Margaret of England

This article is about the medieval queen of Scotland. For the saint, see Saint Margaret of England.

Margaret of England
Queen consort of Scots
Tenure	26 December 1251 – 26 February 1275
Spouse	Alexander III of Scotland
Issue
Margaret, Queen of Norway Alexander, Prince of Scotland
House	House of Plantagenet (by birth) House of Dunkeld (by marriage)
Father	Henry III of England
Mother	Eleanor of Provence
Born	29 September 1240(1240-09-29)
Died	26 February 1275(1275-02-26) (aged 34) Cupar Castle
Burial	Dunfermline Abbey, Fife

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, at York Minster, to King Alexander III of Scotland, with whom she had three children.

Children:

• Margaret, Princess of Scotland (1260/61–1283), who married Eirik II of Norway
• Alexander, Prince of Scotland (21 January 1263 Jedburgh – 28 January 1283 Lindores Abbey); buried in Dunfermline Abbey
• David of Scotland (20 March 1272 – June 1281 Stirling Castle); buried in Dunfermline Abbey

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 been the killer of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester. 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

Death & Burial

She died 26 February 1275, at Cupar Castle, and was buried at Dunfermline Abbey, Fife.

Written References

• Ashley, Mike (2002). British Kings & Queens. Carroll & Graf. ISBN 0-7867-1104-3.  pgs 485 & 492
• Tibballs, Geoff (2005). Royalty's Strangest Characters: Extraordinary But True Tales from 2,000 Years of Mad Monarchs and Raving Rulers. Chrysalis Books. 

Margaret of England House of Plantagenet Born: 29 September 1240 Died: 26 February 1275
Preceded by Marie de Coucy	Queen consort of Scotland (House of Dunkeld) 1251–1275	Succeeded by Yolande de Dreux