Marjorie DE BRUCE ¹⁷²³

   FamilySearch ID: LDQR-9B8

  General Notes:

Marjorie Bruce was the oldest child of Robert I, King of Scotland, also known as Robert the Bruce, and his first wife Isabella of Mar. She was born in December of 1296 and her mother died 12 December, 1296 shortly after giving birth. Marjorie was named after her paternal grandmother, Marjorie, Countess of Carrick, who had died 4 years before.

In March of 1306 Scotland was in the midst of the First War of Scottish Independence with England when Marjorie's father Robert the Bruce was crowned King of Scotland. "The Bruce" suffered a defeat at the Battle of Methven and sent Marjorie, her step-mother Elizabeth, and her 2 aunts Mary and Christina North for safety. Unfortunately, they were captured by the English along with Isabella MacDuff. All the men captured were executed including Marjorie's Uncle Niall who was hanged, drawn and quartered and then beheaded. Marjorie's step-mother Elizabeth was deemed a valuable hostage and sent to the Tower of London. Her Aunt Christina, whose husband was just executed, was imprisoned at the convent at Sixhills. Mary Bruce and Isabella MacDuff were imprisoned separately in wooden cages and hung outside the castles of Roxburgh and Berwick, exposed to public view and the elements for 4 long years. A cage was built outside the Tower of London for 9 year old Marjorie but English King Edward I reconsidered and sent her to the convent in Watton instead. Marjorie would remain an English captive until 1314 when she was finally released, exchanged for English prisoners, at the age of 17. Robert the Bruce could not accompany his wife and daughter home himself, he would have been a rich prize for the English, however, he sent Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland, to escort them home.

Scotland was free and King Robert the Bruce was at the height of his power. Not wanting to leave Scotland without a clear ruler, as had happened previously after the death of Alexander III and Margaret the Maid of Norway, on April 25 1315 Parliament agreed that if King Robert I, and his brother Edward de Brus, both died without male issue then Marjory de Brus would inherit the throne of Scotland. King Robert I was the most powerful man in Scotland, and now Marjory was the most important woman in Scotland.
Shortly after this Marjorie married the 2nd most powerful man in Scotland, Walter Stewart, High Steward of Scotland. The man who had accompanied her back home from her captivity the year before.

Marjorie and Walter welcomed a son Robert Stuart on March 2 1316. Robert would grow up to become Robert II King of Scotland. Unfortunately, Marjorie would not live to see it. Some historical sources tell us that Marjorie died giving birth to her only son. That she was thrown from a horse while heavily pregnant, and that the baby was delivered safely but Marjorie died. More modern research now indicates that the facts were a little confused. Marjorie did die after a fall from a horse while pregnant, however, it was in October 1317 during her 2nd pregnancy, and both mother and child died. Marjory was buried at Paisley Abbey, Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland.

Like her own mother, Isabella, Marjorie died young, leaving behind a single young motherless child. Robert would not grow up an only child, however, his father married a 2nd time, to Isabel de Graham, and they gave Robert 3 younger siblings.

Marjorie's marriage to Walter, High Steward of Scotland united Clan Stewart and the royal House of Bruce. Her son Robert II was the first Stewart monarch, through him she was the ancestress of a long line of royalty including Mary Queen of Scots and Bonnie Prince Charlie.

Princess Marjorie, the only daughter of King Robert I of Scotland by his first wife Isabella of Mar. Marjorie died in March 1316 giving birth to their only child:[11]
King Robert II of Scotland (born 1316-died 1390), the first monarch of the House of Stewart who reigned as King of Scotland from 1371 to his death in 1390.

  Noted events in her life were:

1. Clan: Bruce,,. ²⁰⁷²

2. Captivity: English captive for 8 years, between 1306 and 1314, in Watton, , Norfolk, England. ²⁰⁷²
Captured by the English in 1306 at age 9, Marjorie was held captive at Watton Abbey until 1314. Marjorie met her future husband Walter Stewart when he was sent to escort her home from English captivity.
(Watton Abbey, Watton, Norfolk, England.)

3. Title of Nobility: Princess of Scotland, on 27 March 1306, in Old Scone, Cargill, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. ²⁰⁷²
When her Father became King at his coronation on this date, she became a 'Princess' at age 9 and a target of the English.
.

4. Marriage: to John Campbell, Earl of Atholl, in 1333,. ²⁰⁷²
No issue.

5. Death: Died During Child Birth,, in , , , Scotland. ²⁰⁷²
Passed away giving birth to King of Scots Robert II.

6. Marriage: to Maurice de Moravia, in 1334, in Old Scone, Cargill, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. ²⁰⁷²
Marriage to Maurice de Moravia, 9th Earl of Strathearn
granted the earldom of Strathearn after forfeiture by his Uncle, Malise de Strathearn, 8th Earl of Strathearn
1334
Old Scone, Perthshire, Scotland
.

7. Title of Nobility: Countess of Strathearn, about 1334, in Strathearn, , Perth and Kinross, Scotland. ²⁰⁷²

8. Coronation: at Scone Palace, on 2 March 1371, in Old Scone, Cargill, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. ²⁰⁷²
(Scone Palace, Old Scone, Perthshire, Scotland.)

Marjorie married Sir Walter STEWART Knight of Dundonald, 6th High Stewart of Scotland, son of Sir James STEWART 5th High Steward of Scotland and Giles Egidia DE BURGH, on 2 March 1315 in Dundonald, South Ayrshire, Ayrshire, Scotland.²⁰⁷¹ (Sir Walter STEWART Knight of Dundonald, 6th High Stewart of Scotland was born in April 1293 in Dundonald, South Ayrshire, Ayrshire, Scotland,¹⁷²³ died on 9 April 1327 in Bathgate, , West Lothian, Scotland ¹⁷²³ and was buried in 1327 in Paisley, , Renfrewshire, Scotland ¹⁷²³.)

  Marriage Notes:

Following the liberation of King Robert the Bruce's wife, Elizabeth de Burgh, and daughter, Marjorie, from their long captivity in England in October 1314, Walter the High Steward was sent to receive them at the Anglo-Scottish Border and conduct them back to the Scottish royal court. Soon after, in 1315, he married Marjorie, receiving the Barony of Bathgate in Linlithgowshire as part of his wife's dowry.