Margaret, Maid of Norway

Margaret (Norwegian: Margrete, Scottish Gaelic: Maighread; March or April 1283 – 26/29 September 1290), known as the Maid of Norway, was the queen-designate of Scotland from 1286 until her death. As she was never inaugurated, her status as monarch is uncertain and has been debated by historians.

Margaret was the daughter of King Eric II of Norway and Margaret of Scotland. By the end of the reign of her maternal grandfather, King Alexander III of Scotland, she was his only surviving descendant and had been recognized as heir presumptive. When Alexander III died in 1286, and his posthumous child was stillborn, Margaret succeeded to the Scottish crown.

Owing to her young age, she remained in Norway rather than going to Scotland. Her father and the Scottish leaders negotiated her marriage to Edward of Caernarfon, son of King Edward I of England. She was finally sent to Great Britain in September 1290 but died in Orkney, sparking the succession dispute between thirteen competitors for the crown of Scotland.