Margaret was the queen of Scotland and the mother of eight. She was born in Hungary in 1045 to royalty. Her father was Edward Atheling, heir to the English throne, and her mother was Princess Agatha of Hungary. Her family returned to England when she was 10 years old but the Norman Conquest forced them into exile. By this time, her father had died, and her mother fled with her children. They boarded a ship which crashed onto the coast of Scotland where her family remained.

Four years later, in 1070, at the age of 25, Margaret married the king of Scotland, Malcolm Canmore, and they had eight children. Her Christian virtue was an important influence on her husband’s reign. She was a model mother who worked for justice for the poor, improving their conditions, rebuilt churches, invited the Benedictines to Scotland and worked to build strong ties between the Celtic Church and Rome.

She died in 1093, just four days after her husband and one of her sons were killed in battle. She was canonized in 1251 and named patron of Scotland in 1673.

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