In 1284, he joined with other Scottish noblemen who acknowledged Margaret, Maid of Norway, as the heir presumptive to King Alexander III.
After a year's confinement there he was set free on condition that he served King Edward I of England in Flanders.
John, Earl of Atholl, was hanged in London on 7 November 1306, on a gallows 30 feet higher than ordinary.
This was to signify his higher status than his fellow prisoners: no earl had been executed in England for 230 years.
[4] John married Marjory (also known as Margaret),[4] daughter of Domhnall I, Earl of Mar.