NameAlexander III
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Birth4 Sep 1241
Death18 Mar 1286, Kinghorn, Fife, Scotland
Spouses
Birth29 Sep 1240
Death26 Feb 1275, Cupar Castle
Notes for Alexander III
Alexander III - (b. Sept. 4, 1241--d. March 18/19, 1286, near Kinghorn, Fife, Scot.)
King of Scotland from 1249 to 1286, the last major ruler of the dynasty of kings descended from Malcolm III Canmore (reigned 1058-93), who consolidated royal power in Scotland. Alexander left his kingdom independent, united, and prosperous, and his reign was viewed as a golden age by Scots caught up in the long, bloody conflict with England after his death.
The only son of King Alexander II (reigned 1214-49), Alexander III was seven years old when he came to the throne. In 1251 he was married to Margaret (d. 1275), the 11-year-old daughter of England's King Henry III. Henry immediately began plotting to obtain suzerainty over Scotland. In 1255 a pro-English party in Scotland seized Alexander, but two years later the anti-English party gained the upper hand and controlled the government until Alexander came of age the year 1262.
In 1263 Alexander repulsed an invasion by the Norwegian king Haakon IV, who ruled the islands along Scotland's west coast. Haakon's son, King Magnus V, in 1266 ceded to Alexander the Hebrides and the Isle of Man. Alexander was killed in 1286 when his horse fell over a cliff. Because his children were all dead, his infant grandchild Margaret "the Maid of Norway" (d. 1290) succeeded to the throne.
Notes for Margaret (Spouse 1)
Margaret of England (29 September 1240 – 26 February 1275) was a
medieval English princess who became
Queen of
Scots. A daughter of the
Plantagenet king
Henry III of England and his queen,
Eleanor of Provence, she was
Queen consort to
Alexander III "the Glorious",
King of the Scots.
Family
She was the second child of
Henry III of England and his wife,
Eleanor of Provence, and was born at
Windsor Castle.
Margaret was married on 26 December 1251, when she was eleven years old, at
York Minster, to King
Alexander III of Scotland, with whom she had three children. The groom was only ten years of age.
Children:
▪ Margaret, Princess of Scotland (28 February 1261–9 April 1283), who married
Eirik II of Norway ▪ Alexander, Prince of Scotland (21 January 1264
Jedburgh – 28 January 1284
Lindores Abbey); buried in
Dunfermline Abbey ▪ David of Scotland (20 March 1272 – June 1281
Stirling Castle); buried in
Dunfermline AbbeyMargaret
Biography
Margaret is said to have been unhappy in Scotland, and created some tensions between England and Scotland by writing to her family in England that she was poorly treated in Scotland.
It was said that Margaret was responsible for the death of a young courtier, who reputedly had killed her uncle
Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester.
[3] While walking along the
River Tay, she became annoyed with the young man. She jokingly pushed him into the river, but he was swept to his death by a powerful current before anyone could help.
Margaret died on 26 February 1275 at
Cupar Castle, and was buried at
Dunfermline Abbey,
Fife.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_of_England