Anabella Drummond

Anabella Drummond
Queen Consort of Scotland
Tenure 1390–1401
Coronation 1390
Born ca. 1350
Dunfermline Abbey, Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland
Died October 1401 (aged 51)
Scone Palace, Scone, Perth
Burial Dunfermline Abbey
Spouse Robert III of Scotland
m. 1367; dec. October 1401
Issue Elizabeth, Baroness Dalkeith
Mary, Countess of Angus
Egidia
Margaret, Countess of Douglas
Robert
David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay
James I of Scotland
House Clan Drummond
Father Sir John Drummond, 11th Thane of Lennox
Mother Mary Montifex
Religion Roman Catholic

Anabella Drummond (c. 1350–1401) was the Queen Consort of Scotland by marriage to Robert III of Scotland.

Life

Early life

She was the daughter of Sir John Drummond, of Stobhall, near Perth, 11th Thane of Lennox and Chief of Clan Drummond, and Mary Montifex. It has been erroneous postulated that her father was the same John Drummond that was a brother to Margaret Drummond, Queen of Scotland but as this does not align with any historical dates, the latter John was probably a close ancestor.

Anabella and her husband the King, depicted on the 1562 Forman Armorial

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She married John Stewart (the future Robert III of Scotland) in 1367. Soon, she was enveloped in a power struggle with her husband's brother, Robert. Since Anabella and John did have two daughters, but no sons for several years, he was a supporter of a law that would bar women from inheriting the throne.

Queen

Anabella was crowned with Robert at Scone Palace when he came to the throne in 1390. She continued bearing children until she was past forty and had her last child, the future James I of Scotland, in 1394.[1]

King Robert, an invalid since 1384 due to an accident with a horse, grew increasingly despondent and incompetent throughout his reign and was not capable to govern. During this time he is said to have said to her that he should be buried in a dung heap with the epitaph "Here lies the worst of kings and the most miserable of men".[2]

Because the king was not able to rule, Anabella was prompted to take manage state affairs as de facto ruler. Protecting the interests of her oldest son, David, she arranged a great tournament in 1398 in Edinburgh, where her oldest son was knighted.[3] In April of that year she also called a council where he was created Duke of Rothesay and Lieutenant of the Realm in the same year.[2] Shortly after his mother's death he would be imprisoned by his uncle and died in mysterious circumstances. David was described as debauched, self-indulgent and erratic, and the Duke of Albany did not have to fight hard to control him. The chronicles of Scotland generally praise queen Anabella and her conduct as queen.

The Fife burgh of Inverkeithing was a favorite residence of the queen. Her presence is still recalled in the sandstone font, decorated with angels and heraldry, which she presented to the parish church of the town, one of Scotland's finest surviving pieces of late medieval sculpture.

Anabella died in Scone Palace in October 1401, and was buried at her birthplace of Dunfermline. With the loss of her protection, her eldest son David would become the prey of his uncle, Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, dying shortly after.[2]

Issue

Anabella had several children with Robert III:

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Anabella Drummond.
  1. ↑ Marshall, Rosalind K. (2003). Scottish Queens, 1034-1714. Tuckwell Press. p. 46.
  2. 1 2 3 Ashley, Mike (1999). The mammoth book of British kings and queens. London: Robinson Publishers. p. 554. ISBN 1-84119-096-9.
  3. ↑ Marshall, Rosalind K. (2003). p. 47.

External links

Scottish royalty
Preceded by
Euphemia de Ross		 Queen consort of Scotland
1390–1401 		Succeeded by
Joan Beaufort


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