Saint Margaret of Scotland

Who they were

Margaret was born in 1045 in Hungary, where her father Edward, heir of the English king Edmund II, lived in exile. The family returned to England, but after Edward's death and the Norman Conquest her mother took refuge with the children at the court of King Malcolm III of Scotland, who married Margaret in 1070.

Queen at 24, she bore eight children and was a devoted wife, drawing her husband into her prayer and counselling him in government. She opened the castle to the poor and sick and built hospices for them, and brought the Scottish Church into line with Rome: the Lenten fast, a common date for Easter, frequent confession, Sunday rest. She died at Edinburgh Castle on 16 November 1093, thanking God for the sorrows of her last days.

The miracles

She was canonised for the example of her life, her fidelity to the Church and her charity. The oldest church dedicated to her is St Margaret's Chapel in Edinburgh Castle.

Why that counted as sanctity

Margaret was a queen who served: wife, mother, reformer and friend of the poor, she made her court a place of prayer and charity.

Connected on this site

• David I of Scotland Saint Child
• Edmund of Scotland Saint Child
  “Margaret was the mother of three kings of Scotland, or four, if Edmund of Scotland (who ruled with his uncle, Donald III) is counted, and of Matilda of Scotland, queen consort of England.” — Wikipedia