Margaret
Margaret (1283–90), queen of Scots (1286–90), known as ‘the Maid of Norway’. Daughter of Eric II of Norway, she succeeded her grandfather Alexander III, whose children had all predeceased him, at the age of 3 in 1286, and her premature death four years later was one of the most significant events in medieval British history. Her betrothal to Edward of Caernarfon (the future Edward II), agreed by the treaty of Birgham, was intended to perpetuate Anglo-Scottish peace through dynastic union. But she died at Kirkwall in Orkney on her way from Bergen to Scotland. This tragedy led to a disputed succession in Scotland, to Edward I's ill-judged interventions in Scottish affairs, and to the Scottish Wars of Independence.
Keith J. Stringer
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Margaret
