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The House Of Bruce |
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David II
1329-1371
David Bruce, the only son
of Robert the Bruce and Elizabeth de Burgh was born on 5th March, 1324.
David was married at the age of four on 17 July 1328 to Joan of England, the daughter of Edward II and Isabella of France. Despite their marriage lasting thirty-four years, it was childless and apparently loveless.
On the demise of the great Robert the Bruce in 1329, David, aged four at the time, was duly proclaimed King of Scots. Edward Balliol, the son of King John Balliol siezing the opportunity a minority presented, invaded Scotland with an English amy. The young David was promptly sent to France for his greater safety.
David II was eventually reinstated as Scotland's sovereign on the flight of Edward Balliol in 1336. The new King bore deep suspicions of his nephew, Robert Stewart, who was actually older than himself and had prior to his birth been declared the heir of Robert the Bruce. In an uneasy alliance, the pair invaded England, where they jointly encountered an English army at Neville's Cross in Northumberland.
The battle progressed badly for the Scots, as their position grew more dangerous, Robert Stewart panicked and fled the battlefield, but David displayed himself a true son of Robert the Bruce, fighting on with valour, despite having two arrows in his body. He was taken captive by the English and imprisoned in the Tower of London, where he was held for eleven long years.
Weary of his English captivity in the Tower of London, David Bruce came to a compromise with his captor Edward III, in an agreement frowned upon by the Scots and considered as a betrayal of all his renowned father had fought so long and hard for, he offered the English King his homage and his throne if he died childless, in return for his freedom.
The Scots continued the struggle, recieving French aid. Enraged, Edward III marched north into Scotland with an army. The crushed Scots finally submitted and agreed to pay a ransom of a hundred thousand pounds for the return of their captive king.
David II did not live up to his early promise, Robert the Bruce proved a hard act to follow. David was extravagant and pleasure loving, the Scots tolerated him because he was his father's son, but he failed to evoke their love or loyalty in the way his father had done. He remarried around 20th February 1364, Margaret Drummond, widow of Sir John Logie, and daughter of Sir Malcolm Drummond. He divorced her about 20th March 1370. They had no issue. Margaret travelled to Avignon and made a successful appeal to the Pope to reverse the sentence of divorce.
After a long reign, David died at Edinburgh Castle in February, 1371, the last of the House of Bruce. He was succeeded by his nephew, Robert II, the first of the Stewart dynasty.