Gruoch facts for kids

Gruoch ingen Boite was a Scottish queen who lived around the 11th century. She is best known as the wife of King Macbeth. Her exact birth and death dates are not fully known, but she was an important figure in Scottish history. She was the daughter of Boite mac Cináeda, whose father was King Cináed II.

The Life of Queen Gruoch

Gruoch was likely born around 1015 or earlier. Her father was Boite mac Cináeda, but her mother's name is not known.

First Marriage and Family

Before 1032, Gruoch married Gille Coemgáin, who was a powerful leader called the Mormaer of Moray. A mormaer was a ruler of a large area in early medieval Scotland, similar to an earl. Gruoch and Gille Coemgáin had at least one son together, named Lulach. Lulach later became a king of Scots.

In 1032, Gille Coemgáin died in a terrible fire, along with 50 of his men.

Marriage to Macbeth

After Gille Coemgáin's death, Gruoch married his cousin, Macbeth. Macbeth became the new Mormaer of Moray. It's not clear if Macbeth married Gruoch to help her as a relative's widow, or if he took her as a conqueror. The next year, one of Gruoch's male relatives, probably her only brother, was killed by Malcolm II, who was the King of Alba at the time.

Becoming Queen

In 1040, Macbeth killed King Duncan I and became the new King of Alba. This meant Gruoch became his queen. Records from that time show them as "Machbet filius Finlach…et Gruoch filia Bodhe, rex et regina Scottorum," which means "Macbeth son of Findlaích…and Gruoch daughter of Boite, king and queen of Scots."

Gruoch and Macbeth did not have any children together. However, Macbeth accepted Gruoch's son, Lulach, as his heir. Sometimes people mistakenly think Lulach was Macbeth's son, but he was actually Macbeth's stepson.

King Macbeth died on August 15, 1057. After his death, Lulach became the King of Scots. It is not known what happened to Gruoch after Macbeth's death, or if she even survived him. Her exact death date is unknown.

Gruoch's name appears with her father, Boite, and with Macbeth in old documents. These documents show them giving gifts to the Culdee monastery at Loch Leven.

Gruoch in Stories and Plays

Gruoch has inspired many characters in books and plays over the years.

• She is the real-life person who inspired the famous character Lady Macbeth in William Shakespeare's play Macbeth.
• In Gordon Bottomley's 1921 play Gruach, Macbeth sees her sleepwalking and falls in love with her.
• She appears as Groa in Dorothy Dunnett's 1982 novel King Hereafter, which was a bestseller.
• Gruoch is also a main character in Nigel Tranter's book MacBeth the King, where she is shown as Macbeth's co-ruler.
• She appears in the 1990s TV show Gargoyles in flashbacks about Macbeth. This version is more like the historical Gruoch than Lady Macbeth.
• Susan Fraser King wrote a historical novel called Lady Macbeth (1982) about Gruoch, spelling her name Gruadh. King tried to make the book as historically accurate as possible.
• Gruoch also appears as Macbeth's wife and Lulach's mother in Jackie French's children's novel Macbeth and Son, published in 2006.
• Gloria Carreño's 2009 play A Season Before the Tragedy of Macbeth explores events leading up to Shakespeare's play, focusing on Gruach Macduff.
• In David Greig's 2010 play Dunsinane, she is called Gruach and lives longer than Macbeth.