Kings of Scotland
Scotland's Kings
The Kings of Scotland is a difficult subject to discuss. Traditionally Cináed I of Scotland (Kenneth MacAlpin) is refered to as the first King of the Scots. In 843 he conquered the Picts and was the ruler of both the Picts and the Scots ie Scot-Land and Pict-Land. Kenneth was the founder of a dynasty that ruled Scotland for over 100 years.
At that time "Scotland" was not ruled as an organised nation. Kenneth ruled a large area and pathed the way for the creation of the nation of Scotland. This is where historians differ in opinion. It was not until the reign of Malcolm II that the whole of Scotland was ruled by one King and incorporated most of the land we now refer to as Scotland.
For this reason many refer to Malcolm II as the first King of Scotland. At the Battle of Carham in 1018 Malcolm II's rout of the English effectively set the seal on Scotland's claim to Lothian. Many battles were to follow and the boundaries would change but Scotland was now a unified nation with boundaries similar to todays.
Scotland was now a sovereign nation and remained so until the Act of Union in 1707 when Scotland became part of the United Kingdom. James VI of Scotland was the last king of Scotland. On 26th March 1603 James VI of Scotland became James I of England, this is refered to as the Union of the Crowns. Effectively from 1603 Scotland had an absentee monarch and for this reason many historians date Scotland's monarchy to 1603 with James VI being the last king of Scotland.
Below is a list of the Kings of Scotland in date order.
The Kings Of Scotland:
| Monarch/House | Reign |
| House of Alpin | |
| Kenneth I | c. 858–858 |
| Donald | 858–862 |
| Constantine | 862–877 |
| Áed | 877–878 |
| Eochaid | 878–889 |
| Giric | 878–889 |
| Donald II | 889–890 |
| Constantine II | 900–943 |
| Malcolm I | 943–954 |
| Indulf | 954–962 |
| Dub | 962–967 |
| Culen | 967–971 |
| Kenneth II | 971–? |
| Amlaíb | 973–977 |
| Kenneth II | 997–1005 |
| Constantine III | 995–997 |
| Kenneth III | 997–1005 |
| Malcolm II | 1005–1034 |
| House of Dunkeld | |
| Duncan I | 1034–1040 |
| House of Moray | |
| MacBeth | 1040–1057 |
| Lulach | 1057–1058 |
| House of Dunkeld | |
| Malcolm III | 1058–1093 |
| Donald III | 1093–1094 |
| Duncan II | 1094 |
| Donald III | 1094–1097 |
| Edgar | 1097 - 1107 |
| Alexander I | 1107 - 1124 |
| David I | 1124 - 1153 |
| Malcolm IV | 1153 - 1165 |
| William I | 1165 - 1214 |
| Alexander II | 1214 - 1249 |
| Alexander III | 1249 - 1286 |
| House of Baliol | |
| John | 1292 - 1296 |
| House of Bruce | |
| Robert I the Bruce | 1371 - 1390 |
| David II | 1329 - 1371 |
| House of Baliol | |
| Edward Balliol | 1329 - 1363 |
| House of Stewart | |
| Robert II | 1371 - 1390 |
| Robert III | 1390 - 1406 |
| James I | 1406 - 1437 |
| James II | 1437 - 1460 |
| James III | 1460 - 1488 |
| James IV | 1488 - 1513 |
| James V | 1513 - 1542 |
| Mary I | 1542 - 1587 |
| James VI | 1587 - 1603 |
| Union of the Crowns | |
| James VI | 1603–1625 |
The longest reigning king of Scotland was William who reigned for 49 years. James VI's rule was longer but from 1603 he ruled as king of Scotland and England. The shortest reign as king of Scotland was that of King Duncan II who only reigned for 7 months.