The Last Death of the Second Barons' War

This post is about Margaret of England (29 September 1240 – 26 February 1275), the daughter of King Henry III. She was in her 20s during the Second Barons' War, but was living in Scotland because she was married to King Alexander III of Scotland.

Life in Scotland wasn't pleasant for her. She was 11 and he was 10 when they were betrothed in York; they moved to Edinburgh a year later. Because they were considered too young for consummating the marriage, they were kept apart by Alexander's regency council, which made her lonely and upset. Her mother, Eleanor of Provence, sent her personal physician to check on her, and he stated that she was pale and depressed.

King Henry spoke to the regency council and came to an agreement. When the two were 14 years of age they were allowed to consummate the marriage, and Alexander would have power handed over to him when he turned 21. Life got better for her after that.

The story of the Second Barons' War has been covered in the past week here. At the Battle of Evesham, the chief instigator, Simon de Montfort, had been killed and hacked to pieces by the supporters of King Henry. Simon had been married to Henry III's sister, making him Margaret's uncle.

Margaret's older brother, Edward (later King Edward I) gave her an esquire as a gift. In the summer of 1273, some time after the Second Barons' War had been settled, Margaret was recovering after the birth of her son David (who did not survive to adulthood). On an outing near Perth with her confessor, several maidens and esquires, one of the retainers—the one gifted to her by Edward—went down to the river to wash his hands.

According to her confessor, she told her maidens to push him in "as a joke." The current was very strong, however, and he was swept away and drowned, as was the servant boy who jumped in to help save him. This was seen as regrettable, but the story persists that he was one of the men who had attacked and killed her uncle Simon, making this esquire the last casualty of the Second Barons' War. Whether the push was a prank or—as some surmise—a punishment will never be known.

Margaret died at the age of 34. Margaret's mother, Eleanor of Provence, lived much longer and had a lot more influence on the country of which she was queen but also was not always happy with her new country. We'll visit her story tomorrow.

Alexander's First Marriage

The marriage of King Alexander III of Scotland and Margaret of England did not start out as a happy one.  As the daughter of King Henry III of England, being married to the king of Scotland meant their offspring would be a significant potential link between the two countries.

The reality was that the groom was 10 years old and the bride was 11. He was managed by a regency council and she was taken to live in Edinburgh where she rarely saw him. Her letters home told of a lonely girl who did not like the gloomy climate and had no friends. Her requests to visit her family in England were refused by the Scottish authorities because they were afraid she would not want to return.

Margaret's mother, Eleanor of Provence, sent her personal physician to Scotland to investigate the situation. This was followed by Henry sending a delegation and demanding that she be treated better. At this point the couple had reached 14 years of age, and it was agreed that they could consummate their marriage and spend more time together as a couple. Henry declared that Alexander needed to reclaim authority from the regency council when he turned 21. He also stipulated that Alexander needed to show Margaret affection and allow Margaret to visit her family. This was in 1255, and in September of that year Henry and family were staying in Wark in Northumberland, where the young couple visited with them. Margaret was allowed to stay longer while Alexander returned to his duties.

Two years later, the king and queen of Scotland were captured by the family of Walter Comyn, Earl of Menteith, who had objected to Alexander's coronation and tried to take power early on before being defeated by loyalists. The demand of the captors was that all foreigners be expelled from Scotland. The regency council and Henry resolved that quickly.

The couple apparently developed a real bond, as some political marriages do, and Alexander enjoyed his time with his wife. They had three children; their daughter, Margaret, married King Eric II of Norway. Margaret died 26 February 1275.

I said in yesterday's post that marriage was the death of Alexander. He survived another 11 years after Margaret's death. It was his affection for his second wife that was his undoing. You will finally get that story next time.

Alexander III

Alexander III of Scotland (4 September 1241 - 19 March 1286) wanted to finally bring all of Scotland and surrounding islands into one unified country, following the dreams of his forebears. This would not happen right away, since he was only seven years old when his father, Alexander II, died and the son was crowned (the illustration is of the coronation from a much later medieval work). His marriage in Christmas Day 1251 to Margaret of England, daughter of King Henry III (she was 11), reinforced relations between Scotland and England. This gave him an ally if he needed military support in his quest.

He announced his intention when he turned 21 and assumed his rights from the regency council. Alexander sent an embassy to Norway and King Haakon IV, who rejected the Scottish claim and planned a military expedition to the islands, anticipating trouble and wanting to set up negotiations. Trouble there was, because Scottish nobles started raiding the Hebrides. In 1263, Haakon and a fleet of 120 ships—a pretty common "negotiating tactic" for Haakon—arrived in the Hebrides in August and met Alexander's forces, settling down to negotiate.

Alexander kept the talks going deliberately to reach a time on the calendar when the weather would make the sea more dangerous. An impatient Haakon attacked in October at the Battle of Largs, but a storm damaged several of his ships and the battle was indecisive. Haakon died not long after, however, and Alexander was able to assert control over the Hebrides. They were formally traded to Scotland by Haakon's successor, Magnus VI, for money in 1266 with the Treaty of Perth.

Alexander's marriage to Margaret is an interesting story. They were too young at the start to consummate the marriage, and Margaret's time in Scotland as a pre-teen was not pleasant. The marriage got better for them, however, until Margaret's death. Alexander re-married, and this second marriage was the death of him. I'll explain tomorrow.