Saint Margaret was born in exile around 1045, in what is now Hungary. She is the daughter of Princess Agatha of Hungary and Edward the Atheling the Anglo-Saxon heir to the throne of England. The family returned to England, but Edward died soon after their arrival, making Margaret’s brother Edgar the presumptive heir. However, the Norman Conquest would turn their world upside down. Agatha and her children fled the country. They likely intended to go back to Hungary, but they were shipwrecked off the coast of Scotland.

King Malcolm Canmore III took the exiles under his wing, and he fell in love with the beautiful and gracious Margaret. Although she initially rebuffed his proposals, the couple were married in 1070 at castle of Dunfermline. Margaret and Malcolm had eight children, six sons and two daughters. Margaret brought culture to the Scottish court and used her influence to soften her rough husband. The saint led a life of austerity, aiding Church reform, promoting Easter communion, and founding churches and monasteries. She instituted the Queen’s Ferry to the shrine of St. Andrew and founded pilgrimage hostels.

Saint Margaret, Queen of Scotland, died on November 16,1093, four days after her husband and eldest son were killed in the battle of Alnwick. She was canonized by Pope Innocent IV in 1250 and named patron of Scotland in 1673.