Dimensions
156 x 235 x 22mm
A complete history of the Scottish rulers, from the heads of its early constituent states and the first King of Scots Kenneth MacAlpin, to Queen Anne and the union with England.
Interest in Scottish kings and queens currently piqued by discussions over Scottish independence and the approaching 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn The kingdom of Scots was the last of the non-Anglo-Saxon states of Britain to survive as a political entity.
Alone of the Celtic nations, it was not absorbed into England by conquest. James VI of Scotland came to the throne of England in 1603, and when union with England finally came in 1707 during the reign of Queen Anne, it was technically on equal terms. This success owed much to the abilities and tenacity of a succession of rulers, from the time that the multiplicity of states was merged into one kingdom.
The story of the rulers of Scotland and it's constituent states and then of the united kingdom of Scots from Kenneth MacAlpin onwards is complex and often violent. It is full of rapid reversals of fortune, brilliant and incompetent leadership, family strife, and triumph and tragedy closely intertwined. The obscure earlier history is often as fascinating as the better-known stories of the Bruce and Queen Mary though less familiar. This saga of a thousand years bears tribute to the qualities of Scotland's rulers.
