Malcolm IV, King of Scotland, Was Born

  • March 20, 1141

Malcolm IV (or Máel Coluim mac Eanric) (c. 1141 – December 9, 1165), King of Scots, was the eldest son of Henry of Scotland, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon (d. 1152) and Ada de Warenne, a daughter of William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey and Elizabeth de Vermandois. He succeeded his paternal grandfather David I of Scotland in 1153. Pious, frail, and chaste, he was known as Malcolm the Maiden, and died unmarried and childless in 1165.

After his fathers early death, Malcolm became the designated heir of his grandfather, King David. When he succeeded to the Scottish throne in 1153, Malcolm was crowned at Scone. In 1157 he met Henry II of England at Chester, where they ratified the Treaty of Chester, by which Malcolm relinquished his claims to Cumberland, Westmorland, Northumbria and Carlisle. He died in December 1165 at Jedburgh, and was succeeded by his more warlike brother, William.

Not much is known of him, but he appears to have been an ineffective monarch. Though not evident at the time, he was also the last Scottish monarch to have a Gaelic name.

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