David II (5 March 1324 – 22 February 1371) wasKing of Scotland from 1329 until his death in 1371. Upon the death of his father,Robert the Bruce, David succeeded to the throne at the age of five and was crowned atScone in November 1331, becoming the first Scottish monarch to beanointed at his coronation. During his childhood, David was governed by a series ofguardians, andEdward III of England sought to take advantage of David's minority by supporting an invasion of Scotland byEdward Balliol, beginning theSecond War of Scottish Independence. Following the English victory at theBattle of Halidon Hill in 1333, King David,Queen Joan and the rump of his government were evacuated toFrance, where he remained in exile until it was safe for him to return to Scotland in 1341.
In 1346, David invadedEngland in support of France during theHundred Years' War. His army was defeated at theBattle of Neville's Cross and he was captured and held as a prisoner in England for eleven years, while his nephewRobert Stewart governed Scotland. In 1357 theTreaty of Berwick brought the Second War of Independence to an end, the Scots agreed to pay a ransom of 100,000merks, and David was allowed to return home. Heavy taxation was needed to pay for the ransom, which was to be paid in instalments, and David alienated his subjects by using the money for his own purposes. By 1363 it was found impossible to raise the remaining ransom, and David sought its cancellation by offering to bequeath the succession to the Scottish throne to Edward III or one of his sons. In 1364, theparliament of Scotland rejected David's proposal to makeLionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence, the next king. Despising his nephew, David sought to prevent him from succeeding to his throne by marrying his mistressMargaret Drummond and producing an alternative heir. When his second wife failed to do so, David unsuccessfully attempted to divorce her.
Although David spent long periods in exile or captivity, he managed to ensure the survival of his kingdom, reformed the machinery of government, and left the Scottish monarchy in a strong position. The last male of theHouse of Bruce, he died childless in 1371 after a reign of 41 years and was succeeded by his nephew Robert II.
David became king upon the death of his father on 7 June 1329. David II's youth and the uncertainty of the Anglo-Scottish peace meant he was not moved from Turnberry to Scone for his coronation for two-and-a-half years. The seven-year-old king and his wife were crowned atScone Abbey on 24 November 1331, with David becoming the first Scottish monarch to beanointed at their coronation.[6][7] Upon David's accession,Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray was appointed asGuardian under Robert I's orders, to govern Scotland until David reached adulthood, and the royal government of King Robert remained largely in place from 1329 to 1332. After Moray's death, on 20 July 1332, he was replaced byDonald, Earl of Mar, elected by an assembly of the magnates of Scotland atPerth, 2 August 1332. Ten days later, Mar fell at theBattle of Dupplin Moor.Sir Andrew Murray of Bothwell, who was married toChristian (or Christina), the sister of KingRobert I, was chosen as the new Guardian. The English took him prisoner atRoxburgh in April 1333 and was accordingly replaced as Guardian byArchibald Douglas (the Tyneman), who fell at theBattle of Halidon Hill that July.[8]
Meanwhile, on 24 September 1332, following the Scots' defeat at Dupplin,Edward Balliol, aprotégé ofEdward III of England, and a pretender to the throne of Scotland, was crowned by the English and his Scots adherents. By December, however, Balliol was forced to flee to England after theBattle of Annan, although he returned the following year as part of an invasion force led by the English king.[9]
Joan of the Tower & David II with Philip VI of France
Following the English victory at theBattle of Halidon Hill in July 1333, David and his wife were sent for safety into France, reachingBoulogne on 14 May 1334.[10] They were received very graciously byKing Philip VI. Little is known about the life of the Scottish king in France, except thatChâteau Gaillard was given to him for a residence, and that he was present at the bloodless meeting of the English and French armies in October 1339 at Vironfosse,[5] now known asBuironfosse, in theArrondissement of Vervins. He led a raid on theChannel Islands in 1336 that was so devastating that theRoyal Militia of the Island of Jersey was created, making it the oldest British Army unit.[11]
By 1341, David's representatives had again obtained the upper hand in Scotland. David was able to return to his kingdom, landing atInverbervie inKincardineshire on 2 June 1341. He took the reins of government into his own hands, at the age of 17.[5]
David II, king of Scotland, acknowledges Edward III, king of England, as his feudal lord, an event that never happened.
In 1346, under the terms of theAuld Alliance, David invaded England to try to draw King Edward away from the French, who had been invaded by the English and badly defeated at thebattle of Crécy. After initial success at Hexham, David's army was soundly defeated at thebattle of Neville's Cross on 17 October 1346.[12] David suffered two arrow wounds to the face and was captured and taken prisoner by SirJohn de Coupland.[13] The king was taken toWark on Tweed, and then toBamburgh Castle, where barber-surgeons fromYork were brought to treat his serious injuries.[14] David II was transferred toLondon, where he was imprisoned in theTower of London in January 1347.[15] David was transferred toWindsor Castle inBerkshire upon the return of Edward III from France. The depiction of David being presented to King Edward III in the playThe Raigne of King Edward the Third is fictitious.[16] David and his household were later moved toOdiham Castle inHampshire. His imprisonment was not reputed to be a rigorous one as was typical of most royal prisoners. However, the fact that from 1355 he was denied contact with any of his subjects may indicate otherwise.[17] He remained captive in England for eleven years.[5]
On 3 October 1357, after several protracted negotiations with the Scots' regency council, a treaty was signed atBerwick-upon-Tweed under which Scotland's nobility agreed to pay 100,000marks, at the rate of 10,000 marks per year, as a ransom for their king. This was ratified by the Scottish Parliament at Scone on 6 November 1357.
David returned to Scotland accompanied by a large contingent of Scottish nobles and clergy. He also brought his mistress, Katherine (or Catherine) Mortimer, of whom little is known. Katherine was murdered in 1360 by men hired by theEarl of Angus and other nobles,[18] according to some sources; some accounts say the earl was starved to death, however since his death was not until 1362, two years after the murder, death from the plague or other causes is more likely.[19][20][21] She was replaced as mistress byMargaret Drummond.[22]
After six years, owing to the poverty of the kingdom, it was found impossible to raise the ransom instalment of 1363. David then made forLondon and sought to get rid of the liability by offering to bequeath Scotland to Edward III, or one of his sons, in return for a cancellation of the ransom. David did this with the full awareness that the Scots would never accept such an arrangement. In 1364, the Scottish parliament indignantly rejected a proposal to makeLionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence, the next king. Over the next few years, David strung out secret negotiations with Edward III,[5] which apparently appeased the matter.
His wife, Queen Joan, died on 7 September 1362 (aged 41)[22] atHertford Castle,Hertfordshire, possibly a victim of theBlack Death. He remarried, on about 20 February 1364, toMargaret Drummond, widow of Sir John Logie, and daughter of Sir Malcolm Drummond. He divorced her on about 20 March 1370. They had no children.[4][23] Margaret, however, travelled toAvignon, and made a successful appeal to thePope Urban V to reverse the sentence of divorce which had been pronounced against her in Scotland. She was still alive in January 1375, four years after David died.[24]
From 1364, David governed actively, dealing firmly with recalcitrant nobles, and a wider baronial revolt, led by his prospective successor, the futureRobert II.[25] David continued to pursue the goal of a final peace with England. At the time of his death, the Scottish monarchy was stronger and the country was "a free and independent kingdom" according to a reliable source.[26] The royal finances were more prosperous than might have seemed possible.
King David II of Scotland married twice and had several mistresses, but none of his relationships produced children:
Joan of the Tower, the daughter of KingEdward II of England andIsabella of France, was David's first wife. David and Joan were married on 17 July 1328, when he was four years old and she was seven. The marriage was in accordance with the terms of theTreaty of Northampton. They were married for 34 years but produced no children.[4][23] Queen Joan died on 7 September 1362 (aged 41)[22] at Hertford Castle, Hertfordshire;
Margaret Drummond was the widow of Sir John Logie, and daughter of Sir Malcolm Drummond. Margaret was David's mistress before the death of Queen Joan, from about 1361. David and Margaret married on 20 February 1364. Still producing no heirs, David attempted to divorce Margaret on 20 March 1370, on the grounds that she was infertile.[4][23] Pope Urban V, however, reversed the divorce. When David died on 22 February 1371, Margaret and David were still actually married, according to Rome. Margaret died sometime after 31 January 1375, and her funeral was paid for byPope Gregory XI;[27]
Agnes Dunbar was David's mistress at the time of his death. He was planning to marry her; however, the marriage was delayed by the reversal of his divorce to Margaret.
David II died unexpectedly of natural causes atEdinburgh Castle on 22 February 1371, aged forty-six. David was not buried – as he had previously planned – beside his parents atDunfermline Abbey, but before the high altar ofHolyrood Abbey.[4][23][28] This choice may have been made because Holyrood was the closest church at hand, only a mile away from Edinburgh Castle, and because David's successor wished to quickly draw a line under the previous reign.[28] The funeral was overseen by Abbot Thomas.[29] As David II left no children, he was the last male of theHouse of Bruce and was succeeded by his nephew,Robert II, the son of David's half-sisterMarjorie.[5]
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