Margaret of Denmark, Queen of Scotland

Margaret of Denmark became queen of Scots through her marriage to James III in 1469. Her father’s inability to pay the full dowry led to the pledging of Orkney and Shetland, which were then absorbed into Scotland.

Margaret was respected for piety and prudent household management and bore three sons, including the future James IV. She died in 1486 before the rebellion that overthrew her husband. Margaret of Denmark, Queen of Scotland was born in Copenhagen and died in Stirling Castle.

In Dorothy Dunnett’s The Unicorn Hunt, in 1468, Nicholas enters Scotland under the cover of expanding his banking and trading interests while pursuing answers about his wife Gelis, their child and his own disputed parentage. In Dorothy Dunnett’s To Lie with Lions, in 1471, Nicholas tries to repair his marriage to Gelis while using the House of Niccolo’s network to influence courts from Scotland and Burgundy to Iceland. A northern expedition promises new trade and technical achievement, but his public spectacles and financial manoeuvres conceal more dangerous political aims. Rival rulers and bankers begin to realise that Nicholas’s plans may threaten the balance of power they depend upon. Further fictional perspectives on Margaret of Denmark, Queen of Scotland can be found in Dorothy Dunnett’s Gemini, Nigel Tranter’s Lord in Waiting, and Nigel Tranter’s Price of a Princess.