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 Britroyals

King Malcolm III of Scotland (1058 - 1093)


Name: King Malcolm III of Scotland
Father: Duncan I, King of Scotland
Mother: Sybilla of Northumbria
Relation to Charles III: 27th great-grandfather
House of: Canmore
Born: c. 1031
Ascended to the throne: March 17, 1058
Crowned: April 25, 1058 at Scone Abbey, Perthshire
Married:(1) Ingibiorg, daughter of Finn Arnasson of Halland, c. 1059
Married:(2) Margaret, daughter of Edward the Aetheling son of Edmund II of England, c. 1069
Children: Duncan II by Ingibiorg, 6 sons by Margaret including Edmund, Edgar, Alexander and David, 2 daughters Edith (later called Matilda) who married Henry I of England, and Mary mother of Matilda who married Stephen, King of England
Died: November 13, 1093, in battle near Alnwick, Northumberland
Buried at: Tynemouth, remains later removed to Dunfermline Abbey
Succeeded by: his brother Donald II

Malcolm (Máel Coluim mac Donnchada), son of Duncan I, was known as Malcolm Cenn Mor or Canmore (meaning Big or Great Head). He was the first of the House of Canmore having killed both Macbeth and his son Lulach, and was crowned at Scone in 1058.

Peace with the North was achieved through Malcolm’s marriage with Ingibiorg, daughter of Thorfinn, Jarl of Orkney. Thorfinn’s sons fought alongside Harald Hardrada and Earl Tostig at Stamford Bridge near York where they were defeated by the English King Harold in 1066. Malcolm’s second wife was Margaret, grand daughter of Edmund King of England and sister of Edgar the Aetheling who had been deposed by William I the Conqueror. She was a devoutly Christian woman who reformed the Celtic church through her familiarity with roman Christian practices and was sanctified as St Margaret in 1250.

Malcolm gave sanctuary to Saxons fleeing the advancing Normans following the victory of William I ‘The Conqueror’ at Hastings in 1066. Malcolm attacked Northumbria in 1070 and expanded his kingdom into Cumbria, but was swept aside by the forces of King William II as they marched into Scotland in 1092. At Abernethy Malcolm was forced to submit to the Normans who took his son Duncan and brother-in-law Edgar Aetheling back South into England as hostages. Malcolm launched another attack the following year but was killed in battle at Alnwick, Northumberland, and was buried at Tynemouth.

Timeline for King Malcolm III of Scotland

Year Event
1058Malcolm III (Canmore) crowned
1069Malcolm marries his 2nd wife Margaret of Wessex sister of Edgar the Aetheling who had been deposed by William I the Conqueror
1070Malcolm attacks Northumbria and Cumbria intent on expanding his kingdom into northern England.
1091The Norman forces of King William II of England advance North and capture Carlisle and Cumbria
1092At Abernethy Malcolm is forced to submit to the Normans who take his son Duncan and brother-in-law Edgar Aetheling as hostages
1093Malcolm invades England but is killed at the Battle of Alnwick. He is succeeded by his brother Donald II (Donald Blane)