Alexander_III_of

{{Infobox_Monarch
| name = Alexander III
| title = King of Scots
| image = [[Image:Alexander III.jpg|150px|Alexander III]]
| reign = [[July 6]], [[1249]] – [[19 March]], [[1286]]
| coronation =
| predecessor = [[Alexander II of Scotland|Alexander II]]
| successor = [[Margaret of Scotland (Maid of Norway)|Margaret]] ''(disputed)''
| consort = [[Margaret of England]] [[Yolande de Dreux]]
| issue = [[Margaret of Scotland (Queen of Norway)|Margaret]], Alexander, David
| royal house =
| royal anthem =
| father = [[Alexander II of Scotland|Alexander II]]
| mother = [[Marie de Coucy]]
| date of birth = {{birth date|1241|9|4|df=y}}
| place of birth =
| date of death ={{death date and age|1286|3|19|1241|9|4}}
| place of death =
| place of burial= [[Dunfermline Abbey]]
|}}
[[Image:Alexander III and Ollamh Rígh.JPG|thumb|300px|Coronation of King Alexander on [[Moot Hill]], [[Scone, Perth and Kinross|Scone]]. He is being greeted by the ''ollamh rígh'', the royal poet, who is addressing him with the proclamation "Benach De Re Albanne" (= ''Beannachd Dé Rígh Alban'', "God Bless the King of Scotland"); the poet goes on to recite Alexander's genealogy.]]
'''Alexander III''' ([[4 September]], [[1241]] – [[19 March]], [[1286]]), [[King of Scots]], was born at [[Roxburgh]], the only son of [[Alexander II of Scotland|Alexander II]] by his second wife [[Marie de Coucy]]. Alexander's father died on [[6 July]] [[1249]] and he became king at the age of eight, inaugurated at [[Scone, Perth and Kinross|Scone]] on [[13 July]], [[1249]].

The years of his minority featured an embittered struggle for the control of affairs between two rival parties, the one led by [[Walter Comyn]], [[Earl of Menteith]], the other by [[Alan Durward]], [[Justiciar of Scotia]]. The former dominated the early years of Alexander's reign. At the marriage of Alexander to [[Margaret of England]] in 1251, [[Henry III of England|Henry III]] seized the opportunity to demand from his son-in-law homage for the Scottish kingdom, but Alexander did not comply. In 1255 an interview between the English and Scottish kings at [[Kelso, Scottish Borders|Kelso]] led to Menteith and his party losing to Durward's party. But though disgraced, they still retained great influence, and two years later, seizing the person of the king, they compelled their rivals to consent to the erection of a regency representative of both parties.

On attaining his majority at the age of 21 in 1262, Alexander declared his intention of resuming the projects on the [[Western Isles]] which the death of his father thirteen years before had cut short. He laid a formal claim before the [[Norway|Norwegian]] king [[Haakon IV of Norway|Haakon]]. Haakon rejected the claim, and in the following year responded with a formidable invasion. Sailing around the west coast of Scotland he halted off the [[Isle of Arran]], and negotiations commenced. Alexander artfully prolonged the talks until the autumn storms should begin. At length Haakon, weary of delay, attacked, only to encounter a terrific [[extreme weather|storm]] which greatly damaged his ships. The [[Battle of Largs]] (October 1263) proved indecisive, but even so, Haakon's position was hopeless. Baffled, he turned homewards, but died in Orkney on [[15 December]], [[1263]]. The Isles now lay at Alexander's feet, and in 1266 Haakon's successor concluded the [[Treaty of Perth]] by which he ceded the [[Isle of Man]] and the [[Western Isles]] to Scotland in return for a monetary payment. Norway retained only [[Orkney]] and [[Shetland]] in the area. In 1284, Alexander invested the title of [[Lord of the Isles]] in the head of the Macdonald family, Angus Macdonald, and over the next two centuries the Macdonald lords operated as if they were kings in their own right, frequently opposing the [[Scottish People|Scottish]] [[monarch]].

Alexander had married Princess [[Margaret of England]], a daughter of King [[Henry III of England]] and [[Eleanor of Provence]], on [[26 December]], [[1251]]. She died in [[1274]], after they had three children:
# [[Margaret of Scotland (Queen of Norway)|Margaret]] ([[28 February]], [[1260]] – [[9 April]], [[1283]]), who married King [[Eirik II of Norway]]
# [[Alexander of Scotland]] ([[21 January]] [[1263]] [[Jedburgh]] – [[28 January]] [[1283]] [[Lindores Abbey]]); buried in [[Dunfermline Abbey]]
# David ([[20 March]] [[1272]] – June [[1281]] [[Stirling Castle]]); buried in [[Dunfermline Abbey]]

According to the [[Lanercost Chronicle]], Alexander did not spend his decade as a widower alone: "''he used never to forbear on account of season nor storm, nor for perils of flood or rocky cliffs, but would visit none too creditably nuns or matrons, virgins or widows as the fancy seized him, sometimes in disguise''."

Towards the end of Alexander's reign, the death of all three of his children within a few years made the question of the succession one of pressing importance. In 1284 he induced the [[Parliament of Scotland|Estates]] to recognize as his heir-presumptive his granddaughter [[Margaret of Scotland (Maid of Norway)|Margaret, the "Maid of Norway"]]. The need for a male heir led him to contract a second marriage to [[Yolande de Dreux]] on [[1 November]], [[1285]].

But the sudden death of the king dashed all such hopes. Alexander died in a fall from his horse in the dark while riding to visit the queen at [[Kinghorn]] in [[Fife]] on [[19 March]], [[1286]]. Alexander became separated from his guides and it is assumed that in the dark his horse lost its footing. The 44-year old king was found dead on the shore the following morning. Some texts have said that he fell off a cliff. Although there is no cliff at the site where his body was found there is a very steep rocky embankment - which would have been fatal in the dark. After Alexander's death, his strong realm was plunged into a period of darkness that would eventually lead to war with England. Had Alexander, who was a strong monarch, lived, things might have worked out differently {{Harv | Ashley | 2002 | p=156}}. He was buried in [[Dunfermline Abbey]].

As Alexander left no surviving children the heir to the throne was his unborn child by Queen Yolande. When Yolande's pregnancy ended in a still-birth in November of 1286, Alexander's granddaughter Margaret became the heir. Margaret died, still uncrowned, on her way to Scotland in 1290. The inauguration of [[John of Scotland|John Balliol]] as king on [[30 November]], [[1292]] ended the six years of [[interregnum]] when the [[Guardians of Scotland]] governed the land.

==See also==
*[[History of Scotland]]

==Sources==
*Scott, Robert McNair. ''Robert the Bruce: King of Scots'', 1996
*{{Citation| last =Ashley| first =Mike| year =2002| title =British Kings & Queens| publisher =Carroll & Graf| isbn =0-7867-1104-3}}.

{{start}}
{{s-hou|[[House of Dunkeld]]|September 4|1241|March 19|1286}}
{{s-reg|}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Alexander II of Scotland|Alexander II]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[King of Scots]]|years=[[1249]]–[[1286|86]]}}
{{s-non|reason=[[Interregnum]]''' ''Kingdom governed by the [[Guardians of Scotland]] in lieu of [[Margaret, Maid of Norway]], whose succession was disputed''''' }}
{{s-roy|sc}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Margaret of Scotland, Countess of Kent]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of heirs of Scotland|Heir of Scotland]]''' ''as [[heir apparent]]''|years=1241–1249}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Margaret of Scotland, Countess of Kent]]}}
{{end}}

{{Scottish Monarchs}}

[[Category:Scottish monarchs]]
[[Category:House of Dunkeld]]
[[Category:Medieval Gaels]]
[[Category:People from the Scottish Borders]]
[[Category:Deaths by horse-riding accident]]
[[Category:1241 births]]
[[Category:1286 deaths]]

[[br:Aleksandr III (roue Bro-Skos)]]
[[ca:Alexandre III d'Escòcia]]
[[cy:Alexander III, brenin yr Alban]]
[[de:Alexander III. (Schottland)]]
[[es:Alejandro III de Escocia]]
[[fr:Alexandre III d'Écosse]]
[[gd:Alasdair III na h-Alba]]
[[it:Alessandro III di Scozia]]
[[nl:Alexander III van Schotland]]
[[ja:アレグザンダー3世 (スコットランド王)]]
[[no:Aleksander III av Skottland]]
[[pl:Aleksander III (król Szkocji)]]
[[pt:Alexandre III da Escócia]]
[[sv:Alexander III av Skottland]]
[[uk:Александр ІІІ (король Шотландії)]]
[[zh:亚历山大三世 (苏格兰)]]