List of Scottish monarchs

The reign of Kenneth MacAlpin begins with 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.

*Eochiad was a son of Run, King of Strathclyde, but his mother was a daughter of Kenneth I. Evidence of his reign is unclear. He may have never actually been king and 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.

Duncan succeeded to the throne as the maternal grandson of Malcolm II. The House of Dunkeld was therefore closely related to the House of Alpin. 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, claiming the throne. The dynastic feuds did not end there: on Malcolm III's death in battle, his brother Donald III, known as "Bán", claimed the throne, expelling Malcolm III's sons from Scotland. A civil war in the family ensued, with Donald III and Malcolm III's son Edmund opposed by Malcolm III'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.

The status of Margaret, Maid of Norway, as a Scottish monarch is debated by historians. One of her biographers, Archie Duncan, argues that because she was "never inaugurated, she was never queen of Scots". Another, Norman H. Reid, insists that Margaret was "accepted as queen" by her contemporaries but that, owing to the lack of Inauguration, "[her] reign never started".

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 became extinct and there was no obvious heir. Thirteen candidates presented themselves; the most prominent were John Balliol, great-grandson of William I's younger brother David of Huntingdon, and Robert de Brus, 5th 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 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[52] Toom Tabard ("Empty Cloak") (Iain Balliol) 1292–1296		c. 1249	Isabella de Warenne 9 February 1281 at least one son	c. 25 November 1314 Picardy, France	great-grandson of David of Huntingdon (brother of William I)

For ten years, Scotland had no king. The Scots, however, refused to tolerate English rule. First William Wallace, then John Comyn, and finally Robert the Bruce (the grandson of the 1292 competitor, Robert de Brus, 5th Lord of Annandale) fought against the English. Bruce and his supporters had murdered their rival to the throne of Scotland, John 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. Robert Bruce was then hunted down for his crime of murder, and subsequently, he escaped to the outskirt islands, leaving the country completely leaderless, and the English invaded once again. Bruce returned a year later and gained support for his cause. His energy, and the corresponding replacement of the vigorous Edward I with his weaker son Edward II in 1307, allowed Scotland to free itself from English rule. At the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, the Scots routed the English, and by 1328 the English had agreed by treaty to accept Scottish independence. Robert's son, David, acceded to the throne as a child. 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 (1332–1356) 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 prison 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[53] the Bruce (Raibeart a Briuis) 1306–1329		11 July 1274 Turnberry Castle son of Robert de Brus, 6th Lord of Annandale and Marjorie, Countess of Carrick[54]	Isabella of Mar 1295 one daughter Elizabeth de Burgh Writtle, Essex, England 1302 four children	7 June 1329 Manor of Cardross aged 54	great-great-great-great-grandson of King David I (election)
David II[55] (Dàibhidh Bruis) 1329–1371		5 March 1324 Dunfermline Abbey 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)

Disputed claimant

Edward Balliol was the son of King John Balliol, who had himself ruled for four years following his election in the Great Cause. Following his abdication, John Balliol lived out his life in obscurity in Picardy, France. During the minority of David II, Edward Balliol seized the opportunity to assert his claim to the throne, and backed by the English, he defeated the forces of David's regency and was himself crowned king at Scone in 1332. He was quickly defeated by loyalist forces and sent back to England. With English support, he would mount two more attempts to seize the throne again, in 1333 and 1335, each time his actual control of the throne was brief before being sent back to England, for the last time in 1336. When David returned from exile in 1341 to rule in his own right, Edward lost most of his support. When David II was captured in battle in 1346, Edward made one last attempt to seize the throne for himself but had little support and the campaign fizzled before it gained much traction. In 1356 he renounced all claims to the throne.

Name	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death	Claim
Edward Balliol[56] 1332–1356 In opposition to David II		1283 Son of John Balliol and Isabella de Warenne	None	1367 Doncaster, England aged 83–84	Son of John Balliol, candidate of the English to replace the exiled David II

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 a middle-aged man, already 55, and unable to reign vigorously, a problem also faced by his son Robert III, who also ascended in middle age at 53 in 1390, and suffered lasting damage in a horse-riding accident. These two were followed by a series of regencies, caused by the youth of the succeeding five boy 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 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 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 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, 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 favored Calvinism and disapproved of her Catholicism. She was forced to abdicate, and fled to England, where she was imprisoned in various castles and manor houses for eighteen years and finally executed for treason against the English queen Elizabeth I. Upon her abdication, her son, fathered by Henry, Lord Darnley, a junior member of the Stewart family, became King as James VI.

James VI 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 the 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 when the armies of Oliver Cromwell occupied Scotland and drove him into exile.

Name	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death	Dynastic status
Robert II[57] the Stewart (Raibeart II Stiùbhairt) 1371–1390		2 March 1316 Paisley Abbey 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 aged 74	grandson of Robert I (primogeniture)
Robert III[58] (born John Stewart) the Lame King (Raibeart III Stiùbhairt, An Righ Bhacaigh) 1390–1406		c. 1337 unknown 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[59] (Seumas I Stiùbhairt) 1406–1437		late July 1394 Dunfermline Abbey son of Robert III and Anabella Drummond	Joan Beaufort Southwark Cathedral 2 February 1424 eight children	21 February 1437 Church of the Friars Preachers of Blessed Virgin and Saint Dominic at Perth aged about 42 (assassinated)	son of Robert III (primogeniture)
James II[60] Fiery Face (Seumas II Stiùbhairt) 1437–1460		16 October 1430 Holyrood Abbey 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[61] (Seumas III Stiùbhairt) 1460–1488		10 July 1451 Stirling Castle or St Andrews Castle son of James II and Mary of Guelders	Margaret of Denmark Holyrood Abbey 13 July 1469 three children	11 June 1488 Sauchie Burn aged 36	son of James II (primogeniture)
James IV[62] (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[63] (Seumas V Stiùbhairt) 1513–1542		15 April 1512 Linlithgow Palace 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 aged 30	son of James IV (primogeniture)
Mary I[64] (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 Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh 9 July 1565 one child James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell Palace of Holyroodhouse 15 May 1567 no children	8 February 1587 Fotheringhay Castle, Northamptonshire, England aged 44 (executed)	daughter of James V (cognatic primogeniture)
James VI[65] (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[66] (Teàrlach I Stiùbhairt) 1625–1649		19 November 1600 Dunfermline Palace 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, Westminster, England aged 48 (executed)	son of James VI (primogeniture)
Charles II[67] (Teàrlach II Stiùbhairt) 1649–1651		29 May 1630 St James's Palace, Westminster, 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 aged 54	son of Charles I (primogeniture)

With the Scottish Restoration, the Stuarts became Kings of Scotland once more but Scotland's rights were not respected. During the reign of Charles II, the Scottish Parliament was dissolved and James was appointed Governor of Scotland. James II 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. The two 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 nobles who financed the venture for their profit bankrupt. This coincided with the accession of Queen Anne, daughter of James VII. Anne had multiple children but none of these survived her, leaving as her heir her half-brother, James, then living in exile in France. The English favored 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), and some subterfuge as a total majority of signatories were needed to ratify the Scottish parliament's assent, bribes, and payments. 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	Claim
Charles II[67] (Teàrlach II Stiùbhairt) 1660–1685		29 May 1630 St James's Palace 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 Aged 54	Son of Charles I (primogeniture)
James VII[68] (Seumas VII Stiùbhairt) 1685–1688		14 October 1633 St James's Palace 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
Mary II[69] (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	Daughter of James VII (offered the crown by the Parliament)
William II[69] (Uilleam Orains, "William of Orange") 1689–1702		4 November 1650 Binnenhof, The Hague, Republic of the Seven United Netherlands Son of William II, Prince of Orange and Mary, Princess Royal		8 March 1702 Kensington Palace Aged 51	Grandson of Charles I (offered the crown by the Parliament)
Anne[70] (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.