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Margaret was born in 1046, and was a direct descendant of King Alfred the Great of Wessex. In
1066, as some of the few remaining Saxon Royals in England, and fearing for their lives,
Margaret’s family fled northwards. They were heading to Continental Europe when their ship was
blown off course and landed in Fife.
The Scottish King, Malcolm III, offered his protection to the royal family. Margaret initially
refused Malcolm’s proposals of marriage, preferring a life of piety. However, after his persistence,
the couple married in 1069.
Queen Margaret was renowned for her good influence on her husband, and also for her devout piety
and religious observance. Margaret founded churches, monasteries and pilgrimage hostels. Malcolm
and Margaret had eight children, and Margaret was known for caring for the poor and orphans.
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In 1093, as she lay on her deathbed after a long illness, she was told that her husband and eldest
son had been killed at the Battle of Alnwick. She died shortly after at age forty-seven.
She was buried in Dunfermline Abbey, and the reported miracles that took place around her tomb
supported her canonization in 1250 by Pope Innocent IV.
The feast of St. Margaret is celebrated each year on the anniversary of her death, November 16th.
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