Isabella of Mar

Isabella of Mar
Countess of Carrick
Isabella and her husband, Robert the Bruce, as depicted in the 1562 Forman Armorial. The armorial depicts her husband as King of Scotland.
Bornc. 1277
Died12 December 1296 (aged 18–19)
SpouseRobert the Bruce, Earl of Carrick
IssueMarjorie Bruce
HouseClan Mar
FatherDomhnall I, Earl of Mar
MotherHelen, widow of Máel Coluim II, Earl of Fife

Isabella of Mar (fl. c. 1277 – 12 December 1296) was the first wife of Robert Bruce VII, Earl of Carrick. Isabella died before her husband was crowned (as Robert I) King of Scotland. She and her husband were the grandparents of Robert II, King of Scotland, founder of the Royal House of Stuart.

Isabella was the daughter of Domhnall I, Earl of Mar (died 1297 - 1302) and Helen (died after 1295), widow of Máel Coluim II, Earl of Fife.[1] Isabella's father was evidently an adherent of Robert Bruce V, Lord of Annandale (died 1295), a man who staked a claim to the Scottish throne. The close relationship between Domhnall's family and the Bruces is evidenced by two marriages; the first between Isabella and Robert, and the second between Domhnall's son and comital successor, Gartnait (died c.1302), and a sister of Robert Bruce VII.[2]

The marriage of Robert Bruce VII and Isabella probably took place in the 1290s.[3] The union produced a single child, a daughter named Marjorie (died 1316),[4] who was born in about 1296.[5] Robert and Isabella's daughter, Marjorie, married Walter Stewart, Steward of Scotland,[6] and their son eventually reigned as Robert II, King of Scotland (died 1390).[7]

Six years after Isabella's death in childbirth, Robert Bruce VII married his second wife, Elizabeth de Burgh (died 1327).[8]

  1. ^ Hurlock, Kathryn (28 October 2009). "The Welsh Wife of Malcolm, Earl of Fife (d.1266): An Alternative Suggestion". The Scottish Historical Review. 88 (2): 352–355. doi:10.3366/e0036924109000900. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  2. ^ Paton; Reid (2004).
  3. ^ Barrow (2008); Paton; Reid (2004).
  4. ^ Barrow (2008).
  5. ^ Barrow (2004).
  6. ^ Barrow (2004).
  7. ^ Barrow (2008); Barrow (2004).
  8. ^ Barrow (2008).