Elizabeth de Burgh

Elizabeth de Burgh (* 1289 in Dunfermline, † October 27, 1327 in Cullen Castle) was the second wife of the Scottish King Robert I ( Robert the Bruce ). She was the daughter of Richard Og de Burgh, Earl of Ulster and the mighty close friend of King Edward I.

Elizabeth met Robert the Bruce probably at the English royal court. The two married in 1302 in Writtle, near Chelmsford in Essex. Robert and Elizabeth were crowned on March 25, 1306 in Scone as King and Queen of Scotland. This coronation was a violation of the English sovereignty over Scotland. The new king sent Elizabeth and other family members for safety's sake after Kildrummy Castle, under his brother Nigel protection.

After the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Methven on 19 June 1306, the English besieged the following spring the castle, where the royal family lived. The siege was successful, after a farrier had been bribed and the granary on fire. The British executed all the men of the tower, including three brothers of Robert Bruce. His sister, Mary, and Isabella MacDuff, Countess of Buchan were held in wooden cages that were attached to the walls of the castles of Berwick -upon- Tweed and Roxburgh. His twelve year old daughter Marjorie Bruce was sent to a nunnery.

Elizabeth de Burgh was placed under house arrest in England, as Edward I, her father did not want to annoy. Eight years later, after Robert the Bruce defeated the English in the devastating Battle of Bannockburn (June 1314), it was released in exchange for captured English noblemen.

She gave birth to two sons and two daughters: John, Matilda, Margaret and David ( the future King David II ) She died in Cullen Castle, Banffshire, and was buried in her hometown of Dunfermline. Her husband died eight months later.