The House of Dunkeld ended when Alexander III inadvertantly tumbled over a cliff in the darkness and was followed to the grave shortly after by his young grandaughter and heiress, Margaret the 'Maid of Norway'. King Edward I of England's overbearing attempts to rule Scotland through a puppet king, John Balliol, resulted in the Scottish Wars of Independence, which saw the meteoric rise from obscurity of Scotland's most famous son, William Wallace.

After the demise of Wallace, the bannner of Scottish resistance was taken up by Robert the Bruce, who lead his countrymen to victory and freedom from English domination at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.

The House of Bruce had its origins in Normandy, the family name was derived from Bruis, modern day Brix, which lies between Cherbourg and Valognes. There the founder member of the family, the eleventh century Adam de Brus, erected a castle. The family crossed to England with William the Conqueror, Robert de Brus, a Norman knight, was granted lands in Yorkshire after the Battle of Hastings.

After the death of the renowned Robert the Bruce in 1329, the House of Balliol was briefly reinstated before David Bruce was restored to the throne. The dynasty that 'the Bruce' founded lasted but two generations, his son David II died childless in 1371, when Scotland's throne passed to his grandson, Robert II, the first of the House of Stewart.

Monarch		Birth & Reign	Married
Robert I		b. 11 July 1274 son of- Robert the Bruce, Lord of Annandale and Marjorie, Countess of Carrick r. 1306-1329	(1)Isabella of Mar (2)Elizabeth de Burgh
David II		b. 5 March 1324 son of- Robert I and Elizabeth de Burgh r. 1329 - 1371	(1)Joan of England 92)Margaret Drummond