On 25 March 1306, in the ancient crowning-place of Scone, Robert the Bruce was made King of Scots. It should have been a moment of triumph. Instead it was an act of breathtaking defiance – carried out by an excommunicated man, weeks after a murder in a church, with the most powerful king in Europe sworn to destroy him.
Within months Bruce would be a hunted fugitive. Within eight years he would win Scotland's freedom at Bannockburn. It all began with this desperate, defiant coronation. Here is the story.
Key facts: the coronation of Robert the Bruce
- Date: 25 March 1306
- Place: Scone Abbey, near Perth – the traditional crowning-place of Scottish kings
- Trigger: The killing of John ‘the Red’ Comyn at Greyfriars Kirk, Dumfries, on 10 February 1306
- The crowning: Performed in the absence of the Stone of Destiny, which Edward I had carried off to England
- A second ceremony: Isabella MacDuff, Countess of Buchan, arrived to enthrone Bruce, asserting her family's ancient right
- Consequence: Bruce was excommunicated and declared an outlaw by Edward I of England
Find your family in the story. Many of the names that shaped Scotland's fight for freedom are still carried today. Type your clan or family name into the search bar at the top of this page to discover your crest, tartan and heritage gifts.
The murder that changed everything
Bruce's road to the throne ran through bloodshed. On 10 February 1306 he met his great rival for the crown, John ‘the Red’ Comyn, before the high altar of Greyfriars Kirk in Dumfries. The meeting ended in violence: Bruce struck Comyn down, and his companions finished the killing. To murder a rival was dangerous enough; to do it in a church was sacrilege, and it brought down the swift sentence of excommunication.
The Comyns were one of the most powerful families in Scotland, and the deed made them Bruce's mortal enemies. You can read more about that great rival kindred in our history of the Comyns and Clan Cumming. With the act done, Bruce had no way back. He raced to make himself king before his enemies could destroy him.
A coronation against the odds
Just six weeks later, Bruce was crowned at Scone. The ceremony was steeped in difficulty. The Stone of Destiny, on which Scottish kings had traditionally been enthroned, had been seized by Edward I a decade earlier. Bruce stood excommunicate, his act of sacrilege fresh. And he was crowning himself in open rebellion against the English king who claimed overlordship of Scotland.
The right of the MacDuffs
By ancient tradition, it was the privilege of the Earl of Fife – head of the MacDuff kindred – to place the crown on a new king's head. The earl himself was in English hands, but his sister, Isabella MacDuff, Countess of Buchan, made a dramatic dash to Scone to claim the family's right. She arrived just after the first ceremony, and a second crowning was held so that the MacDuff tradition could be honoured. Her courage came at a terrible price: captured by the English, she was later imprisoned in a cage hung from the walls of Berwick Castle.
The dark year that followed
The defiance of Scone was quickly punished. Bruce's small force was routed at the Battle of Methven in June 1306, and again at Dalrigh by the MacDougalls of Lorn, allies of the murdered Comyn. His wife and daughters were captured, three of his brothers were executed, and Bruce himself vanished into the heather as a fugitive, hiding in the Highlands and islands through the winter of 1306–07. It is to this lowest ebb that legend attaches the famous tale of Bruce and the spider, refusing to give up however many times it failed.
From fugitive to victor
What followed was one of history's great comebacks. In 1307 Bruce returned to the mainland and won a crucial victory at the Battle of Loudoun Hill. The death of Edward I that same year removed his most formidable enemy. Bruce then turned on his domestic foes, crushing the Comyns and their allies at the Battle of Inverurie in 1308. Step by step he took back the kingdom – until, in 1314, he shattered an English army at the Battle of Bannockburn and made Scotland's independence a reality on the field.
The argument for that independence would be set down in writing six years later, in the Declaration of Arbroath, which named Bruce as the king who had won back his people's freedom.
The legacy of Robert the Bruce
Robert the Bruce is remembered as the king who saved Scotland – a hero who rose from excommunicate fugitive to liberator. His descendants and the name he made famous endure to this day in Clan Bruce, whose motto Fuimus – ‘we have been’ – speaks of a proud and ancient past. For those who carry the name, few ancestors loom larger.
Frequently asked questions
When was Robert the Bruce crowned?
He was crowned King of Scots on 25 March 1306 at Scone, with a second ceremony days later led by Isabella MacDuff, Countess of Buchan.
Why was Robert the Bruce excommunicated?
He was excommunicated for sacrilege after killing his rival John Comyn before the altar of Greyfriars Kirk in Dumfries in February 1306.
What happened to Robert the Bruce after his coronation?
He was defeated at Methven and Dalrigh, became a fugitive, and lost family members to execution and capture, before returning in 1307 to win a series of victories culminating at Bannockburn in 1314.
What is Robert the Bruce most famous for?
He is most famous for winning the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 and securing Scottish independence, recognised by England in 1328.
Carry your heritage with pride. From the House of Bruce to the clans who rose with him, your name has a story. Type your clan or family name into the search bar at the top of this page to find your crest, tartan and the perfect heritage gift.
