by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2017

Margaret of Denmark, Queen of Scots; Credit – Wikipedia

Margaret of Denmark was the wife of James III, King of Scots. Born in Copenhagen, Denmark on June 23, 1456, Margaret was the only daughter and the fourth of the five children of King Christian I of Denmark and Dorothea of Brandenburg.  Following the death of the childless King Christopher of Denmark, Sweden and Norway in 1448, Margaret’s father Count Christian I of Oldenburg was elected King of Denmark in 1448, King of Norway in 1450, and King of Sweden in 1457. The House of Oldenburg has occupied the Danish throne ever since.  Christian I ruled under the Kalmar Union,  a personal union from 1397 to 1523 in which a single monarch ruled the three kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway.

Margaret had three older brothers and one younger brother. Her two eldest brothers died in early childhood. Both her surviving brothers became King of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

• Oluf of Denmark (1450 – 1451), died in infancy
• Knud of Denmark (1451 – 1455), died in childhood
• Hans, King of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (1455 – 1513), married Christina of Saxony, had six children, including King Christian II
• Frederik I, King of Denmark and Norway (1471 – 1533), married (1) Anna of Brandenburg, had two children including King Christian III (2) Sophie of Pomerania, had six children

James III, King of Scots; Credit – Wikipedia

A marriage between Margaret and James III, King of Scots had been suggested as a way to end the conflict between Denmark and Scotland that had been going on since 1426. In 1266, Scotland and Norway signed the Treaty of Perth, ending the military conflict over the sovereignty of the Hebrides and the Isle of Man. The treaty recognized Scottish sovereignty over the disputed territories in return for a lump sum of 4,000 marks and an annual payment of 100 marks to Norway. In 1426, Scotland stopped the annual payment.

Map showing the location of the Hebrides, Isle of Man, Orkney Islands, and the Shetland Islands; Credit – By © Sémhur / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2918974

The marriage contract was signed on September 8, 1468. King James III agreed to give Margaret a third of the royal possessions and income, including Linlithgow Palace, Stirling Castle, and Doune Castle. King Christian I pledged a dowry of 60,000 Rhenish florins with a payment of 10,000 florins due before Margaret left Copenhagen. However, King Christian I was only able to raise 2,000 florins. The Orkney Islands and the Shetland Islands were pledged by King Christian in his capacity as King of Norway, as security against the payment of the dowry. However, the money was never paid, and the Orkney Islands and the Shetland Islands were annexed by the Kingdom of Scotland in 1472.

James III and Margaret of Denmark; Credit – Wikipedia

On July 13, 1469, at Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh, Scotland, 13-year-old Margaret married 17-year-old James III, King of Scots.

The couple had three sons:

• James IV, King of Scots (1473 – 1513), married Margaret Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII of England, had four sons but only one, James V, King of Scots, the father of Mary, Queen of Scots, survived infancy
• James Stewart, Duke of Ross (1476 – 1504), unmarried
• John Stewart, Earl of Mar (1479 – 1503), unmarried

Margaret, a popular queen, was described as beautiful, gentle, and reasonable. Many later historians called her far better qualified to rule than her husband. During the crisis of 1482, when her husband was deprived of power for several months, Margaret showed a greater interest in the welfare of her children than that of her husband, leading to the couple’s alienation.

Margaret died on July 14, 1486, at the age of 30 at Stirling Castle in Stirling, Scotland, and was buried at Cambuskenneth Abbey. After her death, there were suspicions that she had been poisoned by John Ramsay, 1st Lord Bothwell, a confidant of James III, although no evidence was found to support the charge. At the request of James III, Pope Innocent VIII commissioned an investigation of Margaret’s virtues and alleged miracles for possible canonization, but without result.

Memorial of Margaret and James III, King of Scots marking the site of their graves, funded by Queen Victoria; Photo Credit – By Adtrace at English Wikipedia – Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons., CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2531316

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Works Cited

• Ashley, M. and Lock, J. (2012). The mammoth book of British kings & queens. London: Constable & Robinson.
• Da.wikipedia.org. (2017). Margrete af Danmark (1456-1486). [online] Available at: https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margrete_af_Danmark_(1456-1486) [Accessed 13 Jul. 2017].
• De.wikipedia.org. (2017). Margarethe von Dänemark. [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margarethe_von_D%C3%A4nemark [Accessed 13 Jul. 2017].
• En.wikipedia.org. (2017). James III of Scotland. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_III_of_Scotland [Accessed 13 Jul. 2017].
• En.wikipedia.org. (2017). Margaret of Denmark, Queen of Scotland. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_of_Denmark,_Queen_of_Scotland [Accessed 13 Jul. 2017].
• Williamson, D. (1996). Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell.