27 October 2022
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Dunfermline Abbey, the final resting place of Elizabeth de Burgh
Elizabeth de Burgh, queen consort of Scotland through her marriage to Robert the Bruce, died after a fall from a horse on 27 October 1327.
Elizabeth de Burgh was born c.1284 in Ireland, into a family with royal connections; her father Richard Og de Burgh was advisor and friend to Edward I of England and as such, she spent part of her childhood at the English court.
It was in England that Elizabeth is believed to have met Robert the Bruce. Although the pair were at different stages in life (Elizabeth was aged around 18 and Robert a widower with child, around ten years older) they were married at Writtle in Essex.
A political pawn
Much of Elizabeth's adult life was spent under house arrest in England as a prisoner of the English, following the defeat of the Scots at Methven in 1306.
Elizabeth and Robert had four children: Matilda, Margaret, David (later David II of Scots) and John.
Elizabeth died on 27 October 1327 after a fall from a horse at Cullen in Banffshire. She is buried at Dunfermline Abbey.
