Robert V de Brus (Robert de Brus), 5th Lord of Annandale (ca. 1215 – 31 March or 3 May 1295), was a feudal lord, justice and constable of Scotland and England, a regent of Scotland, and a competitor for the Scottish throne in 1290/92 in the Great Cause. He is commonly known as "Robert the Competitor". His grandson Robert the Bruce eventually became King of Scots.
Life
Early life
Robert was son of Robert Bruce, 4th Lord of Annandale and Isobel of Huntingdon. Widely known as Robert the Noble, he was also grandson of David of Scotland, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, and Matilda de Kevilloc of Chester, great-grandson of Henry of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon and Northumberland, and Ada de Warenne, and great-great-grandson of King David I of Scotland and Maud, Countess of Huntingdon.
In addition to Annandale, Robert was Lord of Hartlepool (otherwise known as Hartness) in county Durham, and Writtle and Hatfield Broadoak in Essex, England. His first wife brought to him the village of Ripe, in Sussex, and his second wife the Lordship of Ireby in Cumberland.
His possessions were increased following the defeat of Simon de Montfort at the Battle of Evesham (1265), via a series of grants that included the estates of former rebel barons. Henry III also re-appointed Robert a Justice, and Constable of Carlisle Castle and keeper of the Castle there in 1267, a position he had been dismissed from in 1255. Robert sought a pardon from Alexander and probably joined the princes Edward and Edmund on their crusade, as Robert if not Richard possibly failed to attend, or returned early, as the younger Robert is recorded as receiving a quitclaim in Writtle, Essex, in October 1271.
In 1271–72, Robert obtained the hand of Marjorie of Carrick, the young widowed heiress of Niall of Carrick, 2nd Earl of Carrick for his son, also called Robert de Brus. Around this time, his first wife Isabella de Clare of Gloucester and Hertford died. The last recording of her is that she received a gift of deer from King Henry in Essex in 1271.
On 3 May 1273, Robert married Christina de Ireby, the widow of Adam Jesmond, the Sheriff of Northumberland. This marriage added estates in Cumberland and dower land from her previous husband to the Brus holdings. Following the marriage, Robert appears to have restricted himself to the management of the family's northern possessions, leaving the southern to his sons.
Robert Bruce was Regent of Scotland some time during minority of his second cousin King Alexander III of Scotland (1241–1286) and was occasionally recognised as a tanist of the Scottish throne. He was the closest surviving male relative to the king: Margaret of Huntingdon's descendants were all females up until birth of Hugh Balliol sometime in the 1260s. When Alexander yet was childless, he was officially named as heir presumptive, but never gained the throne as Alexander managed to beget three children.
The succession in the main line of the House of Dunkeld became highly precarious when towards the end of Alexander's reign, all three of his children died within a few years. The middle-aged Alexander III induced in 1284 the Estates to recognise as his heir-presumptive his granddaughter Margaret, called the "Maid of Norway", his only surviving descendant.
The need for a male heir led Alexander to contract a second marriage to Yolande de Dreux on 1 November 1285. All this was eventually in vain. Alexander died suddenly, in a fall from his horse, when only 45 years old, in 1286.
His death ushered in a time of political upheaval for Scotland. His three-year-old granddaughter Margaret, who lived in Norway, was recognised as his successor. However, the then-seven-year-old heiress Margaret died, travelling towards her kingdom, on the Orkney islands around 26 September 1290. With her death, the main royal line came to an end and thirteen claimants asserted their rights to the Scottish throne.
The Great Cause
After this extinction of the senior line of the Scottish royal house (the line of William I of Scotland) David of Huntingdon's descendants were the primary candidates for the throne. The two most notable claimants to the throne, John Balliol and Robert himself represented descent through David's daughters Margaret and Isobel, respectively.