Queen Elizabeth II and Scotland: How the ‘Queen of England’ had Scots ancestry and “affection”

The late Queen Elizabeth II had a relationship to Scotland bound not only by royal duty, but also ancestry and “affection”.

The Queen peacefully died at her beloved Balmoral Castle on 8 September in 2022, meaning she spent her final days in Scotland. According to Operation Unicorn, her body since lay at rest in Edinburgh at St Giles’ Cathedral on the Royal Mile before being moved to London.

This historical outcome is fitting not only due to the location of Her Majesty’s death but also her relationship with the Scots that spans both her heritage and personal life.

According to the historian Robert Stedall, the Queen is related to Mary Queen of Scots via Henry VII's sister Queen Margaret of Scotland.

Does Queen Elizabeth II have Scottish ancestry?

Queen Elizabeth II’s mother, who died aged 101 in 2002, was of Scottish ancestry as she was a member of the Bowes-Lyon family.

The Royal Family website says: “The Bowes-Lyon family is descended from the Royal House of Scotland.”

Furthermore, according to National Records of Scotland, the Queen’s parents shared Robert II King of Scots as a common ancestor: “Through her father King George VI she was directly descended from James VI of Scotland.

“Through her mother’s family, the Bowes-Lyons, Earls of Strathmore, she could trace her ancestry back through generations of Scottish nobility to Sir John Lyon, Thane of Glamis, who married Robert II’s daughter in the fourteenth century.”

Historian Robert Stedall also explained that Queen Elizabeth II is a ‘direct descendant’ of Queen Margaret of Scotland who was the grandmother of Mary Queen of Scots.

Queen Elizabeth II during an inspection of the Balaklava Company, 5 Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland at the gates at Balmoral, as she takes up summer residence at the castle.

Was Queen Elizabeth II fond of Scotland?

The Royal Family website says that the Queen was always “open about her affection for Scotland throughout her reign”.

The country witnessed history in the making as her Majesty visited for her Silver, Gold and Diamond Jubilees.

During a visit to Perth in 2021, the Queen said: “Scotland has played such a very special part in our lives, and that of my family, over the years and we have greatly enjoyed our frequent visits.”