Did William Wallace aspire to be King of Scotland?

Historians from the University of Glasgow have found evidence to show that, as far as the English were concerned, Scots patriot and hero William Wallace aspired to be King of Scotland. A newly discovered English source, which also marks the earliest record of Wallace's gruesome execution, confirms outright what historians had only suspected before: the reason that Edward I dealt so harshly with Wallace was that he viewed him as a pretender to the Scottish crown. Accounts of King Edward I's Exchequer for the financial year 1304?1305, known as the 'Pipe Roll', describe Wallace as, '..a robber, a public traitor, an outlaw, an enemy and rebel of the king, who in contempt of the king, throughout Scotland had falsely sought to call himself king of Scotland.' Researcher, John Reuben Davies made the discovery as part of an AHRC-funded study of cross-border society and Scottish Independence during the years 1216?1314 involving researchers from the Universities of Glasgow, Edinburgh, King's College London and Lancaster. John Reuben Davies explains: 'In the pipe roll for the financial year 1304'1305, there is an entry which has until now gone unnoticed: it is the account for expenses incurred in the execution of William Wallace and for taking his quartered body to Scotland. 'The financial account is also made up of a descriptive account of Wallace's crimes, the manner of his death, and the fate of his dismembered body.