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Son of Alexander III of Scotland
Alexander
(21 January 1264 ? 28 January 1284) was an
heir apparent
to the throne of the
Kingdom of Scotland
who never acceded due to his early death.
Early life
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Alexander was born on 21 January 1264.
He was the second child and elder son of King
Alexander III of Scotland
and
Margaret of England
, preceded by a daughter named
Margaret
and followed by a son called David.
The Scottish crown was determined that the young Alexander should be adequately established. In 1270, he was made
Earl of Fife
for the duration of the minority of the heir to the earldom,
Duncan III
, who was then eight years old. Probably sometime after 1275, Alexander was also made
Lord of Mann
, which gave him revenue and a "quasi-royal position of dignity" while also assuring the people of the island that the recently established Scottish rule would be efficient.
Marriage
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Alexander's mother, Queen Margaret, died in 1275. It is evident from the letters of Alexander and his sister that the family remained close to their maternal uncle King
Edward I of England
.
Alexander's brother, David, died in 1281, the year when their sister married King
Eric II of Norway
. King Alexander did not seek a second wife for about ten years, focusing instead on arranging a suitable marriage for his surviving son, the young Alexander. In 1281, the King started negotiating with
Guy, Count of Flanders
, about his son's marriage to the Count's daughter, also named
Margaret
.
The couple were married on 14 November 1282 at
Roxburgh
and the marriage was celebrated the following day.
Death
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Alexander's sister died in Norway whilst giving birth in 1283, leaving Alexander as the sole surviving child of the King of Scotland.
A week after his twentieth birthday, on 28 January 1284, the young Alexander also died.
He was buried at
Dunfermline Abbey
.
By April it was clear that his widow was not pregnant and that his sister's daughter,
Margaret, Maid of Norway
, was the new
heir presumptive
.
King Alexander hastened to contract a second marriage, choosing
Yolanda of Dreux
, but died in 1286.
References
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Bibliography
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