Edward Balliol
Adapted from the [Wikipaedia] article
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Son of John Balliol, Edward (variously Balliol or de Baliol), like his father, consented to be England's puppet king on the throne of Scotland.
He was born circa. 1283, and began his career of usurpation in 1332, after the death of Robert the Bruce, and the succession of his infant son David II. Balliol, backed by Edward III of England, invaded from France (where he had been in exile) and defeated David's Regent, the Earl of Mar. He was crowned at Scone in September 1332 (although almost to a man the lay nobles of Scotland stayed away), but forced to flee in December, when Scots nobles loyal to David made a suprise attack.
The English restored Edward to his stolen throne in 1333, in time for him to cede the entire region of Lothian to the English crown, and to pay homage to Edward as his liege (thereby technically extinguishing the Scots crown, reducing the country to the status of an English shire). In 1334 he was deposed, restored in 1335, and finally disposed of in 1336 when David II returned from France, with the support of the French king, Philip, by then at war with Edward of England).
In 1346 he made a further attempt to seize the throne, but was repulsed, having gained next to no local support.
Finally, in 1356, recognising in him a broken reed, Edward of England paid Edward Balliol off, by giving him a pension, in return for surrendering his claim to the throne to the English king. At some point in the next decade Balliol died in French exile once more, unmarried, unheired, unloved and unmourned.
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