This week – 28 January 1284

Prince Alexander, King Alexander’s last surviving child died. The king had already lost his younger son, David, in 1281, and his daughter, Margaret, in childbirth in 1283. Prince Alexander was married to Margaret of Flanders, though they had no children. His death meant that Alexander III’s heir was now his infant granddaughter, Margaret, in Norway. In February 1284, a week after the prince’s death, the Scottish nobles promised to recognise Margaret, Maid of Norway, as Alexander’s legitimate heir. This recognition, however, did not stop factions from forming between the Bruces and the Comyns (in support of the Balliol line).