King of Scots

Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Scotland before 1603
William Wallace.

This is a list of the Kings and Queens of Scotland. This list goes from 843 until when England and Scotland joined in 1707.

House of Alpin

Indulf, king of Scots (954-962)

The House of Alpin traditionally ends in 1034, although this list continues to 1058.

House of Dunkeld

Arms of Scotland: Or a lion rampant within a double tressure flory counterflory gules

The House of Dunkeld may have begun in 1034.

First Interregnum 1290–1292

Guardians of Scotland

  • William Fraser, Bishop of St Andrews
  • Duncan Macduff, 8th Earl of Fife
  • Alexander Comyn, 2nd Earl of Buchan
  • Robert Wishart, Bishop of Glasgow
  • James Stewart, 5th High Steward of Scotland
  • John Comyn

House of Balliol

John Balliol, king of Scots, installed by Edward I Longshanks (1292-1296)

Second Interregnum 1296–1306

Guardians of Scotland

House of Bruce

House of Balliol

  • Edward Balliol (1329 – 1363)
    Oliver Cromwell and possibly his son Richard, lord protector of England & Scotland from 1649 to 1658 and 1653-1658, executed King Charles I. His son followed for under a year from 1658 to 1659. (August-May). The monarchy was restored in 1660 with king Charles II.

House of Stewart (Stuart)

Disputed or unrecognized claims

Note: there have been other claims to the Scottish throne besides these

  • Margaret, the Maid of Norway was unrecognized by some Scots (ruled 1286-1290)
  • Henry Lord Darnley proclaimed himself king in 1565 as Henry I of Scotland (ruled 1565-1567)
  • Charles II claimed to rule even during Oliver & Richard Cromwell's reigns (ruled 1649-1685)
  • James VII was recognized by France to rule after his deposal (ruled 1685-1702)

Related pages

  • In 1707, England and Scotland joined. For Kings and Queens after 1707, see British monarchs. The same monarchs had ruled Scotland, England, and Ireland since James VI and the Union of the Crowns in 1603.