Helen Verch LLEWELYN

Other Events:

• FamilySearch ID: GMN1-GP5
• _UID: 059146DAD5C9430398C1B507CD4AC7A532BA
• Alt. Death: Aft 1291; Alt. Death

Notes:

Helen, daughter of Llewellyn ap Iorwerth, Prince of Wales. [Magna Charta Sureties, Line 41-5]

Helen or Elen, illegitimate daughter of Llewellyn ap Iorwerth, Prince of Wales, widow of Malcolm, Earl of Fife. [Magna Charta Sureties, Line 41b-5]

This Helen was illegitimate and born very late- shortly before Llewellyn's death.

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His [Donald 6th Earl of Mar's] wife, and mother of Isabel, was Helen, widow of Malcolm, 7th Earl of Fife, d. 1266, and daughter of Llewellyn, Prince of North Wales. Helen's first husband must have been an old man when she married him, for he succeeded his uncle in 1228. When he died, his son and heir was Colban, the 8th Earl, then under age, who had been knighted in his teens in 1264. Colban was married in his nonage, for when he died in 1270, when he could not have been more than 24, his heir was his son Duncan, aged 8. (Mr. Balfour Paul believes Colban's wife Alice was one of three daughters and co-heirs of Sir Alan Durward. If so, his issue shared with the Soulis family the descent from Alexander II of Scotland. However, since the line of his heir Duncan has died out, remaining descendants of this line would stem from younger children of Colban and Alice, if there were any.) The Helen, daughter of Llewellyn, who was successively the wife of Malcolm and of Donald, and mother of the children of both, appears clearly the daughter of Llewellyn ap Iorwerth but must not be confused with his daughter Helen, successively the wife of John le Scot, Earl of Chester, and of Robert de Quincy, whose mother was Princess Joan. [Ancestral Roots, Line 252-30]

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He [Malcolm MacDuff 7th Earl of Fife] m. Helen, daughter of Llewellyn, Prince of Wales. He d. 1266. His widow m. Donald, Earl of Mar, who d. about 1292. She was living 1291. [Complete Peerage V:373]

Helen married Malcolm MACDUFF, 7th Earl Of Fife, Sir in 1st Husband. Malcolm was born about 1208 in Fifeshire, Scotland; died in 1266. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Helen married Earl Donald Of MAR, Sir Knight about 1269 in 2ND Husband. Donald (son of William 5Th Earl De MAR, Sir and Elizabeth COMYN) was born about 1243 in Kildrummy Castle, Aberdeenshire, Scotland; died after 25 Jul 1297 in Kildrummy Castle, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• _UID: 1185EC05BB22493799DF8AFE91540BC99D39

Notes:

Margaret, daughter of 6th Earl of Mar. [Burke's Peerage, p. 2716]

Marjory/Mary, widow of John de Strathbogie, 9th Earl of Atholl of the creation deemed to have been effected by 1115, and daughter of 6th Earl of Mar. [Burke's Peerage, p. 2770]

Click here for Photo of Kildrummy Castle (use browser back arrow to return)

Margaret married in 1st Husband. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Margaret married after 1306 in 2ND Husband. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• _UID: 70BC7AF9F5704A4A9BF1D1CED3890FBBE93A

Notes:

Gartney/Gratney, 7th Earl of Mar, Jt Sheriff Aberdeenshire 1297; married Christian Bruce, sister of Robert I who granted her the lands of Garioch for her life, but whereby the Earls of Mar acquired the feudal Lordship of Garioch (not a peerage dignity) and were even latterly styled "Earls of Garioch". [Burke's Peerage]

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Gratney, Earl of Mar, d. before 1305, son of Donald, Earl of Mar, by Helen or Elen, illegitimate daughter of Llewellyn ap Iorwerth, Prince of Wales, widow of Malcolm, Earl of Fife. [Magna Charta Sureties]

Family/Spouse: Christina Of Carrick BRUCE. Christina (daughter of Earl Robert de BRUCE, Of Carrick and Countess Marjory (Margaret) CARRICK) was born about 1282; died in 1356. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Gratney married about 1292 in Kildrummy, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• FamilySearch ID: 9C4C-QMV
• NEVER QUEEN: ; Isabell of Mar was Countess of Carrrik but died before her husband became king, therefore was never Queen or Queen Consort of Scotland.
• NOT THE SAME AS ISABEL BRUCE, QUEEN OF NORWAY: ; This is Isabella of Mar, wife of Robert the Bruce, Isabel Bruce was her sister in law, sister of Robert the Bruce
• Name: Isabella FITZDONALD
• Name: Isabella of Mar - Countess of Carrick
• Name: Lady Matilda Isabella MAR
• _UID: CFC13E56549B4BD3A2ECB5341E5341A1FB4D

Notes:

Isabella of Mar (fl. 1290s) was the first wife of Robert Bruce VII, Earl of Carrick. Isabella died before her husband was crowned (as Robert I) King of Scotland. She and her husband were the grandparents of Robert II, King of Scotland.

Isabella was the daughter of Domhnall I, Earl of Mar (died ?1297) and Elena, daughter of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (died 1282). Isabella's father was evidently an adherent of Robert Bruce V, Lord of Annandale (died 1295), a man who staked a claim to the Scottish throne. The close relationship between the Domhnall's family and the Bruces is evidenced by two marriages. One was that between Isabella and Robert Bruce VII, Earl of Carrick (died 1329), a grandson of Robert Bruce V. Domhnall's son and comital successor, Gartnait (died c.1302), married a sister of Robert Bruce VII.

The marriage of Robert Bruce VII and Isabella probably took place in the 1290s. The union produced a single child, a daughter named Marjorie (died 1316), who was born in about 1296.

Following Isabella's death, Robert Bruce VII married his second wife, Elizabeth de Burgh (died 1327). Isabella's daughter, Marjorie, married Walter Stewart, Steward of Scotland, and their son eventually reigned as Robert II, King of Scotland (died 1390).



Isabel, d. before 1302, daughter of Donald, Earl of Mar, by his 1st wife Helen, daughter of Llewellyn ap Iorwerth, Prince of Wales. [Magna Charta Sureties]


Click here for Photo of Kildrummy Castle (use browser back arrow to return)

Isabel married King Robert BRUCE, I of Scottland about 1295 in 1st Wife. Robert (son of Earl Robert de BRUCE, Of Carrick and Countess Marjory (Margaret) CARRICK) was born on 16 Mar 1274 in Turnberry Castle, Turnberry, Ayrshire, Scotland; was christened on 11 Jul 1274 in Dundee, Forfarshire, Scotland; died on 15 Jun 1329 in Cardross, Dunbartonshire, Scotland; was buried on 15 Jun 1329 in Dunfermline Abbey, Fife, Scotland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• _UID: 1E8B8010E3204973AF7DC13AF2C7BBFB8ED7

Family/Spouse: John Of Knepdal MENTEITH. John was born about 1320; died before 1344. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Clan: ; Clan Bruce
• FamilySearch ID: LDQR-9B8
• Name: Marjorie BRUCE -
• _UID: DDB76C26788E4CB894D438006DA3672E75DE
• ENGLISH CAPTIVE FOR 8 YEARS: Between 1306 and 1314, Watton Abbey, Watton, Norfolk, England; Captured by the English in 1306 at age 9, Marjorie was held captive at Watton Abbey until 1314.
• Cause of Death: Oct 1317, Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland; DIED AFTER FALLING FROM A HORSE DURING HER SECOND PREGNANCY

Notes:

Marjorie Bruce was the oldest child of Robert I, King of Scotland, also known as Robert the Bruce, and his first wife Isabella of Mar. She was born in December of 1296 and her mother died 12 December, 1296 shortly after giving birth. Marjorie was named after her paternal grandmother, Marjorie, Countess of Carrick, who had died 4 years before.

In March of 1306 Scotland was in the midst of the First War of Scottish Independence with England when Marjorie's father Robert the Bruce was crowned King of Scotland. "The Bruce" suffered a defeat at the Battle of Methven and sent Marjorie, her step-mother Elizabeth, and her 2 aunts Mary and Christina North for safety. Unfortunately, they were captured by the English along with Isabella MacDuff. All the men captured were executed including Marjorie's Uncle Niall who was hanged, drawn and quartered and then beheaded. Marjorie's step-mother Elizabeth was deemed a valuable hostage and sent to the Tower of London. Her Aunt Christina, whose husband was just executed, was imprisoned at the convent at Sixhills. Mary Bruce and Isabella MacDuff were imprisoned separately in wooden cages and hung outside the castles of Roxburgh and Berwick, exposed to public view and the elements for 4 long years. A cage was built outside the Tower of London for 9 year old Marjorie but English King Edward I reconsidered and sent her to the convent in Watton instead. Marjorie would remain an English captive until 1314 when she was finally released, exchanged for English prisoners, at the age of 17. Robert the Bruce could not accompany his wife and daughter home himself, he would have been a rich prize for the English, however, he sent Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland, to escort them home.

Scotland was free and King Robert the Bruce was at the height of his power. Not wanting to leave Scotland without a clear ruler, as had happened previously after the death of Alexander III and Margaret the Maid of Norway, on April 25 1315 Parliament agreed that if King Robert I, and his brother Edward de Brus, both died without male issue then Marjory de Brus would inherit the throne of Scotland. King Robert I was the most powerful man in Scotland, and now Marjory was the most important woman in Scotland.
Shortly after this Marjorie married the 2nd most powerful man in Scotland, Walter Stewart, High Steward of Scotland. The man who had accompanied her back home from her captivity the year before.

Marjorie and Walter welcomed a son Robert Stuart on March 2 1316. Robert would grow up to become Robert II King of Scotland. Unfortunately, Marjorie would not live to see it. Some historical sources tell us that Marjorie died giving birth to her only son. That she was thrown from a horse while heavily pregnant, and that the baby was delivered safely but Marjorie died. More modern research now indicates that the facts were a little confused. Marjorie did die after a fall from a horse while pregnant, however, it was in October 1317 during her 2nd pregnancy, and both mother and child died. Marjory was buried at Paisley Abbey, Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland.

Like her own mother, Isabella, Marjorie died young, leaving behind a single young motherless child. Robert would not grow up an only child, however, his father married a 2nd time, to Isabel de Graham, and they gave Robert 3 younger siblings.

Marjorie's marriage to Walter, High Steward of Scotland united Clan Stewart and the royal House of Bruce. Her son Robert II was the first Stewart monarch, through him she was the ancestress of a long line of royalty including Mary Queen of Scots and Bonnie Prince Charlie.

Princess Marjorie, the only daughter of King Robert I of Scotland by his first wife Isabella of Mar. Marjorie died in March 1316 giving birth to their only child:[11]
King Robert II of Scotland (born 1316-died 1390), the first monarch of the House of Stewart who reigned as King of Scotland from 1371 to his death in 1390.

Marjory married Walter STEWART in 1315 in Dundonald, Ayrshire, Scotland. Walter (son of James STEWART and Egidia (Giles) De BURGH) was born in 1296 in Dundonald Castle, Kyle, Ayrshire, Scotland; was christened in 1296 in Dundonald Castle, Kyle, AYR, Scotland; died on 9 Apr 1326 in Bathgate Castle, Bathgate, Linlithgow, Scotland; was buried on 19 Apr 1327 in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• _UID: DFF7CDA8B2BA4B19B0BA87280830E6BD0F0D

Family/Spouse: Edward Of Synton KEITH. Edward died before 1350. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Affiliation: ; House of Stewart - Founder
• FamilySearch ID: LHW6-FV7
• TitleOfNobility: ; Grandson of Robert, The Bruce, 1st Monarch of the House of Stewart, 15 issue, succeeded his uncle King David II)
• TitleOfNobility: ; King of Scotland, Guardian of Scotland, High Steward of Scotland, Earl of Atholl, Earl of Strathearn
• Name: Robert STEWART
• Name: Robert STEWART
• Religion: ; Roman Catholic
• Restored to The Line of Succession: Jul 1326, Cambuskenneth Abbey, Stirlingshire, Scotland; David Bruce became heir to the throne of Scotland upon his birth on 5 March 1324, displacing his nephew from the line of succession. However, 2 heirs are better than only one, and the death of David's twin brother John reminded everyone how fragile baby's
• DUNDONALD CASTLE: 1371, Dundonald, Ayrshire, Scotland; Robert Stewart built Dundonald Castle in 1371, probably to mark his accession to the throne as Robert II, and as a safe place for his family to live.
• Ascension to Throne: 22 Feb 1371
• TitleOfNobility: Between 22 Feb 1371 and 19 Apr 1390; 35th King of Scotland - reigned for 19 years

Notes:

Robert II (2 March 1316 ? 19 April 1390) was King of Scots from 1371 to his death in 1390. He was the first monarch of the House of Stewart as the son of Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland, and of Marjorie Bruce, daughter of the Scottish king Robert the Bruce by his first wife Isabella of Mar.

In 1336, he first married Elizabeth Mure, daughter of Sir Adam Mure of Rowallan. The marriage was criticized for being uncanonical, so he remarried her in 1349 after receiving a papal dispensation in 1347.
From this union, ten children reached adulthood:
- John, who became King of Scotland as Robert III, married Anabella Drummond.
- Walter, husband of Isabella MacDuff, Countess of Fife.
- Robert, Earl of Fife and Duke of Albany, married Margaret Graham, Countess of Menteith, and 2nd Muriella Keith.
- Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan, "The Wolf of Badenoch", married Euphemia of Ross.
- Margaret, married John of Islay, Lord of the Isles.
- Marjorie, married John Dunbar, Earl of Moray, then Sir Alexander Keith.
- Elizabeth married Thomas de la Hay, Lord High Constable of Scotland.
- Isabella, married James Douglas, 2nd Earl of Douglas, and 2nd John Edmonstone of Edmonstone.
- Johanna (Jean), married Sir John Keith, then 2nd John Lyon, Lord of Glamis and 3rd Sir James Sandilands.
- Katherine, married Sir Robert Logan of Grugar and Restalrig, Lord High Admiral of Scotland.

In 1355, Robert married his second wife Euphemia de Ross, daughter of Hugh, Earl of Ross. They had four children:
- David Stewart, Earl of Strathearn, born about 1356 and died in 1389.
- Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl, born about 1360, beheaded at Edinburgh in 1437 for being involved in the assassination of King James I.
- Elizabeth, married in 1380 David Lindsay, 1st Earl of Crawford.
- Egidia, married William Douglas of Nithsdale.


[Information added by OldeBruce in April 2022:
Edward Bruce, younger brother of Robert the Bruce, was named heir to the throne but he died without legitimate children on 3 December 1318 in a battle near Dundalk in Ireland. Marjorie by this time had died in a riding accident ? probably in 1317. Parliament decreed her infant son, Robert Stewart, as heir presumptive, but this lapsed on 5 March 1324 on the birth of a son, David, to King Robert and his second wife, Elizabeth de Burgh. Robert Stewart inherited the title of High Steward of Scotland on his father's death on 9 April 1326, and a Parliament held in July 1326 confirmed the young Steward as heir should Prince David die without a successor. In 1329 King Robert I died and the six-year-old David succeeded to the throne with Sir Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray appointed Guardian of Scotland.

Edward Balliol, son of King John Balliol, assisted by the English and Scottish nobles disinherited by Robert I, invaded Scotland inflicting heavy defeats on the Bruce party on 11 August 1332 at Dupplin Moor and Halidon Hill on 19 July 1333. Robert fought at Halidon, where his uncle and former guardian, Sir James Stewart, was killed. Following this battle, Robert's lands in the west were given by Balliol to his supporter David Strathbogie, the titular Earl of Atholl. Robert took refuge in the fortress of Dumbarton Castle in the Clyde estuary to join his uncle, King David. In May 1334 David escaped to France leaving Robert and John Randolph, 3rd Earl of Moray as joint Guardians of the kingdom. Robert succeeded in regaining his lands but following Randolph's capture by the English in July 1335, his possessions were once again targeted by the forces of Balliol and King Edward III of England. This may have persuaded Robert to submit to Balliol and the English king and may explain his removal as Guardian by September 1335. The Guardianship transferred to Sir Andrew Murray of Bothwell but following his death in 1338 Robert was re-appointed and retained the office until King David returned from France in June 1341. Robert accompanied David into battle at Neville's Cross on 17 October 1346 but he and Patrick Dunbar, Earl of March escaped or fled the field and David was taken prisoner. In October 1357, the king was ransomed for 100,000 marks to be paid in installments over ten years.

Robert joined a rebellion against David in 1363 but submitted to him following a threat to his right of succession. In 1364, David presented a proposal to Parliament that would cancel the remaining ransom debt if it was agreed that a Plantagenet heir would inherit the Scottish throne should he die without issue. This was rejected and Robert succeeded to the throne at the age of 55 following David's unexpected death in 1371. England still controlled large sectors in the Lothians and in the border country so King Robert allowed his southern earls to engage in actions in the English zones to regain their territories, halted trade with England and renewed treaties with France. By 1384, the Scots had re-taken most of the occupied lands, but following the commencement of Anglo-French peace talks, Robert was reluctant to commit Scotland to all-out war and obtained Scotland's inclusion in the peace treaty. Robert's peace strategy was a factor in the virtual coup in 1384 when he lost control of the country, first to his eldest son, John, Earl of Carrick, afterwards King Robert III, and then from 1388 to John's younger brother, Robert, Earl of Fife, afterwards the first Duke of Albany. Robert II died in Dundonald Castle in 1390 and was buried at Scone Abbey.

Heir presumptive
Robert Stewart, born in 1316, was the only child of Walter Stewart, High Steward of Scotland and King Robert I's daughter Marjorie Bruce, who died probably in 1317 following a riding accident.[1] He had the upbringing of a Gaelic noble on the Stewart lands in Bute, Clydeside, and in Renfrew.[1] In 1315 parliament removed Marjorie's right as heir to her father in favour of her uncle, Edward Bruce.[2] Edward was killed at the Battle of Faughart, near Dundalk on 14 October 1318,[3] resulting in a hastily arranged Parliament in December to enact a new entail naming Marjorie's son, Robert, as heir should the king die without a successor.[4] The birth of a son, afterwards David II, to King Robert on 5 March 1324 cancelled Robert Stewart's position as heir presumptive, but a Parliament at Cambuskenneth in July 1326 restored him in the line of succession should David die without an heir.[2] This reinstatement of his status was accompanied by the gift of lands in Argyll, Roxburghshire and the Lothians.[5]

The first war of independence began in the reign of King John Balliol.[6] His short reign was bedeviled by Edward I's insistence on his overlordship of Scotland. The Scottish leadership concluded that only war could release the country from the English king's continued weakening of Balliol's sovereignty and so finalised a treaty of reciprocal assistance with France in October 1295.[7] The Scots forayed into England in March 1296? this incursion together with the French treaty angered the English king and provoked an invasion of Scotland taking Berwick on 30 March before defeating the Scots army at Dunbar on 27 April.[8] John Balliol submitted to Edward and resigned the throne to him before being sent to London as a prisoner. Despite this, resistance to the English led by William Wallace and Andrew Moray had emerged in the name of King John Balliol.[8] On their deaths, Robert the Bruce continued to resist the English and eventually succeeded in defeating the forces of Edward II of England and gained the Scottish throne for himself.[7]

David Bruce, aged five, became king on 7 June 1329 on the death of his father Robert. Walter the Steward had died earlier on 9 April 1327,[9] and the orphaned eleven-year-old Robert was placed under the guardianship of his uncle, Sir James Stewart of Durrisdeer,[2] who along with Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray, and William Lindsey, Archdeacon of St Andrews were appointed as joint Guardians of the kingdom.[10] David's accession kindled the second independence war which threatened Robert's position as heir.[11] In 1332 Edward Balliol, son of the deposed John Balliol, spearheaded an attack on the Bruce sovereignty with the tacit support of King Edward III of England and the explicit endorsement of 'the disinherited'.[12] Edward Balliol's forces delivered heavy defeats on the Bruce supporters at Dupplin Moor on 11 August 1332 and again at Halidon Hill on 19 July 1333, at which the 17-year-old Robert participated.[10] Robert's estates were overrun by Balliol, who granted them to David Strathbogie, titular earl of Atholl, but Robert evaded capture and gained protection at Dumbarton Castle where King David was also taking refuge.[11] Very few other strongholds remained in Scottish hands in the winter of 1333? only the castles of Kildrummy (held by Christian Bruce, elder sister of Robert I and wife of Andrew Murray of Bothwell), Loch Leven, Loch Doon, and Urquhart held out against Balliol forces.[13]

Dairsie Castle where the 1335 Parliament was held
In May 1334, the situation looked dire for the house of Bruce and David II gained safety in France. Robert set about winning back his lands in the west of Scotland.

Was in command of the second division of the Scotch Army at Halidon Hill, and was one of the few who escaped the carnage of that disastrous day. See Europ?isch Stammtafeln Band II tafel 69. There is some confusion over which daughter is which and who are their mothers which still needs some clarification.

Robert II (2 March 1316 ? 19 April 1390) was King of Scots from 1371 to his death in 1390. He was the first monarch of the House of Stewart as the son of Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland, and of Marjorie Bruce, daughter of the Scottish king Robert the Bruce by his first wife Isabella of Mar.

Edward Bruce, younger brother of Robert the Bruce, was named heir presumptive but died without heirs on 3 December 1318. Marjorie Bruce had died probably in 1317 in a riding accident and parliament decreed her infant son, Robert Stewart, as heir presumptive, but this lapsed on 5 March 1324 on the birth of a son, David, to King Robert and his second wife, Elizabeth de Burgh. Robert Stewart became High Steward of Scotland on his father's death on 9 April 1327, and in the same year parliament confirmed the young Steward as heir should Prince David die without a successor. In 1329 King Robert I died and the six-year-old David succeeded to the throne under the guardianship of Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray.

Robert married Elizabeth MURE, of Rowallan in 1348 in Dundonald, Ayrshire, Scotland. Elizabeth (daughter of Sir Adam IV MURE, of Rowallan and Janet Mure of POKELLIE) was born on 2 Mar 1320 in Rowallan Castle, Kilmaurs, AYR, Scotland; died in 1354 in Dundonald Castle, Ayrshire, Scotland; was buried in Paisley Abbey, Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Moira DE LECHE. Moira was born on 2 Mar 1320 in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland; died in 1356 in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland; was buried in Paisley Abbey, Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Robert married Euphemia De ROSS on 2 May 1355. Euphemia (daughter of Earl Hugh De ROSS and Margaret GRAHAM) was born about 1334 in Scotland; died about 1387. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]