John Balliol crowned King of Scots

1292

After a legal arbitration known as the Great Cause, Edward I selected John Balliol as king of Scotland from a crowded field of claimants. Balliol was enthroned at Scone on a stone his English overlord would soon confiscate. His reign would not last four years. Edward's manipulation of the succession process revealed his true intention: not to settle Scottish affairs fairly but to establish English suzerainty over Scotland.