Queen of Scotland from 1390 - 1401, she is praised for her management of state affairs during the latter end of Robert III's reign,[3] and gave birth to future King James I of Scotland in 1394.
Life
Early life
She was the daughter of Sir John Drummond of Stobhall, near Perth, 11th Thane of Lennox and Chief of ClanDrummond (b. 1318, d. 1373), Baillie of Abthany of Dull, who in February 1367 had a charter of his wife's lands,[4] and wife Mary de Montifex or Montfichet (b. 1325), eldest daughter and co-heiress of Sir William de Montifex or Montfichet of Auchterarder, of Stobhall and of Cargill, Justiciar of Scotland before 1328,[5][6][7][8] and paternal granddaughter of Sir Malcolm Drummond, 10th Thane of Lennox, Chief of Clan Drummond (b. aft. 1295 – d. 17 October 1346 at the Battle of Neville's Cross, Durham, England),[9] in turn son of Sir Malcolm Drummond, 9th Thane of Lennox, Chief of Clan Drummond (b. after 1270, d. 1325), who fought in the Battle of Dunbar in 1296, where he was captured by the English, and in 1301 was again captured by the English, by his wife ... de Graham, daughter of Sir Patrick de Graham of Kincardine.[2][10][11][12] It has been erroneously postulated that her father was the same John Drummond that was a brother to Margaret Drummond, Queen of Scotland, but as this does not align with any historical dates, the latter John was probably a close ancestor.[citation needed]
Anabella and her husband the King, depicted on the 1562 Forman Armorial.
She married John Stewart (the future Robert III of Scotland) before 31 May 1367, after they obtained a papal dispensation allowing their marriage on 13 March 1366.[2]
Soon, she was enveloped in a power struggle with her husband's brother, Robert Stewart. Since Anabella and John did have two daughters, but no sons for several years, he was a supporter of a law that would bar women from inheriting the throne. Anabella gave birth to a son and heir, David Stewart, later duke of Rothesay, on 24 October 1378.[13]
Queen
Arms of Anabella as queen consort of Scotland.
Anabella was crowned with Robert at Scone Palace when he came to the throne in 1390, succeeding Annabella's father-in-law who had become king as Robert II. A parliament at Scone assigned Annabella an annuity of 2500 merks from the great customs of several Scottish burghs to support her royal household, in 1891.[2] She continued bearing children until she was past forty and had her last child, the future James I of Scotland, in 1394.[3]
King Robert, an invalid since 1384 as a result of a riding accident, grew increasingly despondent and incompetent throughout his reign and was not capable of governing. During this time he is said to have said to her that he should be buried in a dung heap with the epitaph "Here lies the worst of kings and the most miserable of men".[14]
Because the king was not able to rule, Anabella was prompted to manage state affairs as de facto ruler. The chronicles of Scotland generally praise queen Anabella and her conduct as queen. Protecting the interests of her oldest son, David, she arranged a great tournament in 1398 in Edinburgh, where her oldest son was knighted.[3] In April of that year she also called a council where he was created Duke of Rothesay and Lieutenant of the Realm in the same year.[14] Shortly after his mother's death he would be imprisoned by his uncle Robert, Duke of Albany, and died in mysterious circumstances at his castle of Falkland.[13] David was described as debauched, self-indulgent and erratic, and the Duke of Albany did not have to fight hard to control him.
The Fife burgh of Inverkeithing was a favourite residence of the queen. Her presence is still recalled in the sandstone font, decorated with angels and heraldry, which she presented to the parish church of the town, one of Scotland's finest surviving pieces of late medieval sculpture.
Anabella died in Scone Palace in October 1401, and was buried at her birthplace of Dunfermline. With the loss of her protection, her eldest son David would become the prey of his uncle, Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, dying shortly after.[14]
^Alison Weir, Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy (London, U.K.: The Bodley Head, 1999), p. 227
^Douglas, Sir Robert, Bt., The Baronage of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1798, p. 571
^G. E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H. A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume I, p. 155
^Sir James Balfour Paul, The Scots Peerage: founded on Wood's edition of Sir Robert Douglas's The Peerage of Scotland (Edinburgh, Scotland: David Douglas, 1904), volume VII, page 30
^Alison Weir, Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy (London, U.K.: The Bodley Head, 1999), page 211.
