Harrower Family Tree » David Bruce II (1324-1371)

Personal data David Bruce II 

• He was born on March 5, 1324 in Dunfermline Palace, Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland.Source 1

  Attention: Age at marriage (July 17, 1328) below 16 years (4).

• Title: King of ScotlandSource 1
• Resident between 1333 and 1340: France.Source 1
• (Coronation) on November 24, 1331 in Scone, Perthshire, Scotland.Source 1
• (King of Scotland) between November 24, 1331 and February 22, 1371 in Scotland.Source 1
• He died on February 22, 1371 in Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland, he was 46 years old.Source 1
• He is buried after February 22, 1371.Source 1

  Abbey of Holyrood, Edinburgh, Scotland

• A child of Robert the Bruce and Elizabeth de Burgh

Household of David Bruce II

(1) He is married to Joan Plantagenet.

They got married on July 17, 1328 at Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Northumberland, England, he was 4 years old.Source 1

(2) He is married to Margaret Drummond.

They got married on February 20, 1364, he was 39 years old.Source 1

Notes about David Bruce II

David II King of Scots
Birth 5 Mar 1324 Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland
Death 22 Feb 1371 (aged 46) Edinburgh, City of Edinburgh, Scotland
Burial Abbey of Holyrood, Edinburgh, City of Edinburgh, Scotland

Scottish monarch. Son of Robert the Bruce and Elizabeth de Burgh, he was crowned at Scone on November 24, 1331. He married Joan Plantagenet on July 17, 1328. In 1333, Scottish forces were defeated by England's Edward III and Edward Balliol, and the king and his queen fled to safety in France, where they remained for 7 years. David's forces gained the upper hand in 1341, enabling his return to Scotland, where he took up the reigns of government. In 1346, in accordance with the "auld alliance", he invaded England in the interest of France. The king was taken prisoner at the Battle of Neville's Cross in October, and he remained in England for 11 years. His imprisonment was not an arduous one, and he was visited often by his queen. Negotiations for this release began immediately, and finally, in October of 1357, a treaty was signed at Berwick, by which Scotland agreed to pay 100,000 merks as ransom for their king. The country's poverty made it impossible to pay the full ransom, so David tried to rid himself of the liability by offering to make Edward III or one of his sons his successor. The Scottish parliament immediately rejected the proposal. After Queen Joan's death in 1362, the king married Margaret Drummond on February 20, 1364. Neither marriage was very loving, and neither produced any children. The king died at Edinburgh Castle at the age of 47. He was a weak, incapable ruler with hardly any of his father's patriotism. He was succeeded by his nephew Robert.

Bio by: Kristen Conrad
Family Members

Parents
Robert King of Scots The Robert the Bruce 1274-1329
Elizabeth De Burgh 1284-1327

Spouse
Joan Plantagenet 1321-1362

Siblings
Matilda de Brus Isaac unknown-1353
Donnchadh Robert the Bruce's Dog 1300-1316
John de Brus 1324-1327

Half Siblings
Elizabeth Bruce Oliphant
Matilda Maud Bruce Ross 1282-1332
Marjory Bruce Stewart 1296-1316

The Battle of Halidon Hill
by Ellen Castelow

In the fragile relationship that existed between England and Scotland in the early 14th century, the young King Edward III of England had recognised Edward Balliol’s claim to the Scottish throne in preference to that of the 5-year-old King David II. And so, in the spring of 1333 King Edward and Balliol headed north with an 8,000 strong army to lay siege to the Scottish held town of Berwick.

On the 19th July a Scottish force of around 15,000 men under the Regent, Sir Archibald Douglas arrived in an attempt to break the siege and relieve the town.

Just after midday the Scots advanced across boggy ground to meet the English, who were positioned on Halidon Hill, a few miles north of Berwick.

The Scots had barely reached the foot of the hill when they were greeted by cloud after cloud of arrows released by the English archers.

The tightly packed advancing Scottish ranks were decimated: even so, fierce fighting continued throughout the day. In particular, the Earl of Ross and his Highlanders fought bravely to the death in a gallant rearguard action.

English losses were light; the Scots though had fallen in their thousands, including the Guardian and several other nobles.

The 20-year-old English King Edward III had survived his first battle and had learned a valuable lesson in tactics which he would put to great effect again against the French at Crécy and Poitiers.

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Timeline David Bruce II

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