Exile
Edward Balliol landed in Scotland in late July of 1323 and at the Battle of Dupplin Moor, on the 11th of August, he defeated the supporters of David II. Several of the King's guardians were killed in the battle including the Earl of Mar and king's uncle, Lord Robert Bruce. On September 24th, Edward Balliol was crowned at Scone as the King of Scotland and civil war broke out. The decision was made to protect the young king and Joan by sending them to France. In May of 1334, David and Joan arrived at Boulogne and then went on to the safely of the French court. It would be seven years before they would return to Scotland.Return from exile and capture
While David was in exile, the Scots had been continuing the fight against the English. In 1337 King Edward III of England began his campaigns against the French and weakened his position in Scotland. In northern Scotland the guardians of the Scottish king started to make progress and took Edinburgh Castle. The time was right for David and Joan to return from exile. They landed back in Scotland in May of 1341. While Edward was attacking the French, David took the opportunity to invade the north of England. But things did not go well for the Scots as, at the Batlle to Neville's Cross, they were defeated by a band of monks, priests and land workers commanded by William Zouche, the Archbishop of York and David was captured. The negotiations for David's release took time as King Edward demanded the Scots paid almost one hundred thousand marks. But finally eleven years later David returned to Scotland.Succession
Joan died in 1362 without giving David the son he needed to inherit the throne. In 1364 David married Margaret Logie, a beautiful young woman who had been married to the son of John Logie. John Logie had been executed for treason. The marriage failed to produce an heir and in 1369 a divorce was granted. As part of the conditions to free David from captivity, King Edward had wanted the agreement that if David died without an heir, either Edward himself or one of his sons would become the King of Scotland. This agreement was not accepted by the Scots and in 1371 when David died, Robert the Steward, who had been acting as regent for many years of David's exile and captivity, became the next King of Scotland.
