Marjorie Bruce orMarjorie de Brus (c. 1296 – 1316 or 1317) was the eldest daughter ofRobert the Bruce,King of Scots, and the only child born of his first marriage withIsabella of Mar.

Marjorie Bruce
Effigy of Marjorie Bruce atPaisley Abbey
Born	1296
Died	1316 or 1317 (aged 20-21)
Burial	Paisley Abbey
Spouse	Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland
Issue	Robert II of Scotland (m. 1315)
House	Bruce
Father	Robert the Bruce
Mother	Isabella of Mar

Marjorie's marriage toWalter, High Steward of Scotland, gave rise to theHouse of Stewart. Her son was the first Stewart monarch, KingRobert II of Scotland.

Her mother, Isabella, was a noblewoman from theClan Mar. Marjorie was named after her father's mother,Marjorie, Countess of Carrick. Soon after giving birth to Marjorie, at the age of 19, Isabella died.^[1] Marjorie's father was at that time theEarl of Carrick.

According to legend, Marjorie's parents had been very much in love, and Robert the Bruce did not remarry until 1302 (six years after his first wife's death), to acourtier namedElizabeth de Burgh.

On 27 March 1306, her father was crowned King of Scots atScone, Perthshire.^[1]

Three months after the coronation, in June, 1306, her father was defeated at theBattle of Methven. He sent his wife, two sisters, and Marjorie north with his supporterIsabella MacDuff, Countess of Buchan, but by the end of June they were captured byUilleam II, Earl of Ross, aBalliol supporter, who handed them over to the English.^[1]

As punishment,Edward I of England sent his hostages to different places inEngland. Marjorie was sent to theconvent atWatton. Her aunt,Christina Bruce, was sent to another convent. Elizabeth de Burgh was placed underhouse arrest at amanor house inYorkshire. Elizabeth de Burgh's punishment was lighter than the others. This is due to the fact that Edward I needed the support of her father, the powerfulEarl of Ulster. Marjorie's aunt,Mary Bruce, and the Countess of Buchan were imprisoned in wooden cages, exposed to public view, atRoxburgh Castle andBerwick Castle, respectively.

For the next four years, Elizabeth, Christina, Mary, and Isabella enduredsolitary confinement. The latter two experienced dailypublic humiliation. A cage was built for Marjorie, who was around the age of 12, at theTower of London, but Edward I reconsidered. He instead sent her to theGilbertine convent inWatton.^[2][3][4] Christopher Seton, Christina's husband, was executed.

Edward I died on 7 July 1307. He was succeeded by his son,Edward II, who subsequently held Marjorie captive in a convent for about seven more years. She was freed in October 1314, inexchange forHumphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford captured after theBattle of Bannockburn.^[5]

Upon the liberation of Elizabeth de Burgh and Marjorie from their long captivity in England,Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland, was sent to receive them at theAnglo-Scottish border and conduct them back to the Scottish court.^[6] He later married Marjorie. Herdowry included theBarony ofBathgate inWest Lothian.^[3]

The traditional story is that two years later, on 2 March 1316, Marjorie was riding in Gallowhill,Paisley,Renfrewshire while heavily pregnant. Her horse was suddenly startled and threw her to the ground. She went intopremature labour and her child,Robert II of Scotland, was born. Marjorie died soon afterward at the age of around 20, like her mother, who was roughly the same age when she died in childbirth. However, it is not clear that this traditional story is correct; some accounts indicate that she may have survived into 1317.^[7][8] She may still have died in a riding accident, but this could have taken place after the birth of her son.^[9] In fact, one source states that she died in October 1317, after falling from a horse, during a second pregnancy.^[10] Following the same October 1317 tradition, the Renfrewshire historian Crawford recorded circa 1710 that local tradition reported she was "riding betwixt Pasly and the Castle of Renfrew, then the principal Residence of the Great Stewart of Scotland, her Husband, she was thrown from her Horse, and by the fall suffered a Dislocation of the Vertebrae of her Neck; she, being pregnant, fell in Labour (of King Robert II.) the child or Faetus, as they report, was a Cesar[ian]: The Operation being by an unskilful Hand, his Eye was touch'd by the Instrument, which afterwards proved incurable, from which he was called King Bleareie [ie. bleery eye]; she died upon the Spot: And on the Fatal Place where this Accident happened, there was erected a Cross, yet standing, called Queen Bleareie's Cross."^[11] This tradition appears to conflate the dates and facts from other known sources, however authentic references to the sight affliction occurring in infancy, and the related nickname, are lacking.

At the junction of Renfrew Road and Dundonald Road in Paisley, acairn marks the spot called "the Knock", near where Marjorie reputedly fell from her horse. Bruce Road and Marjorie Drive are named in her honour. She is buried atPaisley Abbey.^{[citation needed]}

Her son succeeded his childless uncleDavid II of Scotland in 1371 asKing Robert II. Her descendants include theHouse of Stewart (now styled Stuart) and all their successors on the throne ofScotland,England and theUnited Kingdom.^{[citation needed]}

The young adult novelGirl in a Cage, byJane Yolen and Robert J. Harris, features Marjorie Bruce as its protagonist. In it, Marjorie is imprisoned in a cage. Although there is a preface stating that it is fictional, many have taken it to be a true story.^[12]

The historical fiction novelSpirit of Fire: The Tale of Marjorie Bruce (2016), by the young author Emmerson Brand, features Marjorie Bruce as its protagonist.^[13]

In the historical action drama filmOutlaw King (2018), Marjorie is featured as a minor character during theFirst War of Scottish Independence.

The original site ofBathgate Castle, which was part of her dowry, can be found on the grounds of Bathgate Golf Club. The site is protected byHistoric Environment Scotland and the club is barred from carrying out any excavation work on the site without prior permission. Every year on the first Saturday of June, the town of Bathgate celebrates the marriage of Marjorie and Walter in their annual historical pageant, just before the town's Bathgate Procession and Community Festival (formerly Bathgate Procession and John Newland Festival.^[14] Local school children are given the parts of Marjorie, Walter, and other members of the court. After the pageant, everyone joins the procession along with Robert the Bruce on horseback.

• Bannockburn article (National Trust for Scotland) contains some information on Marjorie Bruce.
• Bathgate Castle and Old Hall KnoweArchived 9 May 2019 at theWayback Machine