The Steps to the Empty Throne

In 1296 Scotland is invaded and its kingship reduced to a prize contested by Edward I of England, the displaced Balliol interest and the country’s rival noble houses. Robert Bruce is both a Norman lord with English estates and a Celtic earl whose family possesses a powerful claim to the Scottish throne. At first he moves cautiously between accommodation and resistance, watching William Wallace turn popular rebellion into a national cause while Edward Longshanks attempts to crush every challenge to his authority. Bruce’s marriage to Elizabeth de Burgh offers private loyalty and warmth amid an increasingly dangerous political struggle.

Wallace’s example forces Bruce to confront what he owes to Scotland, but his ambitions bring him into bitter conflict with John Comyn of Badenoch, guardian of the realm and champion of the Balliol cause. Their rivalry culminates in bloodshed at Greyfriars Church in Dumfries, leaving Bruce committed to a course from which there can be no retreat. Crowned at Scone yet opposed by England and many Scots, he must discover whether possessing a claim to the empty throne is enough to make him a king.