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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 at the age of 3 in 1286. 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.
A Dictionary of British History. Copyright © 2001, 2004 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
