Scotland's First Queen Regnant: Margaret Maid of Norway

My good friend, Sharon Bennett Connolly, is my guest today. Sharon and I are on the admin team for Historical Writers Forum and both write nonfiction for Pen & Sword. We share a passion for women's history and bringing lesser known stories to the forefront. Today, Sharon shares the tragic story of Scotland's first queen regnant, Margaret Maid of Norway.

Welcome, Sharon!

~ Samantha

Scotland's First Queen Regnant: Guest Post by Sharon Bennett Connolly

The story of Margaret, the Maid of Norway, is short and sad. The little girl died before her 8th birthday, and before she ever set foot in the country of which she was queen. Her death set into motion a chain of events that would see Scotland torn apart by war for years to come.

Margaret’s claim to the Scottish throne came from her grandfather, Alexander III. Alexander had come to the throne at the age of 8 and had proved to be a very capable and strong monarch. He had married, Margaret, the daughter of Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence, when they were both still children. With three children born to the couple, they must have felt content that the succession was secure. Their eldest daughter, Margaret, was born in February 1261 at Windsor Castle and was recognised as the heir to the Scots throne until the arrival of her oldest brother. Of their two sons, Alexander was born in 1264 at Jedburgh and David was born in March 1273. However, there soon followed a succession of tragedies for the king, starting with the death of Queen Margaret in February 1275 at Cupar Castle, aged only 34. Just six years later, the couple’s youngest son, 8-year-old David, died in June 1281 at Stirling Castle; he had always been a delicate boy, but the grief of losing his youngest child, on top of the grief of losing his queen and lifelong companion, must have been hard for Alexander III to take.

Margaret of England, Queen of Scots

One happy event in the midst of the tragedy was the marriage of 20-year-old Margaret of Scotland to 13-year-old Erik Magnusson in August 1281. The marriage was intended to foster closer ties between Scotland and Norway after several years of prickly relations in the aftermath of the 1266 Treaty of Perth, when the Scots finally secured control of the Western Isles and Man. The marriage treaty even specified that Margaret and her children would be in the Scottish line of succession after Alexander III’s sons and the sons of Alexander’s sons.

Coat of Arms of Norway

Erik II Magnusson had become King Erik II of Norway the year before, in 1280, with a royal council ruling for the underage king. Erik was the son of Magnus the Lawmender, King of Norway, and his wife, Ingeborg, daughter of Eric IV, King of Denmark. King Magnus had hoped to have young Erik crowned as his co-ruler, but passed away before the coronation ceremony could be performed. The marriage promised a closer, friendlier, relationship between Scotland and Norway. Margaret was seven years older than her groom and, indeed, rather old for an unmarried princess; her mother had been married at the age of 10 and most princesses would expect to be married before their 16th birthday. This may have been the result of a lack of suitable bridegrooms among the royal families of Europe. Edward I had been married for over twenty-five years by 1281 and had fathered a brood of children, but his only surviving son at this time was 7-year-old Alphonso, Earl of Chester, who would, sadly, succumb to illness in August 1284. Alexander III may also have delayed looking for a husband for Margaret following the death of Queen Margaret, when the princess was 14. But now, the 20-year-old princess would be married at the cathedral in Bergen.

Erik II, King of Norway

The Chronicle of Lanercost recorded Margaret’s departure from Scotland and arrival in Norway, and her influence on her new country: ‘On the morrow of S. Laurence she embarked at … with much pomp and many servants, and after imminent peril to life which they ran on the night of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin, at daybreak on the said festival they lowered their sails at Bergen. Shortly afterwards she was solemnly crowned and proclaimed before all men by a distinguished company of kinsmen. She comported herself so graciously towards the king and his people that she altered their manners for the better, taught them the French and English languages, and set the fashion of more seemly dress and food.’

Unfortunately, we have very little information on Margaret’s life in Norway, nor of her relationship with Erik. It cannot have been easy for her, with such a young husband and, it is said, with a mother-in-law, Ingeborg of Denmark, who, according to the chronicler Walter Bower, was against the marriage and undermined her position as queen, dominating the Norwegian court. The following year, at the age of 14, the young king came of age. At about the same time, Margaret would have discovered she was pregnant. The future must have looked bright for the young couple, becoming king and queen in reality, rather than just in name, and with a baby – possibly a son – on the way. After just eighteen months of marriage, tragedy struck as the queen died delivering her first child. Barely more than a child himself, King Erik was now a widower with a baby daughter to raise. Queen Margaret died at Tonsberg, either during or shortly after, giving birth to her namesake daughter, and was buried in the cathedral of Christ Church at Bergen, where she had been so recently crowned.

For Alexander III, even more tragedy was to follow in January 1284 when his son and heir, Alexander, died aged just 20. Alexander’s death sparked a succession crisis for Scotland’s king. He had no brothers or uncles to succeed him; his only heir was his 8-month-old granddaughter, Margaret, in Norway. That same year Alexander obtained, from his nobles, a recognition of ‘the illustrious girl Margaret … as our lady and right heir of our said lord king of Scotland’. However, the death of his last surviving child also prompted Alexander III to look for a new wife. And on 1 November 1285, at Jedburgh Abbey, Alexander married Yolande de Dreux, in the hope of producing a legitimate male heir. A little over four months later, while riding through the night – and a violent storm – to be with his bride on her birthday, Alexander’s horse appears to have lost its footing on the cliffs and thrown its rider. The king’s body, with his neck broken, was found on the beach the next day, just a mile from where his wife was staying, at Kinghorn in Fife. With the new queen pregnant, six Guardians were appointed to rule the kingdom until the arrival of Alexander’s posthumous heir. However, Yolande either miscarried, or the baby was stillborn and by the end of the year it was clear that Scotland had to look elsewhere for a ruler. Alexander’s only surviving heir was now 3-year-old Margaret of Norway.

Coronation of Alexander III, King of Scots

At her birth, Margaret’s future had looked bright. She was a Norwegian princess who would be destined to play an important role in her country’s foreign policy by making a prestigious marriage with one of the royal families of Europe. Her education, supervised by Bishop Narve of Bergen, where she resided, would have been tailored to provide her with the tools she needed for this future. Her grandfather’s death, and her own position as his heir, promoted Margaret to being one of the most desirable heiresses in Europe. The Norwegians saw the advantage in securing Margaret’s succession to the Scottish throne, as an opportunity to recover the Western Isles and various sums of money that had remained unpaid.

However, as it was believed at the time that a woman could not rule alone, it was the choice of Margaret’s husband that was of prime importance to all. As early as 1284, Alexander III had, following the death of his last son, floated the idea that England and Scotland might unite through marriage. In response to a letter of condolence from his brother-in-law, Edward I, Alexander had suggested that, through his tiny granddaughter, ‘much may yet come to pass’. When Alexander still had the prospect of producing an heir of his own, Edward saw little advantage in the idea of marrying Margaret to his new-born son and heir, Edward of Caernarfon. With Alexander III’s death, Scotland was now Margaret’s dowry, and Edward I was presented with the prospect of his son inheriting England after him, whilst also being King of Scotland as Margaret’s husband.

Margaret, Maid of Norway

Negotiations between the English king and Scots barons were extensive and thorough, determining the relationship between the two countries when little Edward and Margaret married. Once settled, Margaret set sail to Scotland in August 1290 in a Norwegian vessel. Accompanied by Bishop Narve of Bergen, she was bound for Orkney, which was still Norwegian soil. There, she was to be transferred into the custody of an embassy of Scottish knights, sent by William Fraser, Bishop of St Andrews, who were to escort the little queen, at that time styled ‘lady of Scotland’, to Scone for her inauguration.

In preparation for the Maid’s arrival, Edward I sent the bishop of Durham north to supervise her reception. He also sent gifts of jewels for his future daughter-in-law; and the magnates of Scotland began to assemble at Scone Abbey, Perth, in anticipation of the enthronement of their new queen. However, storms drove the Maid’s ship off course, and she landed at the place now known as St Margaret’s Hope, South Ronaldsay, on Orkney. Representatives from both England and Scotland now made the journey north to greet the young queen, receiving the news en route that Margaret had sickened and died. Margaret died at Orkney, in the arms of Bishop Narve, either from the effects of a severe bout of seasickness, or possibly from eating rotten food during the voyage. She was 7 years old.

The story of Margaret, Maid of Norway, is truly tragic. She never had the chance to grow up, marry, be a queen. Her significance lies in the fact that the magnates of Scotland were prepared to accept her as their monarch. Had she lived, she would have been the first female to be crowned as queen regnant in the British Isles. She would have achieved what Empress Matilda failed to do in England in the mid-twelfth century. And it would have happened peacefully.

Sharon Bennett Connolly is the best-selling author of several non-fiction history books. Her latest, Scotland’s Medieval Queens; From St Margaret to Margaret of Denmark, was released in January 2025. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, Sharon has studied history academically and just for fun – and has even worked as a tour guide at Conisbrough Castle. She also writes the popular history blog, www.historytheinterestingbits.com and co-hosts the podcast A Slice of Medieval, alongside historical novelist Derek Birks. Sharon regularly gives talks on women's history, for historical groups, festivals and in schools; her book Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest is a recommended text for teaching the Norman Conquest in the National Curriculum. She is a feature writer for All About History and Living Medieval magazines and her TV work includes Australian Television's 'Who Do You Think You Are?'

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