Alexander II 1198-1249
King of Scotland

Born in Haddington, East Lothian, the son of William I, he succeeded to the throne in 1214. By 1215 he was demonstrating an independent approach towards England, allying himself with the disaffected English barons. The accession of Henry III of England eased relations, which his marriage (1221) to Henry's sister, Princess Joan cemented, leading to the settlement of the frontier question by the Treaty of York (1237). Relations with England were weakened when he married a French noblewoman and had a son (the future Alexander III) after Joan's death (1238). He vigorously asserted royal authority in the western Highlands and the south-west, and died while attempting to extend his rule, at the expense of Norway, to the Western Isles.