King David II of Scotland
King David II of Scotland spent more time in prison or in exile from his throne than he did upon his throne. He took the throne of Scotland at the age of 5 after the death of his father, Robert I. He was crowned with his wife, Joan of the Tower, on November 24, 1331. There was strife within the Kingdom as there were conflicts over David’s regency and Edward Balliol was acting as a pretender to the Scottish throne.
In 1333, David and his wife were sent to France for their safety. He was treated very well by King Philip VI and was given a residence, Chateau Gaillard, where he remained until 1341. He regained his throne and began managing his government. In 1346, bound by the Auld Alliance, he invaded England on behalf of France. King David II did have some initial success at Hexham but it was short-lived.
At the Battle of Neville’s Cross in 1346, David was wounded and his army was defeated. He was taken prisoner and held at the Tower of London. When Edward III returned to France he was moved to Windsor Castle. While he was not treated poorly as an English prisoner he did remain in captivity for eleven years.
In 1357, the Scots’ regency council negotiated a treaty that agreed to a ransom of 100,000 marks for the return of King David II. The ransom was to be paid at a rate of 10,000 marks a year. However, in 1363 it was impossible for the Scots to raise the ransom and King David traveled to England in order to negotiate to leave Scotland to Edward III or one of his sons in order to forgive the ransom. David did this knowing that the Scottish Parliament would never agree to it. He strung out the negotiations with Edward and eventually appeased the matter. When King David II died in 1371, Scotland was strong and more prosperous than anyone could have expected.