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You are here: UK History > Royal History > Scottish Monarchy > Alexander II and III
Alexander II was the only son of the Scottish King William the Lion, he spent time in England where he was knighted by King John before returning to Scotland to claim his father’s throne. One of his greatest achievements was the Treaty of York, which defined the boundary between England and Scotland and remains virtually unchanged to this day.
Quick Facts:
Born: 1198
Died: 1249
Reign: 1214-1249
Parents: William the Lion and Emermgarde de Beaumont
Predecessor: William I
Successor: Alexander III
Spouse: Joan of England and then Marie de Coucy
Children: Alexander III of Scotland and at least one illegitimate child.
Royal House: Dunkeld
The year after his accession, Alexander fought off a revolt in his own lands before joining the...Read More
Alexander II was the only son of the Scottish King William the Lion, he spent time in England where he was knighted by King John before returning to Scotland to claim his father’s throne. One of his greatest achievements was the Treaty of York, which defined the boundary between England and Scotland and remains virtually unchanged to this day.
Quick Facts:
Born: 1198
Died: 1249
Reign: 1214-1249
Parents: William the Lion and Emermgarde de Beaumont
Predecessor: William I
Successor: Alexander III
Spouse: Joan of England and then Marie de Coucy
Children: Alexander III of Scotland and at least one illegitimate child.
Royal House: Dunkeld
The year after his accession, Alexander fought off a revolt in his own lands before joining the English barons in their struggle against King John. He led an army into England in support of the barons, which led to the sacking of Berwick upon Tweed. The Scottish forces reached the port of Dover, but the English aristocracy changed their allegiance after the death of King John, forcing his army back to Scotland. Peace between Alexander, the French king and the new English King, Henry III came with the Treaty of Kingston and the arranged marriage of Alexander to Joan, Henry’s sister. She was 11 and he was 23. They had no children.
In 1237, the Treaty of York was signed, which defined the boundary between the two Kingdoms, stating that the boundary ran between Solway Firth in the west and the River Tweed in the east, something that remains much the same today. The following year, Joan died, and Alexander married his second wife in 1239. They had one son, Alexander III who became heir apparent.
Following this, Alexander turned his attention to the Western Isles, which were controlled by the Norwegians. He attempted negotiations to purchase the land without success and eventually set out to conquer them, dying on route. The dispute over this territory would remain until 1266, when the land was ceded to Scotland. Alexander made it as far as the Isle of Kerrera in the Inner Hebrides.
Alexander III, the only son of Alexander II ascended the throne at the age of seven. He reigned from 1249 until his death and concluded the Treaty of Perth, which gained the Western Isles and the Isle of Man.
Quick Facts:
Born: 1241
Died: 1286
Reign: 1249-1286
Parents: Alexander II and Marie de Coucy
Predecessor: Alexander II
Successor: Margaret
Spouse: Margaret of England and then Yolande de Dreux
Children: Margaret, Queen of Norway and Alexander, Prince of Scotland
Royal House: Dunkeld
The early years of Alexander’s reign were marred by his age. He was stuck in the middle of a struggle for control between two rival factions, led by Walter Comyn the Earl of Menteith and Alan Duward, the Justicar of Scotia. The former dominated the early years of Alexander’s reign.
Eventually, Walter Comyn would lose control to Duward, but still retained great influence. In 1257, they seized the king and compelled their rivals to agree to the creation of a committee that featured representatives of both factions.
Alexander was married to Margaret of England in 1251, the daughter of the English king, Henry III, the pair were just 10 and 11 years old when they were wed. During the wedding, Henry attempted to use his influence as father in law and English king to make demands on the Scottish, but Alexander refused. They remained married until Margaret's death in 1275, they had three children. According to notes from the time, Alexander did not spend the ten years between his two marriages alone and was known to keep many mistresses.
Once he came of age in 1262, Alexander declared his intention to finish his father’s projects on the Western Isles. This resulted in the Norweigan king attempting to invade, but Alexander prolonged the talks until the autumn storms began, leading to the Norweigan’s ships being damaged. The two kings came to an agreement which was concluded by the Treaty of Perth, which handed over control of both the Isle of Man and the Western Isles. Later, Scotland would also receive Orkney and Shetland from Norway in 1469 when they were used as the dowry for Margaret of Denmark when she married James III.
Towards the end of Alexander’s reign, he had already lost all three of his children, leaving him with the question of who would be his successor. He introduced the Estates to recognise his granddaughter, Margaret the Maid of Norway, as his heir presumptive. The need for a new male heir led him to his second marriage to Yolande de Dreux, however he would die less than a year later. It is said that he fell from his horse while riding at night to visit his queen for her birthday. He had spent the evening at Edinburgh Castle and was advised against making the journey to Fife because of the weather. He became separated from the rest of the party and was found dead the following morning, it is assumed that his horse lost its footing in the dark and threw him, though others believe the death to be suspicious. Whether or not it was an accident, his death plunged the country into a period of instability, which eventually led to war with the English.
As he had no surviving children, there was some discussion over who would be the new monarch. Queen Yolande had been pregnant at the time of his death but lost the baby. As such, Alexander’s three year old granddaughter, Margaret the Maid of Norway was named heir but she died uncrowned on her way to claim her throne. A series of guardians governed the land for a period of six years before John Balliol was crowed in 1292.
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