Margaret was born c.1282, the daughter of King Eric II of Norway and his wife, Princess Margaret of Scotland who died in 1283. On the death of King Alexander III, after a delay - his queen Yolande thought she was pregnant but this proved not the case - Margaret became Queen of Scotland in late 1286.
Since Margaret was an infant, guardians had to be appointed to rule Scotland. Edward I of England, Margaret's great-uncle, became involved to settle these affairs concluding in the 1290 Treaty of Birgham guaranteeing Scottish independence but betrothing Margaret to Edward's son (later to become Edward II).
So in that same year Margaret left Norway and set sail for Scotland. Unfortunately on the voyage she fell ill and died in the Orkneys, at this time still a Norwegian Jarldom.
This left Scotland in a crisis. Edward I began insisting that any new king had to recognise him as his feudal superior. 'Competitors' vyed for the vacant throne. The two main families with the strongest claims - descendents of daughters of King David I - the Bruces and the Balliols, were at odds. To resolve the turmoil, the guardians allowed Edward I choose the next king from the competitors. This was to prove a grave mistake for it undermined Scottish independence and strengthened Edward I's influence in Scotland. Indeed, Edward demanded that the Scots prove that he was not the overlord of the Scots. Bishop Wishart of Glasgow protested that the Scots should not prove a negative when every law and right asserted their constitutional independence. He told Edward of the foretelling of Merlin:- that the Scots and Welsh would rise as one against the 'Covetous King' to regain their rightful territories. Edward, however, had already subjugated Wales and must have thought that after a similar campaign Scotland would follow suit.
This was only the start of the troubles to beset the newly-picked King of Scotland, John Balliol, on his coronation in 1292.