series of military campaigns fought between Scotland and England, first led by William Wallace and after his execution, led by Robert the Bruce. Robert the Bruce as Earl of Carrick and 7th Lord of Annandale, held estates and property in Scotland, a barony and some minor properties in England, and a strong claim to the throne of Scotland.

On February 10, 1306, Robert the Bruce and his supporters killed a rival for the throne, John III Comyn, Lord of Badenoch at Greyfriars Church in Dumfries, Scotland. There had been long-time bad blood between the two men, and they had found it impossible to work together as Guardians of Scotland. Shortly after, Robert and his followers went to Scone, the traditional coronation site of the Kings of Scots. On March 27, 1306, Robert the Bruce was proclaimed Robert I, King of Scots, and the crown was placed on his head by Isabella MacDuff, Countess of Buchan “in the presence and with the consent of four bishops, five earls, and with the consent of the people.” According to tradition, the ceremony of crowning the monarch was performed by a representative of Clan MacDuff.

Robert married two times. His first wife Isabella of Mar died before her husband became king. She was born about 1277 at Kildrummy Castle and was the daughter of Domhnall (Donald), 6th Earl of Mar and Elen the Younger ferch Llywelyn, an illegitimate daughter of the de facto Prince of Wales, Llywelyn Fawr (Llywelyn the Great), Prince of Gwynedd and Prince of Powys Wenwynwyn.

Isabella’s father was the Earl of Mar, in Gaelic, the Mormaer of Mar. A mormaer was a regional or provincial ruler, second only to the King of Scots, and more senior than a taoiseach or chieftain. Mormaers were equivalent to English earls. Mar was located in present-day Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Kildrummy Castle near Kildrummy in Aberdeenshire, Scotland was the Mar family seat.

After the death of Margaret, Maid of Norway in 1290, Domhnall, 6th Earl of Mar became one of the first Scottish nobles who supported the claim of Robert the Bruce, Earl of Carrick to the throne of Scotland. Domhnall saw a great advantage to his family if one of his daughters married Robert. In 1295, Robert the Bruce, Earl of Carrick and Isabella of Mar married. Shortly after the wedding, Isabella became pregnant. Nineteen-year-old Isabella had a healthy pregnancy but died soon after giving birth to a daughter named Marjorie on December 12, 1296, at the Manor of Cardross in Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Isabella was buried at Paisley Abbey in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, but her tomb has not survived.

Isabella’s daughter, Princess Marjorie, once her father became Robert I, King of Scots in 1306, married Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland in 1315. On March 2, 1316, Marjorie, who was pregnant, was riding in Paisley, Renfrewshire. Her horse was suddenly startled and threw her to the ground. Marjorie went into premature labor and her child Robert was delivered by cesarean section at Paisley Abbey. Marjorie died within a few hours. She was 19 years old at the time of her death, like her mother, who was the same age when she died in childbirth, and like her mother, was also buried at Paisley Abbey. Her son became Robert II, King of Scots, the first monarch of the House of Stewart. Marjorie’s descendants include the House of Stuart, all their successors on the thrones of Scotland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom, and many other European royal families.

Robert’s second marriage was to Elizabeth de Burgh, the third of the ten children of Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster and 3rd Baron of Connaught and his wife Margaret, possibly his cousin Margaret de Burgh or Margaret de Guines. Elizabeth’s father Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster and 3rd Baron of Connaught was one of the most powerful Irish nobles of his time. He was the friend and ally of King Edward I of England and ranked first among the Earls of Ireland. Elizabeth probably met Robert the Bruce, then the Earl of Carrick, at the English court. Today, Earl of Carrick, which came from the family of Robert’s mother, is one of the titles of the eldest living son and heir-apparent of the British sovereign. Along with Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick was one of the traditional titles of the eldest living son and heir-apparent of the throne of Scotland. When King James VI of Scotland also became King James I of England after the death of Queen Elizabeth I of England, the Scottish titles came along with him.

Elizabeth de Burgh and Robert married at Writtle, near Chelmsford, Essex, England in 1302 when Elizabeth was about 18 years old and Robert was 28 years old. In 1306, when her husband became King of Scots and Elizabeth de Burgh became Queen of Scots, she did not think she would be queen for long because she feared her husband would be defeated by Edward I. She supposedly said, “Alas, we are but king and queen of the May! ” Both Robert the Bruce and John Comyn had sworn fealty to King Edward I of England. When Edward I heard that John Comyn had been murdered, he vowed “by the God of Heaven and these swans” to avenge Comyn’s death and the treachery of the Scots. On his demand, his knights took a similar oath and were sent off to Scotland to seek revenge.

In Scotland, Robert I, King of Scots was already engaged in a civil war with the family and friends of the murdered John Comyn. His coronation had given him some legitimacy, but his position was uncertain. By the middle of June 1306, the English were in Perth, Scotland, and were joined by supporters of John Comyn. Robert, abiding by the conventions of feudal warfare, invited the English commander to leave the walls of Perth and join him in battle, but the English commander declined to do so. Robert believed that the English refusal to accept his challenge was a sign of weakness, and moved his forces a few miles to nearby Methven, where he made camp for the night. Before dawn on June 19, 1306, Robert’s army was taken by surprise and almost destroyed. Robert barely escaped and fled with a few followers to the Scottish Highlands.

Elizabeth was not so lucky. After the Battle of Methven, under the protection of his brother Niall, Robert sent Elizabeth, his daughter Marjorie from his first marriage, his sisters Mary and Christina and Isabella MacDuff, Countess of Buchan (who had crowned him) to Kildrummy Castle, the seat of the Earls of Mar, the family of his first wife Isabella of Mar. The English besieged Kildrummy Castle and Niall Bruce and all the men of the castle were hanged, drawn, and quartered. However, the women had escaped and sought sanctuary at St. Duthac’s Chapel in Tain, Scotland. Their sanctuary was breached by William, Earl of Ross who had the women arrested and handed over to the English.

King Edward I of England sent his hostages to different places in England. Marjorie went to the convent at Watton, Yorkshire and her aunt Christina Bruce was sent to another convent. Marjorie’s aunt Mary Bruce and Isabella MacDuff, Countess of Buchan were imprisoned in wooden cages and exposed to public view. Mary’s cage was at Roxburgh Castle and Isabella’s was at Berwick Castle. Marjorie, Mary, and Christina were set free around 1314 – 1315, probably in exchange for English noblemen captured after the Battle of Bannockburn in June 1314. There is no mention of Isabella MacDuff, Countess of Buchan in the records, so she probably died in captivity.

Queen Elizabeth’s punishment was lighter than that of the other women because King Edward I needed the support of her father, the powerful Earl of Ulster. She was imprisoned for eight years by the English and was moved around quite a bit, being held captive in English manor houses, castles, and abbeys. After the Scots’ victory at the Battle of Bannockburn where they routed the English in June 1314, Elizabeth was moved to York while prisoner exchange talks took place and where she had an audience with King Edward II of England who had succeeded his father in 1307. Finally, in November 1314, she was moved to Carlisle, close to the Scots border, just before the exchange and her return to Scotland.  Because of the turmoil in Scotland and Elizabeth’s imprisonment, Robert and Elizabeth did not have any children until after her return to Scotland in 1314.

Elizabeth de Burgh and Robert had four children:

• • Margaret (born between 1315 and 1323 – March 30, 1346), William de Moravia, 5th Earl of Sutherland, had one son John who died of the plague at age 20, Margaret died in childbirth
  • Matilda (born between 1315 and 1323 – July 30, 1353), married Thomas Isaac, had two daughters
  • David II, King of Scots (March 5, 1324 – February 22, 1371), twin of John, married (1) Joan of The Tower, daughter of King Edward II of England, no issue (2) Margaret Drummond, no issue
  • John (March 5, 1324 – before 1327), the younger twin of David, died young

While Elizabeth and the other women were held as hostages by King Edward I and then by his son King Edward II, Robert continued his fight for Scottish independence. After hiding for nearly a year in the Scottish Highlands following his defeat at the Battle of Methven, Robert came out of hiding and defeated the English at the Battle of Loudon Hill on May 10, 1307. During the following two years, Robert won back most of the country. His forces continued to grow in strength, encouraged in part by the death of King Edward I in July 1307. Raids into northern England took place in 1312-1313. The decisive Battle of Bannockburn, a landmark in Scottish history, occurred near Stirling, Scotland on June 24, 1314. Stirling Castle, a Scots royal fortress, occupied by the English, was under siege by the Scottish army. King Edward II of England, who was at the battle, assembled a formidable force to stop the siege. This attempt failed, and Edward II’s army was defeated by a smaller army commanded by Robert the Bruce.

700th Anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn, Robert the Bruce’s statue at the battlefield

In 1320, the Declaration of Arbroath was sent by a group of Scottish nobles to the Pope affirming Scottish independence from England. Two similar declarations were sent by the Scottish clergy and Robert the Bruce. In 1327, King Edward II of England was deposed and killed. An invasion of northern England by Robert the Bruce forced King Edward III of England to sign the Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton on May 1, 1328. The treaty recognized the full independence of the Kingdom of Scotland and acknowledged Robert the Bruce, and his heirs and successors, as the rightful rulers. To further seal the peace, Robert’s son and heir, the future David II, King of Scots, married the sister of Edward III, Joan of the Tower.

Robert’s wife Elizabeth de Burgh died on October 27, 1327, at Cullen Castle in Banffshire, Scotland, aged about 43-years-old. She was buried at Dunfermline Abbey in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, the resting place of many Kings and Queens of Scots.

Robert had been suffering from a serious illness from at least 1327. Chronicles from the time state that he was said to have contracted and died of leprosy and that he was a victim of “la grosse maladie”, which is usually taken to mean leprosy. Historians have disagreed with the leprosy diagnosis with claims that there does not seem to be any evidence as to what the king himself or his physicians believed his illness to be, nor is there any evidence of an attempt in his last years to segregate Robert in any way from friends, family, courtiers, or foreign diplomats as would have been done if Robert had leprosy.

However, research of Robert the Bruce’s skull and the reconstruction of his face released in December 2016 by a collaboration between historians from the University of Glasgow and craniofacial experts from Liverpool John Moores University, shows that his skull shows the signs of leprosy, including a disfigured jaw and nose. Professor Caroline Wilkinson, director of the Face Lab at LJMU, who also reconstructed the face of Richard III, said: “We could accurately establish the muscle formation from the ­positions of the skull bones to determine the shape and structure of the face. We produced two versions – one without leprosy and one with a mild representation of leprosy. He may have had ­leprosy, but if he did it is likely that it did not manifest strongly on his face.”

• Liverpool John Moores University: Is this the face of Robert the Bruce?

Robert I the Bruce, King of Scots survived his wife by only 19 months. He died at the age of 54 on June 7, 1329, at the Manor of Cardross, near Dumbarton, Scotland. He was succeeded by his five-year-old son David II, King of Scots. Robert’s funeral procession was led by a line of knights dressed in black which included Robert’s 13-year-old grandson Robert Stewart, the future Robert II, King of Scots, the son of his daughter Marjorie Bruce.  Robert the Bruce was buried at Dunfermline Abbey next to his wife in a vault in front of the high altar. A monument made in Paris of gilded marble was erected over the vault. Because he had been denied the chance to participate in a crusade, Robert ordered that his heart should be removed and taken to the Holy Land. This was to be done by Sir James Douglas, one of the chief commanders during the Wars of Scottish Independence, but Sir James and his companions were killed in Spain on the way to the Holy Land. Robert’s heart was then brought back to Scotland and buried at Melrose Abbey in Melrose, Roxburghshire, Scotland.

In 1560, Dunfermline Abbey was sacked by the Calvinists during the Scottish Reformation, and Elizabeth and Robert’s tomb was destroyed. During construction work on the new abbey in 1819, Robert’s coffin was discovered and Elizabeth’s coffin was rediscovered in 1917. Both coffins were re-interred in the new abbey.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• Ashley, Michael. British Kings & Queens. 1st ed. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1998. Print.
• “Battle Of Bannockburn”. En.wikipedia.org. N.p., 2017. Web. 5 Apr. 2017.
• “Battle Of Methven”. En.wikipedia.org. N.p., 2017. Web. 3 Apr. 2017.
• Dodson, Aidan. The Royal Tombs Of Great Britain. 1st ed. London: Duckworth, 2004. Print.
• “Elizabeth De Burgh”. En.wikipedia.org. N.p., 2017. Web. 3 Apr. 2017.
• “First War Of Scottish Independence”. En.wikipedia.org. N.p., 2017. Web. 5 Apr. 2017.
• “Is This The Face Of Robert The Bruce?”. Ljmu.ac.uk. N.p., 2017. Web. 5 Apr. 2017.
• “Isabella Of Mar”. En.wikipedia.org. N.p., 2017. Web. 5 Apr. 2017.
• “Robert The Bruce”. En.wikipedia.org. N.p., 2017. Web. 3 Apr. 2017.
• Sarah Knapton. “Face Of Robert The Bruce Reconstructed Showing Scottish King Had Leprosy”. The Telegraph. N.p., 2017. Web. 5 Apr. 2017.
• Williamson, David. Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell, 1996. Print.

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

Mary, Queen of Scots was born on December 8, 1542, at Linlithgow Palace in Scotland. She was the third and the only surviving child of James V, King of Scots and his second wife Marie of Guise, a French princess. James V was the son of James IV, King of Scots and Margaret Tudor, the daughter of King Henry VII of England and the sister of King Henry VIII of England.

Mary had two brothers who died in infancy:

• James, Duke of Rothesay (1540 – 1541)
• Arthur, Duke of Albany (born and died April 1541)

Mary had nine half-siblings via her father’s mistresses:

• • James Stewart, Commendator of Kelso and Melrose (circa 1529 – 1557), son of Elizabeth Shaw
  • John Stewart, Lord Darnley (circa 1531 – 1563), son of Elizabeth Carmichael
  • James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray (circa 1531 – 1570), son of Margaret Erskine, James V’s favorite mistress, adviser to his half-sister, Mary, Queen of Scots and regent for his nephew, James VI, King of Scots
  • James Stewart (born and died circa 1532) died in infancy, son of Christine Barclay
  • Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney (1533 – 1593) son of Euphame Elphinstone
  • Adam Stewart, Prior of Perth Charterhouse (circa 1535 – 1575), son of Lady Elizabeth Stewart
  • Jean Stewart (died 1588), daughter of Elizabeth Bethune
  • Robert Stewart, Prior of Whithorn (died 1581), mother unknown
  • Margaret Stewart, mother unknown

Mary also had two half-brothers from her mother’s first marriage to Louis II d’Orléans, Duke of Longueville:

• François III d’Orléans, Duke of Longueville (1535 – 1551), unmarried
• Louis d’Orléans (born 1537), died young

The year before Mary’s birth, her grandmother Margaret Tudor died and her father James V saw no reason to keep the peace with England. When war broke out between England and France in 1542, it was inevitable that Scotland would go to war against England because of their treaty with France. When Henry VIII of England broke from the Roman Catholic Church, he asked James V of Scotland, his nephew, to do the same. James ignored his uncle’s request and further insulted him by refusing to meet with Henry VIII at York.

Furious, Henry VIII sent troops against Scotland. In retaliation for the English raid into Scotland, James raised an army and attacked England. On November 24, 1542, the Battle of Solway Moss in Cumberland, England resulted in a decisive English victory. After the Battle of Solway Moss, James V fled to Falkland Palace in Scotland where he became ill and took to his bed. Overcome with grief and shame about the Battle of Solway Moss, James V lost the will to live. The news that Marie of Guise had given birth to a daughter on December 8, 1542, did nothing to raise his spirits. James V, King of Scots died at Falkland Palace in Fife, Scotland on December 14, 1542, at the age of 30, and was succeeded by his only surviving, legitimate child, six-day-old Mary.

James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran, a great-grandson of James II, King of Scots and the heir to the Scots throne, became Regent. On September 9, 1543, Mary was crowned at Stirling Castle. Mary’s great uncle King Henry VIII of England tried to force an agreement of marriage between Mary and his six-year-old son the future King Edward VI of England to create a new alliance between England and Scotland. Scotland had an alliance with France called the Auld Alliance. When Scotland resisted, Henry VIII declared war resulting in an eight-year war known as the Rough Wooing (1543 – 1551).  Because of the English hostilities, Scotland abandoned the possibility of an English marriage. In July 1548, the Scottish Parliament approved Mary’s marriage to François, Dauphin of France, the son and heir of King Henri II of France and Catherine de’ Medici.

On August 7, 1548, five-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots set sail for France where she would be raised with her future husband. She would not return to Scotland for thirteen years. Mary’s mother stayed in Scotland, but Mary was accompanied by her own court including John Erskine, 5th Lord Erskine, two of her illegitimate half-brothers, and the “The Four Marys”, four girls her own age, all named Mary, who were the daughters of Scottish nobles: Mary Beaton, Mary Fleming, Mary Livingston, and Mary Seaton.  Also accompanying Mary was Janet Stewart, Lady Fleming, the mother of Mary Fleming and an illegitimate daughter of King James IV of Scotland, who was Mary’s governess.

Mary’s education was completed in France where she studied French, Greek, Italian, Latin, and Spanish along with music, dancing, singing, drawing, and needlework. Antoinette de Bourbon, Duchess of Guise, Mary’s maternal grandmother, had a great influence on her granddaughter and was one of her principal advisors. On April 24, 1558, Mary married François, Dauphin of France outside Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. In November of 1558, Catholic Queen Mary I of England died and was succeeded by her Protestant half-sister Queen Elizabeth I. King Henry VIII’s will excluded the descendants of his sister Margaret from the succession. However, many Catholics considered Mary to be the rightful heir to the English throne.

On June 30, 1559, King Henri II of France was mortally wounded in a jousting match.  He died on July 10, 1559, and Mary’s husband succeeded his father as King François II of France. François was crowned at Rheims Cathedral in September 1559. However, Mary did not participate in the coronation as she was already an anointed and crowned queen.

After only a 17-month reign, François, aged 16, died in great pain on December 5, 1560, possibly from mastoiditis, meningitis, or otitis which turned into an abscess. Left a childless widow, Mary decided to return to Scotland. Her mother, who became Regent of Scotland in 1554, had died in June of 1560. During Mary’s thirteen-year absence, the Protestant Reformation had swept through Scotland, led by John Knox who is considered the founder of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Therefore, Catholic Mary returned to a Scotland very different from the one she had left as a child. Mary continued to have Mass celebrated in her private chapel and did not interfere with the new reformed religion that the Scottish Parliament had established four years earlier. John Knox preached against Mary, condemning her for hearing Mass, dancing, and dressing too elaborately. Mary’s Protestant illegitimate half-brother James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray became the chief advisor to his sister.

Mary needed an heir, so a second marriage became necessary. After considering Carlos, Prince of Asturias, known as Don Carlos, eldest son and heir of King Philip II of Spain and Queen Elizabeth I’s candidate Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, Mary became infatuated with her first cousin Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. Both Mary and Darnley were grandchildren of Margaret Tudor. Darnley was the son of Lady Margaret Douglas, Margaret Tudor’s only child from her second marriage to Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus. Mary and Darnley married at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, Scotland on July 29, 1565.

The marriage angered Queen Elizabeth I who felt that Darnley, as her cousin and an English subject, needed her permission to marry. James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray was also angered by his sister’s marriage to a prominent Catholic and joined other Protestant lords in a rebellion. Mary soon became disillusioned by Darnley’s uncouth behavior and his insistence upon receiving the Crown Matrimonial which would have made him co-sovereign of Scotland. Mary refused and their relationship became strained.

At the end of 1565, Mary became pregnant. Darnley, who was jealous of Mary’s friendship with her private secretary David Riccio, rumored to be the father of her child. Darnley formed a conspiracy to do away with Riccio. On March 9, 1566, Riccio was at supper with Mary and her ladies at Holyrood Palace. The conspirators, led by Darnley, burst into the room, dragged Riccio away, and killed him in an adjoining room. Mary was roughly pushed and shoved and although the conspirators hoped she would miscarry, she did not. All the conspirators were banished except for Darnley who was forgiven. On June 19, 1566, at Edinburgh Castle, Mary gave birth to a son, later King James VI of Scotland/King James I of England. He was christened Charles James after his godfather King Charles IX of France,

Mary’s marriage was all but over and she began to be drawn to James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell. Bothwell entered into a conspiracy with Archibald Campbell, 5th Earl of Argyll and George Gordon, 5th Earl of Huntly to rid Mary of her husband. On February 10, 1567, Darnley was killed when the house he was staying at was blown up.

In April of 1567, Mary visited her son at Stirling Castle. It was to be the last time Mary would ever see her son. On her way back to Edinburgh, Mary was abducted by Bothwell and taken to Dunbar Castle. Bothwell, who was married, divorced his wife on May 3, 1567, and then Mary and Bothwell were married on May 15, 1567. The marriage angered many Scottish nobles who raised an army against Mary and Bothwell. After negotiations at the Battle of Carberry Hill, Bothwell was given safe passage and the lords took Mary to Edinburgh. The following night, Mary was imprisoned in Loch Leven Castle, on an island in the middle of Loch Leven. Between July 20 – 23, 1567, Mary miscarried twins, and on July 24, 1567, she was forced to abdicate in favor of her one-year-old son James. The Earl of Moray was made Regent for his nephew and Bothwell was driven into exile. He was imprisoned in Denmark, became insane, and died in 1578.

In 1568, Mary escaped from her imprisonment at Loch Leven Castle. After being defeated at the Battle of Langside by the forces of her half-brother, the Earl of Moray, Mary was forced to flee to England, where she was subsequently imprisoned by Queen Elizabeth I of England. She was first taken to Carlisle Castle and then moved to Bolton Castle because it was further from the Scottish border. Mary was moved from castle to castle, all of which were in the interior of England and away from the sea for security reasons.

In August of 1586, Mary was implicated in the Babington Plot, a plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I. Shortly afterward, Mary was moved to her final place of imprisonment, Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire where King Richard III of England had been born. In October 1586, Mary was tried for treason. She protested that as a foreign anointed queen she had never been an English subject and therefore could not be convicted of treason. On October 25, 1586, Mary was convicted of treason and condemned to death.

Elizabeth I was reluctant to sign the death warrant of an anointed queen as she felt it would set a bad precedent and feared that Mary’s son James VI, King of Scots, now 20 years old, would form an alliance and invade England. However, on February 1, 1587, Elizabeth signed the death warrant. Having just found out she was to be executed the next day, Mary spent her final night praying in Fotheringhay Castle’s small chapel. She was beheaded on a scaffold in the Great Hall of Fotheringhay Castle on February 8, 1587. Mary was 44 years old and had spent the last nineteen years of her life imprisoned in English castles.

Mary had requested to be buried in France, but Elizabeth I denied the request. Her remains were embalmed, put in a lead coffin, and left in Fotheringhay Castle until August 1, 1587, when they were buried at Peterborough Cathedral where Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s first wife had been buried.

• Unofficial Royalty: Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots (1587)

In 1603, as Queen Elizabeth I, the last of the Tudors lay dying, she gave her assent that Mary, Queen of Scots’ son James VI, King of Scots, should succeed her. By primogeniture, James was the next in line to the English throne. Elizabeth died on March 24, 1603. Now James I, King of England and James VI, King of Scots, James entered London on May 7, 1603, and his coronation was held on July 25, 1603. In 1612, Mary’s remains were exhumed upon the orders of her son and were reburied in a marble tomb with a beautiful effigy in Westminster Abbey in a chapel directly across the aisle from the chapel containing the tomb of Queen Elizabeth I. Mary, Queen of Scots is the ancestor of the current British royal family and many other European royal families.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• Flantzer, Susan. “King James VI of Scotland/King James I of England.” British Royals. Unofficial Royalty, 29 Aug. 2015. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.
• “Fotheringhay Castle.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, 21 Sept. 2016. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.
• “Mary, Queen of Scots.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Oct. 2016. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.
• Williamson, David. Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell, 1996. Print.

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

James V, King of Scots was born at Linlithgow Palace in Linlithgowshire, Scotland on April 10, 1512. He was the third of the four sons of James IV, King of Scots and Margaret Tudor, eldest daughter of King Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, daughter of King Edward IV of England. At his birth, James became Duke of Rothesay and Steward of Scotland, traditional titles of the eldest son of the King of Scots as his two elder brothers James and Arthur had died in infancy. James had one younger brother who also died in infancy and two stillborn sisters.

• James, Duke of Rothesay (1507 – 1508)
• Stillborn daughter (1508)
• Arthur, Duke of Rothesay (1509 – 1510)
• Stillborn daughter (1512)
• Alexander, Duke of Ross (1514 – 1515)

In 1509, James’ maternal grandfather King Henry VII of England died and was succeeded by James’ uncle King Henry VIII. Despite the great hopes of peace between England and Scotland as symbolized by the marriage of Margaret Tudor and James IV, King of Scots, Henry VIII did not have his father’s diplomatic patience and was heading toward a war with France. James IV was committed to his alliance with France and invaded England. Henry VIII was away on campaign in France and Flanders in 1513 and he had made his wife Catherine of Aragon regent in his absence. It was up to Catherine to supervise England’s defense when Scotland invaded. Ultimately, the Scots were defeated at the Battle of Flodden near Branxton, Northumberland, England on September 9, 1513, and 30-year-old James IV was killed in the battle and 17-month-old James succeeded his father as James V, King of Scots.

James V was crowned on September 21, 1513, at Stirling Castle. Under the terms of James IV’s will, Margaret was the regent for her son as long as she did not remarry. While the Scottish Parliament had confirmed Margaret as regent, many were unhappy with an English female regent and sought to replace Margaret with John Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany, grandson of King James II of Scotland, the closest male relative to the infant king, and the heir presumptive to the throne. Margaret sought an ally with the pro-English House of Douglas. On August 6, 1514, Margaret secretly married Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus. The marriage stirred up the jealousy of the nobles and the opposition of the faction supporting French influence in Scotland. Civil war broke out, and Margaret lost the regency to John Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany. Margaret fled to England where she lived until 1517 when she returned to Scotland.

James V was educated by leading scholars and ranked among the best-educated rulers at that time.  His tutors included Gavin Dunbar, Dean of Moray, later Archbishop of Glasgow; the poet John Bellenden; the poet Sir David Lyndsay, Lyon King of Arms; and James Inglis, Abbot of Culross.

In the autumn of 1524, James V dismissed his regents and was proclaimed an adult ruler by his mother. However, James V remained under the control of his stepfather Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, Margaret Tudor’s second husband. In 1528, James finally escaped from Angus’ control and assumed control of the government. James V then spent some time limiting the role of Scottish nobles.

The 1517 Treaty of Rouen, signed after the Battle of Flodden, stated that King James V of Scotland was to marry a French princess. When King James V reached a marriageable age, talks began regarding marriage with Madeleine of Valois, daughter of King François I of France and Claude, Duchess of Brittany. However, Madeleine’s ill health was an issue, and another French bride, Mary of Bourbon, was offered as a substitute. When James V came to France to meet Mary of Bourbon, he also met Madeleine and decided to marry her. Because of his daughter’s health issues, François I was reluctant to agree to the marriage, but eventually, he did so. Madeleine and King James V of Scotland were married on January 1, 1537, at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. The couple arrived in Scotland on May 19, 1537, after months of celebrations in France, but Madeleine’s health had further deteriorated. Madeleine wrote a letter to her father on June 8, 1537, saying that she was feeling better and that her symptoms had subsided. Despite this, on July 7, 1537, Madeleine died in her husband’s arms, a month short of her seventeenth birthday.

On May 18, 1538, at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, less than a year after the death of his first wife, James V married again. The marriage was a proxy marriage with Robert Maxwell, 4th Lord Maxwell standing in for the groom. James V’s second bride was Marie of Guise, the eldest daughter of Claude of Lorraine, Duke of Guise, head of the House of Guise, and his wife Antoinette de Bourbon. Marie had previously been married to Louis II d’Orléans, Duke of Longueville for three years before he died. Marie had one surviving son, three-year-old François, whom she was forced to leave in France as he had succeeded his father as Duke of Longueville. James V and Marie married in person at St. Andrews, Scotland on June 12, 1538.

James V and Marie had two sons and one daughter, but their sons died in infancy:

• James, Duke of Rothesay (1540 – 1541)
• Arthur, Duke of Albany (born and died April 1541)
• Mary, Queen of Scots (1542 – 1587), married (1) King François II of France, no issue; (2) Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, had one son King James VI of Scotland/James I of England; (3) James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, no issue

James V had at least nine illegitimate children:

• James Stewart, Commendator of Kelso and Melrose (circa 1529 – 1557), son of Elizabeth Shaw
• John Stewart, Lord Darnley (circa 1531 – 1563), son of Elizabeth Carmichael
• James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray (circa 1531 – 1570), son of Margaret Erskine, James V’s favorite mistress, advisor to his half-sister, Mary, Queen of Scots and regent for his nephew, James VI, King of Scots
• James Stewart (born and died circa 1532) died in infancy, son of Christine Barclay
• Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney (1533 – 1593) son of Euphame Elphinstone
• Adam Stewart, Prior of Perth Charterhouse (circa 1535 – 1575), son of Lady Elizabeth Stewart
• Jean Stewart (died 1588), daughter of Elizabeth Bethune
• Robert Stewart, Prior of Whithorn (died 1581), mother unknown
• Margaret Stewart, mother unknown

When his mother Margaret Tudor died in 1541, James V saw no reason to keep the peace with England. When war broke out between England and France in 1542, it was inevitable that Scotland would go to war against England because of their treaty with France. When Henry VIII of England broke from the Roman Catholic Church, he asked James V of Scotland, his nephew, to do the same. James ignored his uncle’s request and further insulted him by refusing to meet with Henry VIII at York. Furious, Henry VIII sent troops against Scotland. In retaliation for the English raid into Scotland, James responded by assigning Robert, Lord Maxwell, the Scottish Warden of West March, the task of raising an army. On November 24, 1542, the Battle of Solway Moss in Cumberland, England resulted in a decisive English victory.

After the Battle of Solway Moss, James V fled to Falkland Palace where he became ill and took to his bed. Overcome with grief and shame about the Battle of Solway Moss, James V lost the will to live. The news that Marie of Guise had given birth to a daughter on December 8, 1542, did nothing to raise his spirits. James V, King of Scots died at Falkland Palace in Fife, Scotland on December 14, 1542, at the age of 30. He was buried at Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh, Scotland alongside his first wife Madeleine and his two sons by Marie of Guise.  James’ tomb was desecrated in 1544 during the War of the Rough Wooing and his remains were reburied in the Royal Vault at Holyrood Abbey during the reign of Queen Victoria. James V was succeeded by his only surviving, legitimate child, six-day-old Mary, Queen of Scots.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited
“Battle of Solway Moss.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, 28 July 2016. Web. 23 Oct. 2016.
“James V of Scotland.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, 8 Oct. 2016. Web. 23 Oct. 2016.
Susan Flantzer. “Margaret Tudor. Queen of Scots.” English Royals. Unofficial Royalty, 29 Nov. 2016. Web.
“Mary of Guise.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, 3 Oct. 2016. Web. 23 Oct. 2016.
Susan Flantzer. “Madeleine of Valois, Queen of Scots.” Scottish Royals. Unofficial Royalty, 6 July 2013. Web. 23 Oct. 2016.
Williamson, David. Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell, 1996. Print.