Window in St

Margaret’s Chapel

Edinburgh Castle

Margaret was born in Hungary, the daughter of an exiled prince. When her father returned to England she was brought up in the court of King Edward the Confessor.

There she met Malcolm who had escaped from Macbeth in Scotland.

However, following the Battle of Hastings in 1066, Margaret had to escape, trying to return to Hungary but ending up in Scotland as the result of a storm.

There she again met King Malcolm of Scotland and married him, living in the royal palace at Dunfermline (less than 20 miles from Glenrothes).

Margaret was a woman of great faith in God.

She did much to encourage others to grow in faith, for example, in setting up the ferry from South Queensferry to North Queensferry so that pilgrims could travel from Edinburgh to St. Andrews.

She had Sunday set aside as a day of rest in the kingdom, and brought reforms to the church, bringing the Celtic church into the control of Rome.

She did much to civilise the royal court.

She cared for the sick, the poor and the orphans around the palace, often bringing them into the palace for comfort.

Margaret is buried in the churchyard of Dunfermline Abbey. Nearby is St. Margaret's cave which she used for solitary prayer.