Son of Robert II he was timid, retiring and badly injured following a kick from a horse. He took the name Robert because his name John was considered a bad omen after the hated John Balliol
He told is Queen that he was ‘the worst of kings and most miserable of men’. The reign was beset by problems including rivalry between the Highlanders, his brothers and the lords of the isles. His brother Robert Duke of Albany may have been responsible for the death of Robert III’s son David.
In 1402 the forces Henry IV of England invaded the lowlands and following two defeats of the Scots briefly occupied Edinburgh. Robert sent his 10 year old 2nd son James to France in 1406 for safety but he was captured at sea during the journey and taken prisoner by the English. The news of his son’s capture was said to have hastened the death of Robert who died shortly afterwards.
(Royal family history web site, online at: http://www.britroyals.com/scots.asp?id=robert3; accessed Jan. 28, 2012)