Robert Bruce is surely the greatest of all the great Scottish heroes, yet the movie Braveheart gave all the heroics to his compatriot William Wallace, making Bruce out to be nothing more than a self-serving opportunist. However, it was the patience and cunning of Bruce that Scotland needed, not the impetuousness of Wallace, especially when facing such formidable enemies as the English, first under Edward I and then under his son and heir Edward II.

Bruce bided his time; he first had to establish his authority as King of Scotland, and by the time of Bannockburn, he was ready. The programme will, first and foremost, investigate how Bruce managed to beat such colossal odds in his quest to become King of Scotland, a cause that he eventually won at enormous personal and national cost.

Bruce’s struggle for Scotland’s kingship witnessed some of the most definitive moments in Scottish history. What was the man who finally secured Scotland’s independence really like? King of Scots pieces together the personality of a remarkable man who lived over seven hundred years ago.