The Crown of an Illustrious Pedigree

A Working Class Family

Our family is simple and unpretentious, good citizens each possessing their own unique talents, eccentricities, and failings. Perhaps our most uncommon trait is the love that characterizes the relationship between us 8 siblings and our 15 children. With few exceptions our get-togethers are harmonious and often even boisterous. Our late mother Ann Grayson Guevara‘s stock is primarily English and Scottish, though now disconnected from its European roots for centuries. We are and have been working class since the early 1800s.

A Remarkable Document

I recently ran across a document titled, “Royal Ancestry of Andrew Monroe of Virginia,” and it lists Monroe antecedents dating to the 8th Century A.D.¹ Andrew Monroe was born about 1625 in the Scottish Highlands where, according to the document, his direct forebears included MacKenzies, Campbells, and Stewarts. Some genealogical sources assert Andrew was captured by Oliver Cromwell‘s forces at the Battle of Preston in 1648, and subsequently exiled to the Americas. Others state he was already in the colonies by the early 1640s. He died in 1668 in Westmoreland County, Virginia. Interestingly, Andrew is the 7th great-grandfather (GGF) of actress Marilyn Monroe (who took her mother’s maiden name as her stage name), in addition to being 2nd GGF of President James Monroe – the latter fact noted in the document.

Andrew Monroe’s Royal Ancestry

Here is a brief overview of some of the eminent names on Andrew Monroe’s noble pedigree.

• Robert Munro, 1588 – Andrew’s GGF Robert “Mor” Munro was 15th Baron Foulis, 18th Chief of the Clan Munro. and a close companion of Mary, Queen of Scots. His father (Andrew’s 2nd GGF) Robert Monroe, 1547, the 14th Baron Foulis, was killed in the battle of Pinkie Cleugh.
• Catherine Mackenzie – Andrew’s 3rd GGM, youngest daughter of 4th GGF Sir Kenneth Mackenzie, 1507, 7th of Kintail and Chief of Clan Mackenzie.
• Colin Campbell, Earl of Argyll, 1493 – 5th GGF. A diplomat and friend of King James III of Scotland, became Lord Lorne upon his marriage to 5th GGM Isabel Stewart of Lorn[e]. Note: Some historians dispute the union of their daughter (4th GGM) Agnes Campbell to Alex Mackenzie, 1488.
• Robert II, King of Scotland, 1390 – 9th GGF. First king in the Stewart (later spelled Stuart) dynasty. Robert’s ancestors served as “High Stewards” to the King starting in the 12th century, and his descendants reigned in Scotland (and then the United Kingdom) from 1371 until 1714.
• Robert I Bruce, King of Scotland, 1329 – 11th GGF. One of the greatest heroes of Scotland, Robert the Bruce united the country in becoming fully independent from England for the first time in nearly 300 years. Robert stabbed a rival for the throne before the altar at a Franciscan Church, was excommunicated, repented, was absolved, was crowned in 1306, then led troops in battle against King Edward II of England until 1318. Independence was granted shortly afterward.
• David I, 1153 – 15th GGF. A pious and wise king, the youngest son of 16th GGF Malcolm III, King of Scotland, 1093. David oversaw the building or rebuilding of numerous towns, castles, and monasteries, issued the first Scottish coinage, and encouraged settlement in Scotland by noble Anglo-Norman families, making Scotland more English than Celtic/Nordic. Considered by many to be the greatest Scottish King.
• Edmund Ironsides, 1017 – 18th GGF. King of England, reigned less than a year. Given the nickname for his (ultimately unsuccessful) resistance of the Danish invasion by Cnut the Great.
• Edward Outlaw, 1057 – 17th GGF. Edmund Ironside’s infant son, exiled and slated for murder but survived, mostly under the protection of the King of Hungary. Was heir presumptive to the throne of England when he died. Edward had two daughters and one son, Edgar Aetheling, elected king in 1066 but after a political battle submitted the crown to:
• William the Conqueror, 1087 – 18th GGF. Led the Norman conquest of England during the reign of the childless Edward the Confessor (who had succeeded his half-brother Harthacnut, the son of Cnut the Great). William was crowned the first Norman monarch of England in 1066. As noted in the document, his descendants married into the Scottish Bruce/Stuart dynasty.
• Alfred the Great, 901 – 23rd GGF. King of Wessex, King of the Saxons. Warrior leader against raids by the Vikings into England.
• Charlemagne – 28th GGF. The first Holy Roman Emperor, unified the kingdoms of Western Europe under the banner of Christianity. Crowned in Old St. Peter’s Basilica by Pope Leo III. 27th GGF Louis I, 840 (the Pious) and 26th GGF Charles II, 877 (the Bald) also reigned as Holy Roman Emperors.

Family Connection

Andrew’s is a remarkable heritage, and hard to relate to. Yet as children we were told that through our grandfather Leon Harman Grayson we were related to President James Monroe. And there, the 4th generation from the bottom, is Leon’s 3rd GGF Spence Grayson, 1798, Patriot, Anglican minister, and favorite of George Washington. Thus Andrew Monroe of Virginia, 1668 is Leon’s 6th GGF, and our 8th GGF. Andrew Monroe’s pedigree is OUR pedigree. Wow.

A Startling Final Realization

I shared the document with my siblings, and we were stunned by this unimaginable heritage. Campbells, Stewarts, and Mackenzies; Clan leaders; Lords and Ladies; Barons and Earls; Warriors, Conquerors, and Nation Builders; Kings of Scotland and Kings of England; Three Holy Roman Emperors. Some of the entries are not given titles, possibly so that the chart would not be overly cluttered. Eight of the women in the genealogy have only their Christian name and the = sign connecting them to their apparently more significant husbands. One of these modest entries is Margaret, the wife of Malcolm III, King of Scotland, 1093. Only later, after reading about Malcolm, did I realize just who Margaret is.

Margaret of Scotland

She was called Margaret, and in the sight of God she showed herself to be a pearl, precious in faith and works.

Bishop Turgot, Life of St. Margaret, Queen of Scotland §4

Upon the death of Edward Outlaw, King Malcolm III (Canmore) of Scotland gave sanctuary to Edward’s three children: Edgar, the presumptive heir to the English crown, and his two sisters, Margaret and Christina. Malcolm was a widower. He fell in love with Margaret, who had intended to take religious vows. She was convinced to marry Malcolm, and together they had eight children, all of whom lived into adulthood. She loved and carefully instructed and disciplined her children. Her biographer and friend Bishop Turgot wrote that Margaret’s children “were always affectionate and peaceable among themselves, and everywhere the younger paid due respect to the elder.” (§11)² Three of her sons became Kings of Scotland, and one daughter the Queen consort of England. In fact, a footnote in her biography reads,

“It is owning in great measure to this virtuous education that Scotland was governed for the space of 200 years, by seven excellent kings, that is, by her three sons, Edgar, Alexander, David, by David’s two grandsons, Malcolm IV and William, and William’s son and grandson, Alexander II and III; during which space the nation enjoyed greater happiness than perhaps it ever did before or after.” (pg 35)

Margaret was renowned for her piety, generosity, austerity, and wise counsel. She lived such a life of virtue that Bishop Turgot opened his narrative with the following assertion:

[F]ar be it from my grey hairs to mingle falsehood with the virtues of such a woman as she was, in unfolding which I profess – as God is my Witness and my Judge – that I add nothing to the truth. On the contrary, I suppress many things, fearing that they might appear incredible, and I might be charged (as the orator says) with decking out the crow in the plumage of the swan.

Bishop Turgot, Life of St. Margaret §3

The Crown of an Illustrious Pedigree

This Margaret, one of the handful of modest entries in the document, is not a common crow, nor even a rare and beautiful swan.

She is Margaret of Wessex, wife, daughter, and granddaughter of kings.

She is Queen Margaret, “The Pearl of Scotland,” mother and grandmother to kings and queens, barons and earls, ladies and lords.

She is Saint Margaret, patron of Scotland and beloved daughter of the King of kings and LORD of Lords.

After listing Margaret’s royal forbears Bishop Turgot wrote,

“Margaret, by the splendor of her merits, completes the glory of this illustrious pedigree.” (§6)

She also crowns that of Andrew Monroe of Virginia and his descendants.

Her feast day is November 16.

Saint Margaret of Scotland, pray for us.

¹ “Royal Ancestry of Andrew Monroe of Virginia” from Colonial Families of the United States of America: in Which is Given the History, Genealogy and Armorial Bearings of Colonial Families Who Settled in the American Colonies From the Time of the Settlement of Jamestown, 13th May, 1607, to the Battle of Lexington, 19th April, 1775, Volume 7, page 347. (1912. Reprinted, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1966, 1995.)

²Like our family! Second part of the quote subtly included by the eldest brother.

Quotes from Life of St. Margaret, Queen of Scotland by Turgot, Bishop of St. Andrews (ca. 1110). Translated from the Latin by William Forbes-Leith, S.J. (Edinburgh, 1884)