Subject: The Saxon Line in tree form (with an OOPS)
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Posted on: 2019-12-03 14:45:23 UTC

Here is the complete line of descent from Alfred the Great down to the present day, by male-preference primogeniture. If the Norman Conquest had never happened, this would be the true line of kings and queens. (Maybe. I mean, the Saxons had a lot of brothers taking precedence over their nephews, so frankly probably not; just roll with it.)

You may notice that it does not, contrary to my previous assertion, come down to James VI & I. It does pass to the Scottish royal house, but later winds up in America, with a family that ranged from Virginia to South Carolina, then up to Tennessee. We actually only avoid by three years having a Confederate colonel as the title holder, which is all kinds of ick.

The reason for this break is simple(ish): during the Scottish Interregnums of 1286-1306, the Guardians of Scotland had to choose between prospective kings. The first time, they chose John Balliol, which was fine: he falls as #18 in our line, and was probably the legitimate heir. But he was deposed, and his son (Edward, #19) never took the throne, and died childless anyway.

After the Second Interregnum, Robert the Bruce took the throne. He was a descendent of David of Huntingdon, just as Balliol had been - but through a junior line. Robert's great-grandmother Isobel of Huntingdon was born in 1199; Balliol's grandmother Margaret of Huntingdon was born in 1194.

That wouldn't be a problem, except that Dervorguilla of Galloway, Margaret's daughter and John's mother, had quite a long list of children. Her male line appears to have died out[*], and the order of her daughters is a matter of some dispute, but the title seems to pass to Cecily, and thus after several generations to the Baronets Peyton.

[*] Or... maybe not. Wikipedia lists an additional son, 'William de Balliol, "Le Scott," who issued John LeScott'. The phrasing is so strange that I ignored him, but if he really existed, then his children take precedence over Cecily's line. SIGH... back to the old drawing board.

To make matters even worse... John Balliol may have had other children, including one Agnes, or Maud, or Anne, who married an ancestor of the Duke of Norfolk. So maybe he's the heir now.

It turns out tracing 1200 years of family tree isn't all that easy!

hS

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