2  Beatrice (1295–1384); she married Guy, Lord of Laval ( d.1347).

3  John III, Duke of Brittany ( d.1345); he married Joan of Flanders, and had issue.

4  Alice (1297–1377); she married Bouchard VI, Count of Vendôme ( d.1353).

5  Blanche ( b.1300; d. young).

6  Mary (1302–1371); a nun.

Yolande died in 1323. There was no issue of her marriage to Alexander III.

ALEXANDER III

He was killed on 16 or 19 March, 1286, when his horse plunged over a cliff between Burntisland and Kinghorn, Fife. He was buried in Dunfermline Abbey, Fife.

He was succeeded by his granddaughter Margaret.

Queen Margaret

FATHER: Eric II, King of Norway.

MOTHER: Margaret, daughter of Alexander III.

SIBLINGS: Queen Margaret did not have any siblings.

QUEEN MARGARET

Known as ‘the Maid of Norway’, she was born before 9 April, 1283, at Tönsberg, Norway. She succeeded her grandfather Alexander III, as Scotland’s first Queen Regnant on 19 March, 1286, but was never crowned.

QUEEN MARGARET

She died in May (?) or on c.26 September, 1290, on board a ship passing by the Orkneys, whilst on her way to Scotland. She was buried at Bergen, Norway.

The death of the Maid of Norway left Scotland without a monarch, and at the mercy of Edward I of England. In 1290 began the First Interregnum, and the contest for the throne between the 13 Competitors. From these, Edward I, called upon to decide which had the most lawful claim to the crown, chose John Balliol as Scotland’s next king.

PART THREE

The House of Balliol

King John

FATHER: John

He was the son of Hugh de Balliol of Barnard Castle. He married Devorguilla of Galloway in 1233. He died in 1268/9.

MOTHER: Devorguilla

She was the daughter of Alan, Lord of Galloway, by Margaret, daughter of David, Earl of Huntingdon, grandson of David I. She died on 28 January, 1290, and was buried in Sweetheart Abbey, Kirkland.

SIBLINGS:

1   Hugh

He was born in c.1238 at Barnard Castle, and rose to the rank of knight. He married Agnes ( d.1310), daughter of William de Valence, Earl of Pembroke. He died in 1271.

2   Alan

He was born at Barnard Castle. His dates are not recorded.

3   Alexander

He was born at Barnard Castle, and rose to the rank of knight. He married Eleanor of Geneva ( d.c.1303), a kinswoman of Henry III, King of England. He died in 1278.

4   Eleanoror Mary

She married Sir John Comyn of Badenoch, and had issue, although no details are recorded.

5   Cecilia

She married John de Burgh ( d.1280), and had issue:

1  Devorguilla; she married Robert FitzWalter ( d.1326), and had issue.

2  Hawise; she married Robert de Grelley ( d.1282), and had issue.

3  Marjorie; a nun at Chicksands Priory.

Cecilia died before 1273.

6   Ada

She married William de Lindsay of Lamberton (1250–killed 1283), and had issue:

1  Christina; she married Enguerrand de Guisnes, Seigneur de Coucy.

KING JOHN

Known as ‘Toom Tabard’ (or ‘Turncoat’), he was born either in c.1240, or in 1249/50. He was created Baron of Bywell in Northumberland, but forfeited this honour in 1285. He was elected King of Scotland by Edward I of England on 17 November, 1292, thus bringing to an end the First Interregnum. He was crowned on 30 November, 1292, at Scone Abbey, Perthshire.

King John married, before 7 February, 1281 (although no evidence exists as to where):

Isabella

She was the daughter of John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey, by Alice, daughter of Hugh X de Lusignan, Count of La Marche, by Isabella of Angoulême, widow of John, King of England, and she was born in 1253. The date of her death is not known.

Issue of marriage:

1   King Edward(

2   Henry

He was killed on 16 December, 1332, at the Battle of Annan.

3   Margaret

She died unmarried.

4   Anne(?)

There is doubt that she ever existed. She is said to have married Brian FitzAlan of Bedale.

KING JOHN

He abdicated on 10/11 July, 1296, at Brechin. Scotland was left without a King, and thus began the Second Interregnum, which lasted until 1306, when Robert Bruce seized the throne in defiance of Edward I, who had tried during the years it stood vacant to take it himself, and make Scotland a fief of England.

King John died between 4 March, 1313, and 4 January, 1314, either at Château Gaillard, Normandy, or at Bailleut-en-Gouffern, Normandy. He was probably buried in the Church of St Waast, Normandy.

For further details of the House of Balliol,

PART FOUR:

The House of Bruce

Robert I

FATHER: Robert

He was the son of Robert le Brus, Lord of Annandale ( d.1295) (who was the son of Isabella ‘the Scot’ of Huntingdon, a great-granddaughter of David I), by Christina ( d.c.1305), daughter of Sir William de Ireby, and he was born in July, 1243. He married Margaret, Countess of Carrick, in 1271 at Turnberry Castle, and became Earl of Carrick in right of his wife. He resigned this earldom in favour of his son Robert on 27 October, 1292. After Margaret died, he married secondly, after 1292, a lady called Eleanor, whose origins are unknown. (After his death, she married secondly Sir Richard le Waleys of Burgh Wallis, Yorks., ( d.after 1336) between 2 December, 1304, and 8 February, 1306, and had issue, although no details are available. She died between 13 April and 8 September, 1331.) Robert le Brus succeeded his father as Lord of Annandale before 4 July, 1295, and died shortly before 4 April, 1304, either in England or in Palestine. He was buried in the Abbey of Holm Cultram.

MOTHER: Margaretor Marjorie

She was the daughter of Neil, 2nd Earl of Carrick, by Margaret, daughter of Walter, High Steward of Scotland. She succeeded her father to the earldom of Carrick, in 1256. She married firstly Adam de Kilconquhar, 3rd Earl of Carrick ( d.1268), before 4 October, 1266. She died before 9 November, 1292.

SIBLINGS:

1   Isabella

She was born in c.1275. She married Eric II, King of Norway (1268– 1300) (who had previously been married to Margaret, daughter of Alexander III, and by her had been the father of the Maid of Norway), before 25 September, 1293, and had issue:

1 Ingibiorg (1297?–?); she married Waldemar, Duke of Finland (murdered 1318).

Isabella died in 1358.

2   Edward

He was created Lord of Galloway before 16 March, 1309, and Earl of Carrick before 24 October, 1313. He became King of Ireland, and was crowned on 2 May, 1316. He was killed on 14 October, 1318, at the Battle of Dundall, Ireland.