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- BIOGRAPHY
Marjorie Bruce was born in December 1296, the daughter of Robert the Bruce, king of Scots, and his first wife Isabel of Mar. Her mother died giving birth to her.
In 1302 her father married Elizabeth de Burgh. They were crowned King and Queen of Scots at Scone, Perthshire on 27 March 1306. The coronation occurred during the Wars of Scottish Independence in opposition to Edward I, king of England.
By the end of June 1306 the turncoat William, 3rd earl of Ross, had captured the nine-year-old Marjorie, as well as her stepmother Elizabeth, two sisters of her father, and Isabel MacDuff, countess of Buchan. They were sent to England, where young Marjorie and her aunt Christian Bruce were imprisoned at convents, while Elizabeth was kept at a manor house in Yorkshire, and her aunt Mary and Isabel MacDuff were kept in cages for the first few years of their imprisonment (Edward I had thought of putting Marjorie in a cage too, but changed his mind). Sir Christopher Seton, husband of Christian, was executed.
Edward I died on 7 July 1307. He was succeeded by his son Edward II, who subsequently held Marjorie captive in a nunnery for about eight years. She was finally set free around 1314, possibly in exchange for English nobles captured at the Battle of Bannockburn in June 1314.
Walter Stewart, 6th high steward of Scotland, son of James Stewart, the 5th lord high Steward, and Gille/Jill de Burgh, had distinguished himself in the battle, and was rewarded with the hand of the adolescent Marjorie. Her dowry included the barony of Bathgate in West Lothian.
On 2 March 1316 Marjorie went horse riding in Renfrew near Paisley, Renfrewshire while pregnant. Her horse shied suddenly, and threw her to the ground. She went into premature labour and delivered her son Robert at Paisley Abbey. She survived the birth by a few hours at most. Her son, who would have progeny, succeeded his childless uncle David II of Scotland in 1371 as King Robert II.
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