The consorts of the
monarchs of Scotland
The monarch of Scotland was the head of state of the Kingdom of Scotland. According to tradition, the first King of Scots was Kenneth I MacAlpin (), who founded the sovereign state, state in 843. Historically, the Kingdom of Scotland is thoug ...
bore titles derived from their marriage. The
Kingdom of Scotland
The Kingdom of Scotland (; , ) was a sovereign state in northwest Europe traditionally said to have been founded in 843. Its territories expanded and shrank, but it came to occupy the northern third of the island of Great Britain, sharing a la ...
was first unified as a
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
by
Kenneth I of Scotland
Kenneth MacAlpin ( mga, Cináed mac Ailpin, label= Medieval Gaelic, gd, Coinneach mac Ailpein, label=Modern Scottish Gaelic; 810 – 13 February 858) or Kenneth I was King of Dál Riada (841–850), King of the Picts (843–858), and the Ki ...
in 843, and ceased to exist as an independent kingdom after
the Act of Union 1707 when it was merged with the
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England (, ) was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from 12 July 927, when it emerged from various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.
On 1 ...
to become the
Kingdom of Great Britain
The Kingdom of Great Britain (officially Great Britain) was a Sovereign state, sovereign country in Western Europe from 1 May 1707 to the end of 31 December 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of ...
.
The early history of Scotland is confused and often obscure, due largely to information given by the sources of the time and after, which are often contradictory, vague, and lacking in detail. Details of the kings prior to Malcolm III are sparse, and the status of two –
Giric
Giric mac Dúngail ( Modern Gaelic: ''Griogair mac Dhunghail''; fl. c. 878–889), known in English simply as Giric and nicknamed Mac Rath ("Son of Fortune"), was a king of the Picts or the king of Alba. The Irish annals record nothing of G ...
and
Eochaid
Eochaid or Eochaidh (earlier Eochu or Eocho, sometimes Anglicised as Eochy, Achaius (disambiguation), Achaius or Haughey) is a popular medieval Irish language, Irish and Scottish Gaelic name deriving from Old Irish ''ech'', horse, borne by a variet ...
– dubious; details of their wives are almost non-existent. Thus, it is practically impossible to construct a list of consorts of Scotland prior to the accession of
Macbeth
''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...
, whose wife
Gruoch
Gruoch ingen Boite () was a Scottish queen, the daughter of Boite mac Cináeda, son of Cináed II. She is most famous for being the wife and queen of MacBethad mac Findlaích (Macbeth). The dates of her life are uncertain.
Life
Gruoch is beli ...
is well-documented and
somewhat notorious.
House of Moray
Although a few details of earlier queens consort are known – for example, Duncan I was married to a woman named in one source as ''Suthen'' – the first queen about whom much is known is Gruoch, a daughter of
Boite mac Cináeda
Boite mac Cináeda ("Boite son of Kenneth"; also, ''Bodhe'', ''Boedhe'', etc.; d. 1058) was a Scottish prince, son of either King Kenneth II of Scotland (Cináed mac Maíl Coluim) or King Kenneth III of Scotland (Cináed mac Duib).According to ...
, himself a son of either
Kenneth II
Cináed mac Maíl Coluim ( gd, Coinneach mac Mhaoil Chaluim, label=Scottish Gaelic language, Modern Scottish Gaelic, Anglicisation, anglicised Kenneth II, and nicknamed , "The Fratricide, Fratricidal"; died 995) was Kingdom of Scotland, King of Sc ...
or
Kenneth III
Cináed mac Duib ( Modern Gaelic: ''Coinneach mac Dhuibh''; c. 966 – c. 25 March 1005), anglicised as Kenneth III, and nicknamed ''An Donn'' ("the Chief" or "the Brown"), was King of Scots from 997 to 1005. He was the son of Dub (Dub mac Maíl ...
. She was the wife of
Macbeth
''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...
and her son was
Lulach
Lulach mac Gille Coemgáin ( Modern Gaelic: ''Lughlagh mac Gille Chomghain'', known in English simply as Lulach, and nicknamed Tairbith, "the Unfortunate" and Fatuus, "the Simple-minded" or "the Foolish"; before 1033 – 17 March 1058) was King of ...
.
The mother of
Máel Snechtai of Moray
Máel Snechtai mac Lulaich (died 1085) was the ruler of Moray, and the son of Lulach, King of Scotland.
He is called on his death notice in the Annals of Ulster, "Máel Snechtai m. Lulaigh ri Muireb" (="Máel Snechtai, Lulach's son, King of Mora ...
, Lulach's son, was still alive in 1078, when she was seized by Malcolm Canmore, but nothing else is known of her, not even if she and Lulach were married.
House of Dunkeld (1058–1286)
In 1058, Malcolm Long-neck of the
House of Dunkeld
The House of Dunkeld (in or "of the Caledonians") is a historiographical and genealogical construct to illustrate the clear succession of Scottish kings from 1034 to 1040 and from 1058 to 1286. The line is also variously referred to by historians ...
overthrew his cousin, Lulach, and reclaimed the Scottish throne for himself. His family, the House of Dunkeld, would rule until the death of Alexander III in 1286, with whom the House ended. Alexander's heir was his infant granddaughter,
Margaret, "the Maid of Norway", of the House of Fairhair; but she died, still unmarried and childless, in late 1290 before reaching Scotland, and was never crowned at Scone. After two years of Interregnum, the controversial
John de Balliol
John Balliol ( – late 1314), known derisively as ''Toom Tabard'' (meaning "empty coat" – coat of arms), was King of Scots from 1292 to 1296. Little is known of his early life. After the death of Margaret, Maid of Norway, Scotland entered an ...
was chosen as king (his wife was already dead, and never became queen consort); but after four years of reign, he abdicated, and Scotland entered another Interregnum until 1306.
House of Bruce (1306–1371) (Bruis)
In 1306, Robert the Bruce and his wife, Elizabeth de Burgh, were crowned King and Queen of Scots at Scone, ending the Scottish interregnum. The
Bruce family
Clan Bruce ( gd, Brùs) is a Lowlands Scottish clan. It was a Royal House in the 14th century, producing two kings of Scotland (Robert the Bruce and David II of Scotland), and a disputed High King of Ireland, Edward Bruce.
Origins
The surname ' ...
would rule until the death of David II in 1371.
House of Stewart (1371–1707) (Gælic: Stiubhart)
Direct line (1371–1542)
Upon the death of David II in 1371, his nephew, Robert Stewart (the son of Walter Stewart and Marjorie Bruce, herself the daughter of Robert I by his first marriage) acceded to the throne. His direct line of heirs would continue to rule until the death of his last direct male descendant, James V. James left
only a six-day-old girl as his heir, prompting his angry exclamation, "The devil go with it!
he rule of the Stewarts
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
will end as it began. It came with a lass, and it will pass with a lass." In this he was wrong: Mary would marry
a member of a junior branch of the Stewart family, and
the line they founded would rule not only Scotland but also England and Ireland until 1714. However, the final Stewart monarch was a woman,
Anne, Queen of Great Britain
Anne (6 February 1665 – 1 August 1714) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland from 8 March 1702 until 1 May 1707. On 1 May 1707, under the Acts of Union, the kingdoms of England and Scotland united as a single sovereign state known as ...
.
House of Stuart (1542–1649)
In 1542, James V died, leaving his daughter
Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
as Queen of Scots. Mary was later sent by her mother to the French court, where her surname was gallicised to ''Stuart''. Mary married
Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley
Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley (1546 – 10 February 1567), was an English nobleman who was the second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, and the father of James VI and I, James VI of Scotland and I of England. Through his parents, he had claims to b ...
, a member of a junior branch of the Stewart family (who had also gallicised their surname to ''Stuart''). Their son, James VI, established the Stuart dynasty, which would rule not only Scotland but also England and Ireland. Their rule was briefly terminated with the Civil War, in which Charles I was executed and the Commonwealth declared; between 1649 and 1660, England, Scotland and Ireland were ruled by Parliament, dominated by Oliver Cromwell.
House of Stuart (restored) (1660–1707)
In 1660, Charles II, son of the executed Charles I, was restored to the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland, and Stuart rule began again. James VII, his brother, was overthrown in 1688–89 because of his Catholic faith; his daughters, Mary II and Anne, were the last Stuarts to rule in the British Isles, Anne dying in 1714. The Kingdom of Scotland, however, had already ceased to exist in 1707, when the Act of Union amalgamated the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into a united Kingdom of Great Britain. James VII's son,
James Francis Edward Stuart
James Francis Edward Stuart (10 June 16881 January 1766), nicknamed the Old Pretender by Whigs, was the son of King James II and VII of England, Scotland and Ireland, and his second wife, Mary of Modena. He was Prince of Wales from ...
, refusing to accept the Act of Union, claimed the English and Scottish thrones, as did his son
Charles Edward Stuart
Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (20 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, grandson of James II and VII, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland and ...
; however, they are not considered legitimate Kings of Scotland, since they never effectively secured their claims, and so their wives are not listed here.
* For the subsequent consorts of Great Britain and the United Kingdom, see
List of British consorts
A royal consort is the spouse of a reigning king or queen. Consorts of monarchs of the United Kingdom and its predecessors have no constitutional status or power but many have had significant influence. There have been 11 royal consorts sinc ...
.
Stuart pretenders, 1689–1824
Despite the deposition of James II in 1689, he and his descendants continued to claim the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland for more than a century afterwards. This claim was, when politically suitable, recognised by some other European monarchs. As the Stuart pretenders considered the government of England after 1688 to be illegitimate, they did not recognise the validity of the union of the English and Scottish crowns in 1707, or the union with Ireland in 1801.
{, width=90% class="wikitable"
!Picture
!Name
!Father (House)
!Birth
!Marriage
!Became Consort
!Coronation
!Ceased to be Consort
!Death
!Spouse
, -
, align="center",
, align="center",
Mary of Modena
Mary of Modena ( it, Maria Beatrice Eleonora Anna Margherita Isabella d'Este; ) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland as the second wife of James II and VII. A devout Roman Catholic, Mary married the widower James, who was then the young ...
, align="center",
Alfonso IV, Duke of Modena(
Este)
, align="center", 5 October 1658
, align="center", 30 September 1673 (by proxy)
, align="center", 6 February 1685
''husband's accession''
, align="center", 23 April 1685
, align="center", 16 September 1701
''husband's death''
, align="center", 7 May 1718
, align="center",
James VII
James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...
, -
, align="center",
, align="center",
Maria Clementina Sobieska
Maria Clementina Sobieska ( pl, Maria Klementyna Sobieska; 18 July 1702 – 18 January 1735) a titular queen of England, Scotland and Ireland by marriage to James Francis Edward Stuart, a Jacobite claimant to the British throne. The granddaughte ...
, align="center",
James Louis Sobieski
James Louis Henry Sobieski ( Polish: ''Jakub Ludwik Henryk Sobieski''; French: ''Jacques Louis Henri de Sobieski'') 2 November 1667 – 19 December 1737) was a Polish-French nobleman, politician, diplomat, scholar, traveller and the son of John II ...
(
Sobieski)
, align="center", 18 July 1702
, align="center" colspan="2", 9 May 1719 (by proxy)
3 September 1719
, align="center", None
, align="center" colspan="2", 18 January 1735
, align="center",
"James VIII"
, -
, align="center",
, align="center",
Louise of Stolberg
, align="center",
Gustav Adolf of Stolberg-Gedern
, align="center", 20 September 1752
, align="center" colspan="2", 28 March 1772 (by proxy)
14 April 1772
, align="center", None
, align="center", 3 April 1784
''separation''
31 January 1788
''husband's death''
, align="center", 29 January 1824
, align="center",
"Charles III"
, -
See also
*
List of Scottish monarchs
The monarch of Scotland was the head of state of the Kingdom of Scotland. According to tradition, the first King of Scots was Kenneth I MacAlpin (), who founded the state in 843. Historically, the Kingdom of Scotland is thought to have grown ...
*
List of Scottish royal mistresses {{Short description, none
This article contains a list of notable Scottish royal mistresses. The list cannot be complete since some earlier kings had illegitimate children by unknown mothers.
David II
* 1360s: Agnes Dunbar
Robert II
* 1330s: ...
consorts, List of Scottish
Consorts __NOTOC__
Consort may refer to:
Music
* "The Consort" (Rufus Wainwright song), from the 2000 album ''Poses''
* Consort of instruments, term for instrumental ensembles
* Consort song (musical), a characteristic English song form, late 16th–earl ...
Scottish consorts, List of
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...