Margaret of Denmark, Queen of Scotland
| Margaret of Denmark | |
|---|---|
_by_Hugo_van_der_Goes.jpg)
Portrait by Hugo van der Goes
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| Queen consort of Scotland | |
| Tenure | 1469–1486 |
| Born |
23 June 1456 Denmark |
| Died | 14 July 1486 (aged 30) Stirling Castle, Stirlingshire |
| Burial | Cambuskenneth Abbey, Stirlingshire |
| Spouse | James III of Scotland (m. 1469) |
| Issue |
James IV of Scotland James, Duke of Ross John, Earl of Mar |
| House | Oldenburg |
| Father | Christian I of Denmark |
| Mother | Dorothea of Brandenburg |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Margaret of Denmark (23 June 1456 – 14 July 1486), also referred to as Margaret of Norway, was Queen of Scotland from 1469 to 1486 by marriage to King James III. She was the daughter of Christian I, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, and Dorothea of Brandenburg.
Margaret was betrothed to James of Scotland in 1460. The marriage was arranged by recommendation of the king of France to end the feud between Denmark and Scotland about the taxation of the Hebrides islands, a conflict that raged between 1426 and 1460. Her father, King Christian I of Denmark and Norway (the two realms being united at the time under the Kalmar Union), agreed to a considerable dowry. He was in need of cash, however, so the islands of Orkney and Shetland, possessions of the Norwegian crown, were pledged as security until the dowry was to be paid. In July 1469, at age 13, at Holyrood Abbey, she married James III. William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness, was at that time the Norse Earl of Orkney. In 1472 he was made to exchange his Orkney fief to Castle Ravenscraig, so the Scottish throne took the earl's rights in the islands too.
Queen Margaret was given the largest jointure Scottish law allowed in her marriage settlement. She was interested in clothes and jewelry, and known for always being dressed in the latest fashion of the time. She may have taught her son James to speak Danish. She became a popular queen in Scotland and was described as beautiful, gentle, and sensible. Many later historians called her far better qualified to rule than her spouse.
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