Kings and Queens of Scotland

See also Mary, Queen of Scots.

According to tradition, the Scottish nation was founded in 843 by Cináed mac Ailpín (Kenneth MacAlpin – literally, the son of Alpin). Kenneth was a Gael, who is thought to have become King of the Picts by matrilineal descent (as was the custom). (The Picts had inhabited northern and eastern Scotland since Roman times; the Gaels spread into Scotland from Ireland some time around the 5th century AD.)

Kenneth was succeeded by his brother Donald I, who in turn was succeeded by his son Giric. All subsequent kings (and sovereign queens) of Scotland were descended from Kenneth.

For comparison: England was ruled from 839 to 856 by Æthelwulf, the father of Alfred the Great. Alfred ruled from 871 to 899 (following three of his elder brothers in turn).

The following diagram shows how the first 23 kings of Scotland came from just 10 generations of the descendants of Alpin.

After David I, the succession was generally more orthodox.

The remainder of this page shows much of the same information, but in the more familiar "question and answer" format – and brings us up to James VI, who was also James I of England.

First King of Scotland	843–858		Kenneth I (MacAlpin)
Brother of Kenneth I	858–862		Donald I
Son of Kenneth I	862–877		Constantine I
Son of Constantine I	889–900		Donald II
Son of Aed, grandson of Kenneth I, nephew of Constantine I, cousin of Donald II	900–943		Constantine II
Son of Donald II	943–954		Malcolm I

The kingdom of England was united under Edgar in 959.

Son of Malcolm I	971–995		Kenneth II
	995–997		Constantine III
	997–1005		Kenneth III
Son of Kenneth II; grandfather of Duncan I and Macbeth	1005–34		Malcolm II
Defeated in battle, and killed, by his cousin Macbeth	1034–40		Duncan I
Grandson of Malcolm II; married Princess Gruoch, a descendant of Malcolm I – the model for Lady Macbeth	1040–57		Macbeth
Macbeth's stepson (son of Gruoch)	1057–58		Lulach
Son of Duncan; killed Macbeth in battle; known as 'Canmore' (Big Head); killed at Alnwick while invading Northumberland	1058–93		Malcolm III
Consort of Malcolm III, a member of the English royal family: died 1093, three days after the deaths in battle (at Alnwick) of her husband and eldest son; canonised 1250. Queensferry on the Firth of Forth (between the two bridges) is named after her			Saint Margaret

Malcolm III was King of Scotland at the time of the Norman Conquest of England.

Brother of Malcolm III	1093–94		Donald Bane
Eldest son of Malcolm III (by his first wife Ingiborg Finnsdottir)	1094		Duncan II
(restored)	1094–97		Donald Bane
Eldest surviving son of Malcolm III and St. Margaret	1097–1107		Edgar
Third son of Malcolm III and St. Margaret; known as 'the Fierce'	1107–24		Alexander I
Fourth (youngest) son of Malcolm III and Margaret; brought up in the court of Henry I of England	1124–53		David I
Eldest son of Henry, son of David I	1153–65		Malcolm IV
Younger brother of Malcolm IV; father of Alexander II	1165–14		William (the Lion)
Supported the English barons in their struggle with King John; acknowledged Henry II of England as his liege lord by the Treaty of Newcastle, 1244	1214–49		Alexander II
Son of the above: gained influence over the Western Isles, from Norway, 1263	1249–86		Alexander III
Grand–daughter of the above: succeeded aged 3 (her mother, Margaret of Norway, having died during or shortly after her birth)	1286–90		Margaret of Norway
13 people laid claim to the throne after Margaret, 'The Maid of Norway' died on her way to Scotland	1290–92		Interregnum
Great–grandson of David of Huntingdon, younger brother of William the Lion – selected by Edward I of England	1292–96		John Balliol
Scots barons rebelled at Edward I's influence over John Balliol, who then abdicated; Edward declared himself King of Scotland, capturing the Stone of Scone	1296–1306		Interregnum
Crowned at Scone after the execution of William Wallace; defeated Edward I at Bannockburn (1314); said to have been inspired to try again by watching a spider building its web	1306–29		Robert I (the Bruce)
Son of Robert the Bruce; married Joanna, daughter of Edward II of England, at age 4; captured at the Battle of Neville's Cross	1329–71		David II
First Stuart King of Scotland; son of Walter, Steward of Scotland, and Marjory, daughter of Robert I	1371–90		Robert II
Son of Robert II	1390–1406		Robert III
Robert, Duke of Albany, was regent to 1424, when James was crowned; murdered by Sir Robert Graham, 1437	1406–37		James I
Assumed power 1449; killed while besieging Roxburgh Castle, 1460; banned golf and football, 1457, because they distracted his subjects from archery	1437–60		James II
Assumed power 1469; murdered 1488	1460–88		James III
The last British king to be killed in battle: Flodden Field, 1513 – defeated by Henry VIII's English army	1488–1513		James IV
Married Margaret Tudor, sister of Henry VIII – resulting in the claim of his grand–daughter, Mary, to the English throne
Died three weeks after his defeat by Henry VIII's army at Solway Moss	1513–42		James V
Became Queen of Scots aged 6 days, following the death of her father (see above); forced to abdicate in favour of her one–year–old son, 25 years later, after the Scottish peers turned against her and her third husband (James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell); executed at Fotheringay Castle following the Babington plot; reputedly haunts Borthwick Castle, in the Borders, where she and Bothwell were beseiged following their marriage	1542–67		Mary
Son of the above, and her second husband Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley (both great–grandchildren of Henry VII of England via his daughter Margaret (see above); assumed power in 1583; became James I of England in 1603	1567–1625		James VI
Target of the Gowrie Conspiracy (or Plot) – which resulted in the murders of John Ruthven, 3rd Earl of Gowrie, and his younger brother Alexander, ostensibly in defence of the King

© Haydn Thompson 2017–22