This section of our history covers the lives and reigns of all the monarchs of Scotland from the first Scottish King, Kenneth MacAlpin, who emerged from the mists of the Dark ages as the first King of Scotland in 843, to the death of that ill fated seductress, Mary, Queen of Scots, who was beheaded in an English prison on the orders of Elizabeth I.

The MacAlpin dynasty, which ruled Scotland throughout the Dark Ages, united the warring races of Picts and Scots as one nation. Our section on this dynasty includes the reign of Kenneth I himself and covers the bitter blood feud fought out between the two opposing lines of his successors for possession of the throne.

The following chapter, on the short lived House of Moray, includes an account of the reign of Macbeth, of Shakespearian fame, who usurped the throne of Scotland and reveals that the actual history of Macbeth and Duncan was very different to how Shakespeare has presented it to his audiences down the ages.

At the dawn of the Middle Ages, the House of Dunkeld seized the Scottish throne replacing the line of Gaelic Kings which had ruled since the ninth century. It produced such varying characters as the devout David I and Alexander I, known as the Fierce. The House of Dunkeld could also claim a saint in it's midst, in the person of Margaret, the wife of Malcolm Canmore, who was also one of the last representatives of the Anglo-Saxon House of Wessex.

Edward I of England's overbearing attempts to rule Scotland resulted in the Scottish Wars of Independence, which saw the meteoric rise of one of Scotland's most famous sons, the patriot William Wallace, who raised his countrymen to fight for the cause of freedom and was destined to suffer an agonizing death at the hands of his English enemies. After the demise of Wallace, the banner of Scottish resistance was taken up by Robert the Bruce, Scotland's greatest monarch, who lead his country to finally win her freedom from English dominance at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.

After the Bruce dynasty failed in the male line, on the death of Robert's only son, the throne of Scotland was occupied by the romantic but ill starred Stewart dynasty, which descended from the Bruce's daughter.

The tragic Mary Queen of Scots was the last scion of their line. Beautiful, but reckless and impulsive, Mary was suspected of complicity in the murder of her ineffectual second husband, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley and later alienated the Scots lords by marrying James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, widely believed to be his murderer. She was forced to abdicate and endured a long term of imprisonment at the hands of her English cousin, Elizabeth I. In 1567 she ended her days under the executioner's axe at Fotheringay in Northamptonshire, an action which shocked all Europe. The crowns of Scotland and England were finally united in the person of the son Mary was fated never to see from infancy, James I and VI, the first King of all Britain.

The House of MacAlpin

Monarch		Birth and Reign	Married
Kenneth MacAlpin		b. around 810 son of Alpin mac Echdach r. 843-858
Donald I		c. 812 son of-Kenneth MacAlpin
Constantine I		son of- son of Kenneth MacAlpin, r. 862-877
Aodh		b. before 858 son of- Kenneth MacAlpin, r. 877-878
Giric		b. c 832 possible son of - Dúngal r. 878-889
Donald II		b. 1284 son of- Constantín I r. 899-900
Constantine II		b. before 879 son of- �odh, King of the Picts r. 900-943
Malcolm I		son of- Donald II r. 943-954
Indulf		son of Constantine II r. 954-962
Dubh		son of- Malcolm I r. 962-967
Colin		son of- Indulf r 967-971
Kenneth II		son of Malcolm I, r. 971-995
Constantine III		son of- Colin r. 995-997
Kenneth III		b. before 967 son of- Dubh r. 997-1005
Malcolm II		son of Kenneth II, r. 1005-1034

The House of Moray

Monarch		Birth & Reign	Married
Macbeth		son of- Findláech mac Ruaidrí, Mormaer of Moray and Donada, daughter of Malcolm II r. 1040-1057	Gruoch of Scotland
Lulach		son of- Gille Coemgáin of Moray and Gruoch of Scotland r. 1057 - 1058

The House of Dunkeld

Monarch		Birth & Reign	Married
Duncan I		son of- Crinan of Dunkeld and Bethoc daughter of Malcolm II, r. 1034-1040	Suthen
Malcolm III 'Canmore'		b. 26 March 1031 son of- Duncan I r.1058-1093	(i)Ingeborg of Halland (ii)St. Margaret
Donald III		b. before 1040 son of- Duncan I r. 1093-1094, 1094-1097
Edgar		b. c. 1074 son of- Malcolm III and Margaret of Wessex r. 1097-1107
Alexander I		b.c.1078 son of- Malcolm III and Margaret of Wessex r.1107-1124	Sybilla of Normandy daughter of Henry I of England
David I		b. 1084 son of- Malcolm III and Margaret of Wessex r. 1124 - 1153	Maud of Huntingdon
Malcolm IV		b.1141 son of- Henry, Earl of Huntingdon and Ada de Warenne r. 1153 - 1165
William the Lion		b. 1143 son of Henry, Earl of Huntingdon and Ada de Warenne r. 1165 - 1214	Ermengarde de Beaumont
Alexander II		b. 24 August 1198 son of- William I of Scotland and Ermengarde de Beaumont r. 1214 -1249	(1) Joan of England (2) Marie de Coucy
Alexander III		b. 4 September 1241 son of- Alexander II and Marie de Coucy r.1249 -1286	(1) Margaret of England (2)Yolande de Dreux
Margaret, Maid of Norway		b.9 April 1283 daughter of Eric II of Norway and Margaret of Scotland r. 1286 - 1290

The House of Balliol

Monarch		Birth & Reign	Married
John I		b. 1248 son of- Sir John Balliol and Devorguilla of Galloway r.1292 - 1296	Isabella de Warenne
Edward I		b. 5 March 1324 son of- John I and Isabella de Warenne r.1332-1336	Margaret of Taranto

The House of Bruce

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 (2)Margaret Drummond

The House of Stewart

Monarch		Birth & Reign	Married
Robert II		b. 1316 son of- Walter Stewart & Marjorie Bruce r. 1371-1390	Elizabeth Mure of Rowallan
Robert III		b. c1340 son of- Robert II & Elizabeth Mure r.1390-1406	Annabella Drummond
James I		b. 1394 son of- Robert III &Annabella Drummond r.1406-1437	Joan Beaufort
James II		b.1430 son of- James I & Joan Beaufort r.1437 - 1460	Mary of Guelders
James III		b.1451 son of- James II & Mary of Gueldres r.1460-1488	Margaret of Denmark
James IV		b.1473 son of- James III &Margaret of Denmark r. 1488-1513	Margaret Tudor
James V		b.1512 son of- James IV &Margaret Tudor r.1513-1542	(1)Madeleine of France (2)Mary of Guise
Mary, Queen of Scots		b.1543 daughter of James V & Mary of Guise r. 1542-1567	(1)Francis II of France (2)Henry Stuart Lord Darnley (3)James Hepburn Earl of Bothwell