List of Scottish monarchs

The monarch of Scotland was the head of state of the Kingdom of Scotland. According to tradition, the first King of Scots (Middle Scots: King of Scottis, Modern Scots: Keeng o Scots) was Kenneth MacAlpin (Cináed mac Ailpín), who founded the state in 843. The distinction between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of the Picts is rather the product of later medieval myth and confusion from a change in nomenclature, i.e. Rex Pictorum (King of the Picts) becomes ri Alban (King of Alba) under Donald II when annals switched from Latin to vernacular around the end of the 9th century, by which time the word Alba in Gaelic had come to refer to the Kingdom of the Picts rather than Britain (its older meaning).^[1]

The Kingdom of the Picts just became known as Kingdom of Alba in Gaelic, which later became known in Scots and English as Scotland; the terms are retained in both languages to this day. By the late 11th century at the very latest, Scottish kings were using the term rex Scottorum, or King of Scots, to refer to themselves in Latin. The title of King of Scots fell out of use in 1707, when the Kingdom of Scotland was merged with the Kingdom of England to form a single Kingdom of Great Britain. Thus Queen Anne became the last monarch of the ancient kingdoms of Scotland and England and the first of Great Britain, although the kingdoms had shared a monarch since 1603 (see Union of the Crowns). Her uncle Charles II was the last Scottish monarch actually to be crowned in Scotland, at Scone in 1651.

Heraldry

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  Coat of arms of Scotland (12th century–1603)

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  Coat of arms of Scotland (1603–1651)

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  Coat of arms of Scotland (1660–1689)

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  Coat of arms of Scotland (1689–1694)

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  Coat of arms of Scotland (1694–1702)

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  Coat of arms of Scotland (1702–1707)

Coronation Oath

The Coronation Oath sworn by every King of Scots from James VI to Charles II and was approved by the Parliament of Scotland in 1567:

I, N.N., promise faithfully, in the presence of the eternal, my God, that I, enduring the whole Course of my Life, shall serve the same Eternal, my God, to the utmost of my Power, accordingly as he required in his most Holy Word, revealed and contained in the New and Old Testament; and according to the same Word shall maintain the true Religion of Jesus Christ, the preaching of his Holy Word, and due and right administration of his Sacraments, now received and practised within this Realm; and shall abolish and oppose all false Religion contrary to the same; and shall rule the People committed to my Charge, according to the Will and Command of God, revealed in his foresaid Word, and according to the lovable Laws and Constitutions received in this Realm, in no way repugnant to the said Word of the Eternal, my God; and shall procure to my utmost to the Kirk of God and whole Christian people true and perfect Peace in all times coming; the Rights and Rents, with all just privileges of the Crown of Scotland, I shall preserve and keep inviolate, neither shall I transfer nor alienate the same; I shall forbid and repress in all Estates and all Degrees theft, Oppression and all kind of Wrong; in all Judgements, I shall command and procure that Justice and Equity be kept to all creatures without exception, as he be merciful to me and you that is the Lord and Father of all Mercies; and out of all my lands and empire I shall be careful to root out all Heresy and Enemies to the true Worship of God, that shall be convicted by the true Kirk of God of the foresaid Crimes; and these Things above-written I faithfully affirm by my solemn Oath.

The Coronation Oath sworn by William II and Anne was approved by the Parliament of Scotland on 18 April 1689.^[2] The oath was as follows:

WE William and Mary, King and Queen of Scotland, faithfully promise and swear, by this our solemn Oath, in presence of the Eternal God, that during the whole Course of our Life we will serve the same Eternal God, to the uttermost of our Power, according as he has required in his most Holy Word, revealed and contained in the New and Old Testament; and according to the same Word shall maintain the true Religion of Christ Jesus, the preaching of his Holy Word, and the due and right Ministration of the Sacraments, now received and preached within the Realm of Scotland; and shall abolish and gainstand all false Religion contrary to the same, and shall rule the People committed to our Charge, according to the Will and Command of God, revealed in his aforesaid Word, and according to the laudable Laws and Constitutions received in this Realm, no ways repugnant to the said Word of the Eternal God; and shall procure, to the utmost of our power, to the Kirk of God, and whole Christian People, true and perfect Peace in all time coming. That we shall preserve and keep inviolated the Rights and Rents, with all just Privileges of the Crown of Scotland, neither shall we transfer nor alienate the same; that we shall forbid and repress in all Estates and Degrees, Reif, Oppression and all kind of Wrong. And we shall command and procure, that Justice and Equity in all Judgments be kept to all Persons without exception, us the Lord and Father of all Mercies shall be merciful to us. And we shall be careful to root out all Heretics and Enemies to the true Worship of God, that shall be convicted by the true Kirk of God, of the aforesaid Crimes, out of our Lands and Empire of Scotland. And we faithfully affirm the Things above-written by our solemn Oath.

List of monarchs of Scotland

House of Alpin (848–1034)

The reign of Kenneth MacAlpin begins what is often called the House of Alpin, an entirely modern concept. The descendants of Kenneth MacAlpin were divided into two branches; the crown would alternate between the two, the death of a king from one branch often hastened by war or assassination by a pretender from the other. Malcolm II was the last king of the House of Alpin; in his reign, he successfully crushed all opposition to him and, having no sons, was able to pass the crown to his daughter's son, Duncan I, who inaugurated the House of Dunkeld.

Portrait	Traditional modern English regnal name (with modern Gaelic equivalent)	Medieval Gaelic name	Dynastic Status	Reign	Title	Epithet
Non-contemporary	Kenneth MacAlpin I (Coinneach mac Ailpein)[3]	Cináed mac Ailpín Ciniod m. Ailpin	son of Alpin king of Dal Riata	843/848 – 13 February 858	Rex Pictorum ("King of the Picts")	An Ferbasach "The Conqueror"[4]
—	Donald I (Dòmhnall mac Ailpein)	Domnall mac Ailpín	son of Alpin king of Dal Riata, and brother of Kenneth I	858 – 13 April 862	Rex Pictorum ("King of the Picts")
	Constantine I (Còiseam mac Choinnich)	Causantín mac Cináeda	Son of Kenneth I	862–877	Rex Pictorum ("King of the Picts")	An Finn-Shoichleach, "The Wine-Bountiful"[5]
—	Áed (Aodh mac Choinnich)	Áed mac Cináeda	Son of Kenneth I	877–878	Rex Pictorum ("King of the Picts")
—	Giric (Griogair mac Dhunghail)	Giric mac Dúngail	Son of Donald I	878–889		Mac Rath, "Son of Fortune"[6]
	Eochaid	Eochaid mac Run	† grandson of Kenneth I	*878–889?
	Donald II (Dòmhnall mac Chòiseim)	Domnall mac Causantín	Son of Constantine I	889–900	Rí Alban ("King of Scotland") Rì nan Albannaich ("King of Scots")	Dásachtach, the "Madman" or "Psycho"[7]
	Constantine II (Còiseam mac Aoidh)	Causantín mac Áeda	Son of Áed	900–943	Rí Alban	An Midhaise, "the Middle Aged".[8]
	Malcolm I (Maol Chaluim mac Dhòmhnaill)	Máel Coluim mac Domnaill	Son of Donald II	943–954	Rí Alban	An Bodhbhdercc, "the Dangerous Red"[9]
	Indulf[10]	Ildulb mac Causantín	Son of Constantine II	954–962	Rí Alban	An Ionsaighthigh, "the Aggressor"[11]
—	Dub (Dubh or Duff) (Dubh mac Mhaoil Chaluim)	Dub mac Maíl Choluim	Son of Malcolm I	962–967	Rí Alban	Dén, "the Vehement"[12]
—	Cuilén (Cailean)	Cuilén mac Ilduilb	Son of Indulf	967–971	Rí Alban	An Fionn, "the White"[13]
—	Amlaíb (Amhlaigh)	Amlaíb mac Ilduilb	Son of Indulf	* 973x–977	Rí Alban
	Kenneth II (Coinneach mac Mhaoil Chaluim)	Cináed mac Maíl Choluim	Son of Malcolm I	971 x 977–995	Rí Alban	An Fionnghalach, "The Fratricide"[14]
	Constantine III (Còiseam mac Chailein)	Causantín mac Cuiléin	Son of Cuilén	995–997	Rí Alban
	Kenneth III (Coinneach mac Dhuibh)	Cináed mac Duib	Son of Dub	997 – 25 March 1005	Rí Alban	An Donn, "the Chief"/ "the Brown".[15]
	Malcolm II (Maol Chaluim mac Choinnich)	Máel Coluim mac Cináeda	Son of Kenneth II	1005–1034	Rí Alban / Rex Scotiae	Forranach, "the Destroyer";[16]

* Evidence for Eochaid's reign is unclear: he may never have actually been King. If he was, he was co-King with Giric. Amlaíb is known only by a reference to his death in 977, which reports him as King of Alba; since Kenneth II is known to have still been King in 972–973, Amlaíb must have taken power between 973 and 977.

† Eochiad was a son of Run, King of Strathclyde, but his mother was a daughter of Kenneth I.

House of Dunkeld (1034–1286)

Duncan succeeded to the throne as the maternal grandson of Malcolm II (he was also the heir-general of Malcolm I, as his paternal grandfather, Duncan of Atholl was the third son of Malcolm I.^[17] The House of Dunkeld was therefore a continuation of the House of Alpin). After an unsuccessful reign, ^{[citation needed]} Duncan was killed in battle by Macbeth, who had a long and relatively successful reign. In a series of battles between 1057 and 1058, Duncan's son Malcolm III defeated and killed Macbeth and Macbeth's stepson and heir Lulach, and claimed the throne. The dynastic feuds did not end there: on Malcolm's death in battle, his brother Donald Ban claimed the throne, expelling Malcolm's sons from Scotland; a civil war in the family ensued, with Donald Ban and Malcolm's son Edmund opposed by Malcolm's English-backed sons, led first by Duncan II and then by Edgar. Edgar triumphed, sending his uncle and brother to monasteries. After the reign of David I, the Scottish throne was passed according to rules of primogeniture, moving from father to son, or where not possible, brother to brother.

Modern English & Regnal Name (Modern Gaelic Name) (Medieval Gaelic Name) Reign	Portrait	Medieval Title	Epithet Nickname	Dynastic Status (Father's Family)	Maternal Status (Mother's Family)
Duncan I (Donnchadh mac Crìonain) (Donnchad mac Crínáin) 1034–1040		Rí Alban	An t-Ilgarach "The Diseased" or "The Sick"[18]	Grandson of Malcolm II	Son of Bethóc, Eldest Daughter of Malcolm II (House of Alpin)
Macbeth (MacBheatha mac Fhionnlaigh) (Mac Bethad mac Findláich) 1040–1057		Rí Alban	Rí Deircc "The Red King"[19]	1) Son of Mormaer Findláech 2) Grandson of Malcolm II 3) Husband to Gruoch, granddaughter of Kenneth III	?,Unknown Daughter or Granddaughter of Malcolm II (House of Alpin)
Lulach (Lughlagh mac Gille Chomghain) (Lulach mac Gille Comgaín) 1057–1058	—	Rí Alban	Tairbith "The Unfortunate"[19] - Fatuus "The Foolish"[20]	1) Son of Gille Coemgáin, Mormaer of Moray 2) Grandson of Kenneth III (House of Alpin)	Son of Gruoch, Granddaughter of Kenneth III
Malcolm III (Maol Chaluim mac Dhonnchaidh) (Máel Coluim mac Donnchada) 1058–1093		Rí Alban / Scottorum basileus	? Cenn Mór ("Canmore") "Great Chief"[21]	Son of Duncan I	Son of Sybil/Suthen, sister of Siward "Earl of Northumbria" (House of Cnut the Great)
Donald III (Dòmhnall mac Dhonnchaidh) (Domnall mac Donnchada) 1093–1097	—	Rí Alban	Bán, "the Fair".	Son of Duncan I
Duncan II (Donnchadh mac Mhaoil Chaluim) (Donnchad mac Maíl Choluim) 1094		Rí Alban / Rex Scottorum		Son of Malcolm III
Edgar (Eagar mac Mhaoil Chaluim) (Étgar mac Maíl Choluim) 1097–1107		Rí Alban/ Rex Scottorum	Probus, "the Valiant"[22]	Son of Malcolm III
Alexander I (Alasdair mac Mhaoil Chaluim) (Alaxandair mac Maíl Choluim) 1107–1124		Rí Alban/ Rex Scottorum	"The Fierce"[23]	Son of Malcolm III
David I (Dàibhidh mac Mhaoil Chaluim) (Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim) 1124–1153		Rí Alban/ Rex Scottorum	"The Saint"[24]	Son of Malcolm III
Malcolm IV (Maol Chaluim mac Eanraig) (Máel Coluim mac Eanric) 1153–1165		Rí Alban/ Rex Scottorum	Virgo "The Maiden" - Cenn Mór, "Great Chief"[21]	Grandson of David I
William I "The Lion" (Uilleam mac Eanraig) (Uilliam mac Eanric) 1165–1214		Rí Alban / Rex Scottorum	"The Lion" - Garbh, "the Rough"[25]	Grandson of David I
Alexander II (Alasdair mac Uilleim) (Alaxandair mac Uilliam) 1214–1249		Rí Alban / Rex Scottorum		Son of William I
Alexander III (Alasdair mac Alasdair) (Alaxandair mac Alaxandair) 1249–1286		Rí Alban / Rex Scottorum		Son of Alexander II

House of Sverre (1286–1290), disputed

The last King of the House of Dunkeld was Alexander III. His wife had borne him two sons and a daughter; but by 1286 his sons were dead and his daughter, Margaret, had borne only a single daughter, also named Margaret, to her husband Eric II of Norway before herself dying. Alexander had himself remarried, but in early 1286 he died in an accident while riding home. His wife, Yolande of Dreux, was pregnant; but by November 1286 all hope of her bearing a living child had passed. Accordingly, in the Treaty of Salisbury, the Guardians of Scotland recognised Alexander's three year old granddaughter, Margaret of Norway, as Queen of Scots. Margaret remained in her father's Kingdom of Norway until Autumn 1290, when she was dispatched to Scotland. However, she died on the journey in Orkney, having never set foot on Scottish soil, and without being crowned at Scone. She is thus sometimes not considered Queen.

Name	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death	Dynastic status
Margaret the Maid of Norway 1286–1290		c. April 1283 Norway daughter of Eric II of Norway and Margaret of Scotland	unmarried	September/October 1290 Orkney aged 7	granddaughter of Alexander III

First Interregnum (1290–1292)

House of Balliol (1292–1296)

The death of Margaret of Norway began a two-year interregnum in Scotland caused by a succession crisis. With her death, the descent of William I went extinct; nor was there an obvious heir by primogeniture. Thirteen candidates presented themselves; the most prominent were John de Balliol, great-grandson of William I's younger brother David of Huntingdon, and Robert de Brus, Lord of Annandale, David of Huntingdon's grandson. The Scottish Magnates invited Edward I of England to arbitrate the claims; he did so, but forced the Scots to swear allegiance to him as overlord. Eventually, it was decided that John de Balliol should become King; he proved weak and incapable, and in 1296 was forced to abdicate by Edward I, who then attempted to annex Scotland into the Kingdom of England.

Name	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death	Dynastic status
John Balliol Toom Tabard ("Empty Cloak") (Iain Balliol) 1292–1296		c. 1249	Isabella de Warenne 9 February 1281 at least one child[26]	c. 25 November 1314 Picardy, France	great-grandson of David of Huntingdon (brother of William I)

Second Interregnum (1296–1306)

House of Bruce (1306–1371)

For ten years, Scotland had no King of its own. The Scots, however, refused to tolerate English rule; first William Wallace and then, after his execution, Robert the Bruce (the grandson of the 1292 competitor) fought against the English. Bruce and his supporters killed a rival for the throne, John III Comyn, Lord of Badenoch on 10 February 1306 at Greyfriars Church in Dumfries. Shortly after in 1306, Robert was crowned King of Scots at Scone. His energy, and the corresponding replacement of the vigorous Edward I with his weaker son Edward II, allowed Scotland to free itself from English rule; at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, the Scots routed the English, and by 1329 the English had agreed by treaty to accept Scottish independence. Robert's successor, his son David, was a child at his succession. The English renewed their war with Scotland, and David was forced to flee the Kingdom by Edward Balliol, son of King John, who managed to get himself crowned King of Scots (1332–1336) and to give away Scotland's southern counties to England before being driven out again. David spent much of his life in exile, first in freedom with his ally, France, and then in gaol in England; he was only able to return to Scotland in 1357. Upon his death, childless, in 1371, the House of Bruce came to an end.

Name	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death	Dynastic status
Robert I the Bruce (Raibeart a Briuis) 1306–1329		11 July 1274 Turnberry Castle, Ayrshire son of Robert de Brus, 6th Lord of Annandale and Marjorie, Countess of Carrick[27]	Isabella of Mar 1295 one daughter Elizabeth de Burgh Writtle, Essex, England 1302 four children	7 June 1329 Manor of Cardross, Dunbartonshire aged 54	great-great-grandson of David of Huntingdon (brother of William I) (election)
David II (Dàibhidh Bruis) 1329–1371		5 March 1324 Dunfermline Palace, Fife son of Robert I and Elizabeth de Burgh	Joan of England Berwick-upon-Tweed 17 July 1328 no children Margaret Drummond Inchmurdach, Fife 20 February 1364 no children	22 February 1371 Edinburgh Castle aged 46	son of Robert I (primogeniture)

House of Stewart/Stuart

Stewart (1371–1567)

Robert the Stewart was a grandson of Robert I by the latter's daughter, Marjorie. Having been born in 1316, he was older than his uncle, David II; consequently, he was at his accession an old man, unable to reign vigorously, a problem also faced by his son Robert III, who had suffered lasting damage in a horse-riding accident. These two were followed by a series of regencies, caused by the youth of the succeeding kings. Consequently, the Stewart era saw periods of royal inertia, during which the nobles usurped power from the crown, followed by periods of personal rule by the monarch, during which he or she would attempt to address the issues created by their own minority and the long-term effects of previous reigns. Governing Scotland became increasingly difficult, as the powerful nobility became increasingly intractable; James I's attempts to curb the disorder of the realm ended in his assassination; James III was killed in a civil war between himself and the nobility, led by his own son; when James IV, who had governed sternly and suppressed the aristocrats, died in the Battle of Flodden, his wife Margaret Tudor, who had been nominated regent for their young son James V, was unseated by noble feuding, and James V's own wife, Mary of Guise, succeeded in ruling Scotland during the regency for her young daughter Mary I only by dividing and conquering the noble factions, and by distributing French bribes with a liberal hand. Finally, Mary I, the daughter of James V, found herself unable to govern Scotland faced with the surliness of the aristocracy and the intransigence of the population, who favoured Calvinism and disapproved of her Catholicism; she was forced to abdicate, and fled to England, where she was executed for treason against the English queen Elizabeth I. Upon her abdication, her son, fathered by a junior member of the Stewart family, became King.

Name	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death	Dynastic status
Robert II the Steward (Raibeart II Stiùbhairt) 1371–1390		2 March 1316 Paisley, Renfrewshire son of Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland and Marjorie Bruce	Elizabeth Mure 1336 (uncertain canonicity) 1349 (with Papal dispensation) ten children Euphemia de Ross 2 May 1355 four children	19 April 1390 Dundonald Castle, Ayrshire aged 74	grandson of Robert I (primogeniture)
Robert III (born John Stewart) the Lame King (Raibeart III Stiùbhairt, An Righ Bhacaigh) 1390–1406		c. 1337 son of Robert II and Elizabeth Mure	Anabella Drummond 1367 seven children	4 April 1406 Rothesay Castle aged about 69	son of Robert II (primogeniture)
James I (Seumas I Stiùbhairt) 1406–1437		late July 1394 Dunfermline Palace, Fife son of Robert III and Anabella Drummond	Joan Beaufort Southwark Cathedral 2 February 1424 eight children	21 February 1437 Blackfriars, Perth aged about 42	son of Robert III (primogeniture)
James II Fiery Face (Seumas II Stiùbhairt) 1437–1460		16 October 1430 Holyrood Abbey, Edinburgh son of James I and Joan Beaufort	Mary of Guelders Holyrood Abbey 3 July 1449 seven children	3 August 1460 Roxburgh Castle aged 29	son of James I (primogeniture)
James III (Seumas III Stiùbhairt) 1460–1488		10 July 1451 Stirling Castle or St Andrews Castle son of James II and Mary of Guelders	Margaret of Scotland Holyrood Abbey 13 July 1469 three children	11 June 1488 Sauchie Burn aged 36	son of James II (primogeniture)
James IV (Seumas IV Stiùbhairt) 1488–1513		17 March 1473 Stirling Castle son of James III and Margaret of Denmark	Margaret Tudor Holyrood Abbey 8 August 1503 six children	9 September 1513 Flodden Field, Northumberland, England aged 40	son of James III (primogeniture)
James V (Seumas V Stiùbhairt) 1513–1542		15 April 1512 Linlithgow Palace, West Lothian son of James IV and Margaret Tudor	Madeleine of Valois Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, France 1 January 1537 no children Mary of Guise Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, France 18 May 1538 three children	14 December 1542 Falkland Palace, Fife aged 30	son of James IV (primogeniture)
Mary I (Màiri Stiùbhairt) 1542–1567		8 December 1542 Linlithgow Palace daughter of James V and Mary of Guise	François II, King of France 24 April 1558 no children Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh 9 July 1565 one child James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell Holyrood Palace 15 May 1567 no children	8 February 1587 Fotheringhay Castle, Northamptonshire, England aged 44 (executed)	daughter of James V (cognatic primogeniture)

Stuart (1567–1651)

The Stewarts of Lennox were a junior branch of the Stewart family; they were not, however, direct male line descendants of Robert II, the first Stewart who became King of Scots, but rather that of his ancestor Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland. In the past, through the means of the Auld Alliance with France, they had adapted their surname to the French form, Stuart. Consequently, when the son of the Earl of Lennox, Henry, Lord Darnley, married the Queen of Scots, Mary I, their son, as the first King of the Lennox branch of the Stewart family, ruled as a Stuart.

James VI also became King of England and Ireland as James I in 1603, when his cousin Elizabeth I died; thereafter, although the two crowns of England and Scotland remained separate, the monarchy was based chiefly in England.

Charles I, James's son, found himself faced with Civil War; the resultant conflict lasted eight years, and ended in his execution. The English Parliament then decreed their monarchy to be at an end; the Scots Parliament, after some deliberation, broke their links with England, and declared that Charles II, son and heir of Charles I, would become King. He ruled until 1651; however, the armies of Oliver Cromwell occupied Scotland and drove him into exile.

Name	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death	Dynastic status
James VI (Seumas VI Stiùbhairt) 1567–1625		19 June 1566 Edinburgh Castle son of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley and Mary I	Anne of Denmark Old Bishop's Palace, Oslo, Norway 23 November 1589 seven children	27 March 1625 Theobalds House, Hertfordshire, England aged 58	son of Mary I (primogeniture)
Charles I (Teàrlach I Stiùbhairt) 1625–1649		19 November 1600 Dunfermline Palace, Dunfermline son of James VI and Anne of Denmark	Henrietta Maria of France St Augustine's Church, Canterbury, England 13 June 1625 nine children	30 January 1649 Palace of Whitehall, London, England aged 48 (executed)	son of James VI (primogeniture)
Charles II (Teàrlach II Stiùbhairt) 1649–1651		29 May 1630 St James's Palace, London, England son of Charles I and Henrietta Maria of France	Catherine of Braganza Portsmouth, England 14 May 1662 no children	6 February 1685 Palace of Whitehall, London, England aged 54	son of Charles I (primogeniture)

House of Stuart (restored) (1660–1707)

With the Restoration, the Stuarts became Kings of Scotland once more. But Scotland's rights were not respected: the Scottish Parliament was, during the reign of Charles II, dissolved, and his brother James was appointed Governor of Scotland. James himself became James VII in 1685; his Catholicism was not tolerated, and he was driven out of England after three years. In his place came his daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange, the ruler of the Dutch Republic; they were accepted as monarchs of Scotland after a period of deliberation by the Scottish Parliament, and ruled together as William II and Mary II.

An attempt to establish a Scottish colonial empire through the Darien Scheme, in rivalry to that of England, failed, leaving the Scottish state bankrupt. This coincided with the accession of Queen Anne, daughter of James VII. Anne had multiple children but none of these survived her, and on her death her nearest heir was her halfbrother, James, in exile in France. The English favoured the Protestant Sophia of Hanover (a granddaughter of James VI) as heir; many Scots preferred Prince James, who as a Stuart was a Scot by ancestry, and threatened to break the Union of Crowns between England and Scotland by choosing him for themselves. To preserve the union, the English elaborated a plan whereby the two Kingdoms of Scotland and England would merge into a single Kingdom, the Kingdom of Great Britain, ruled by a common monarch, and with a single Parliament. Both national parliaments agreed to this (the Scots albeit reluctantly, motivated primarily by the national finances), the Kingdoms of Scotland and England merged and came to an end. Thereafter, although monarchs continued to rule over the nation of Scotland, they did so first as monarchs of Great Britain, and from 1801 of the United Kingdom.

Name	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death	Dynastic status
Charles II (Teàrlach II Stiùbhairt) 1660–1685		29 May 1630 St James's Palace, London, England son of Charles I and Henrietta Maria of France	Catherine of Braganza Portsmouth, England 14 May 1662 no children	6 February 1685 Palace of Whitehall, London, England aged 54	son of Charles I (primogeniture)
James VII (Seumas VII Stiùbhairt) 1685–1688		14 October 1633 St James's Palace, London, England son of Charles I and Henrietta Maria of France	Anne Hyde The Strand, London, England 3 September 1660 eight children Mary of Modena Dover, England 21 November 1673 seven children<	16 September 1701 Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France aged 67	son of Charles I (primogeniture)
Mary II (Màiri II Stiùbhairt) 1689–1694		30 April 1662 St James's Palace, England daughter of James VII (II of England) and Anne Hyde	St James's Palace 4 November 1677 three children (none survived infancy)	28 December 1694 Kensington Palace, England aged 32	grandchildren of Charles I (offered the crown by the Parliament)
William II (Uilleam Orains, "William of Orange") 1689–1702		4 November 1650 The Hague, Dutch Republic son of William II, Prince of Orange and Mary, Princess Royal		8 March 1702 Kensington Palace aged 51
Anne (Anna Stiùbhairt) 1702–1707 Queen of Great Britain and Ireland 1707–1714		6 February 1665 St James's Palace daughter of James VII and Anne Hyde	George of Denmark St James's Palace 28 July 1683 17 children	1 August 1714 Kensington Palace aged 49	daughter of James VII (primogeniture; Bill of Rights 1689)

For the British monarchs see List of British monarchs.

Jacobite claimants

James VII continued to claim the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland. When he died in 1701, his son James inherited his father's claims, and called himself James VIII of Scotland and III of England and Ireland. He would continue to do so all his life, even after the Kingdoms of England and Scotland were ended by their merging as the Kingdom of Great Britain. In 1715, a year after the death of his sister, Queen Anne, and the accession of their cousin George of Hanover, James landed in Scotland and attempted to claim the throne; he failed, and was forced to flee back to the Continent. A second attempt by his son, Charles on behalf of his father, in 1745, also failed. Both James's children died without legitimate issue, bringing the Stuart family to an end.

• James VIII (Seumas VIII), also known as The Old Pretender, son of James VII, was claimant from 1701 until his death in 1766.
• Charles III (Teàrlach III), also known as The Young Pretender and often called Bonnie Prince Charlie, son of James VIII, was claimant from his father's death until his own death in 1788 without legitimate issue.
• Henry I (Eanraig I), brother of Charles III and youngest son of James VIII. Died unmarried in 1807.

After 1807, the Jacobite claims passed first to the House of Savoy (1807–1840), then to the Modenese branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine (1840–1919), and finally to the House of Wittelsbach (since 1919). The current heir is Franz, Duke of Bavaria. Neither he nor any of his predecessors since 1807 have pursued their claim.

Other claimants

• Idi Amin Dada consistently claimed, starting in 1976, to be the "uncrowned King of Scotland."
• Michel Roger Lafosse has since 1979 claimed to be Prince of Albany and heir to the Scottish throne.^{[citation needed]}

Timeline of Scottish Monarchs

Acts of Union

The Acts of Union were twin Parliamentary Acts passed during 1706 and 1707 by the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland, putting into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union, agreed on 22 July 1706, following prolonged negotiation between Queen Anne's Commissioners representing both parliaments. The Acts joined the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland to form a united Kingdom of Great Britain.^[28]

Scotland and England had shared a common monarch since the Union of the Crowns in 1603, when James VI, King of Scots, inherited the English throne from his first cousin twice removed, Queen Elizabeth I of England. Although described as a Union of Crowns, prior to the Acts of Union of 1707, the crowns of the two separate kingdoms had rested on the same head. Three unsuccessful attempts (in 1606, 1667, and 1689) were made to unite the two kingdoms by Acts of Parliament, but it was not until the early 18th century that the idea had the will of both political establishments to succeed, thereby bringing the two separate states together under a single parliament as well as a single monarch.

See also

• Duke of Rothesay – The title of the heir apparent to the Scottish throne.
• Holyrood Palace – The principal residence of the King of Scots.
• His Grace – The style of address used by the King of Scots.
• List of kings of Dál Riata
• List of Kings of the Picts
• List of Kings of Strathclyde
• Earl of Orkney
• Earl of Northumbria
• Scottish monarchs' family tree
• List of Scottish consorts
• Monarchy of the United Kingdom
• List of British monarchs
• Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland
• Lists of monarchs in the British Isles
• List of monarchs of the British Isles by cause of death
• List of legendary kings of Scotland
• List of rulers of the Kingdom of the Isles
• Burial places of British royalty

Notes

References

• Anderson, Alan Orr, Early Sources of Scottish History: AD 500–1286, 2 Vols, (Edinburgh, 1922)
• Broun, Dauvit (2007), Scottish Independence and the Idea of Britain. From the Picts to Alexander III., Edinburgh University Press, ISBN 978-0-7486-2360-0 
• Hudson, Benjamin T., Kings of Celtic Scotland, (Westport, 1994)
• Skene, W. F. (ed.), Chronicles of the Picts, Chronicles of the Scots and other Early Memorials of Scottish History, (Edinburgh, 1867)

v t e Pictish and Scottish monarchs Monarchs of the Picts (traditional) Drest I Talorc I Nechtan I Drest II Galan Erilich Drest III Drest IV Gartnait I Cailtram Talorc II Drest V Galam Cennalath Bridei I Gartnait II Nechtan II Cinioch Gartnait III Bridei II Talorc III Talorgan I Gartnait IV Drest VI Bridei III Taran Bridei IV Nechtan III Drest VII Alpín I Óengus I Bridei V Ciniod I Alpín II Talorgan II Drest VIII Conall Constantine (I) Óengus II Drest IX Uuen Uurad Bridei VI Ciniod II Bridei VII Drest X Monarchs of the Scots (traditional) Kenneth I MacAlpin Donald I Constantine I (II) Áed Giric Eochaid (doubtful) Donald II Constantine II (III) Malcolm I Indulf Dub Cuilén Amlaíb Kenneth II Constantine III (IV) Kenneth III Malcolm II Duncan I Macbeth Lulach Malcolm III Canmore Donald III Duncan II Donald III Edgar Alexander I David I Malcolm IV William I the Lion Alexander II Alexander III Margaret (disputed) First Interregnum John Second Interregnum Robert the Bruce (I) David II Robert II Robert III James I James II James III James IV James V Mary I James VI1 Charles I1 Charles II1 James VII1 Mary II1 William II1 Anne1 1 also monarch of England and Ireland.

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