History's King James V

James V
Biographical Information
Title:	King James V of Scotland Prince of Scotland Great Steward of Scotland
Reign:	9 September 1513 – 14 December 1542
Predecessor:	James IV
Successor:	Mary Stuart
Born:	10 April 1512
Burial:	Holyrood Abbey, Edinburgh
Religion:	Roman Catholic
House:	House of Stuart
Relationship Information
TV Character Information
Portrays:	King James V

James V was the nephew of King Henry VIII of England. When Henry decided to leave the Catholic church to marry his 2nd wife, James refused to follow him. A choice that lead to The Battle of Solway Moss, and his own death. He is also the father of Mary Stuart, the future Queen of Scotland.

Childhood

James was born on 10 April 1512, at Linlithgow Palace, and christened the next day, receiving the titles Prince, and Great Steward of Scotland. He became king at seventeen months old when his father was killed at the Battle of Flodden Field on 9 September of 1513.

James was crowned in the Chapel Royal at Stirling Castle on 21 September 1513. During his childhood, the country was ruled by regents. In February 1517, James came from Stirling to Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh, but during an outbreak of The Black Plague in the city he was moved to Craigmillar Castle.

At Stirling, 10-year-old James had a guard of 20 footmen dressed in his colours, red and yellow. When he went to the park below the Castle, six horsemen would scour the countryside 2 miles roundabout for intruders.

In the autumn of 1524 James dismissed his Regents and was proclaimed an adult ruler by his mother. The following year, Archibald Douglas, the young king's stepfather, took custody of James and held him as a virtual prisoner for three years, exercising power on his behalf. After three attempts to break free, James finally escaped in 1528 and assumed the reins of government himself. James first action as king was to remove Angus from the scene, and The Douglas family were forced into exile.

Reign and Religion

James increased his income by tightening control over royal estates and from the profits of justice, customs and feudal rights. He also diverting substantial church wealth into his coffers. James spent a large amount of his wealth on building work at Stirling Castle, Falkland Palace, Linlithgow Palace and Holyrood and built up a collection of tapestries from those inherited from his father. James recovered money from the church by getting Pope Clement VII to allow him to tax monastic incomes.

After King Henry VIII broke from The Catholic Church, James V did not tolerate heresy and during his reign, a number of outspoken [Protestants were persecuted. A meeting between King Henry VIII & James was arranged, and Henry sent his men to York in September 1541, James did not come. The lack of commitment to this meeting was regarded as a sign that Scotland was firmly allied to France and Catholicism, and a cause for war.

Marriage

By August 1517, a clause of the Treaty of Rouen provided that if an alliance between France and Scotland was maintained, James would have a French royal bride. However the daughters of King Francis I of France were promised elsewhere. Negotiations for his marriage to Catherine de'Medici, and Mary, Queen of Hungary, who was the sister of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor began.

On 6 March 1536, a contract was made for James V to marry Mary of Bourbon. She would have a dowry as if she were a French Princess. James decided to visit Fance in person and sailed from Kirkcaldy on 1 September 1536. On 1 January 1537 James married Madeleine of Valois, the king's daughter, in Notre Dame de Paris. They returned from Scotland on 19 May 1537.

Madeleine died soon after arrival in Scotland in July 1537. James then proceeded to marry Mary of Guise on 12 June 1538. Mary already had two sons from her first marriage, and the union produced two sons. However, both died in April 1541. Their daughter and James's only surviving legitimate child, Mary, was born in 1542 at Linlithgow Palace.

War with England

The death of James's mother in 1541 removed any incentive for peace with England, and war broke out. Initially the Scots won a victory at the Battle of Haddon Rig in August 1542.

James returned to Edinburgh, Scotland on the way writing a letter in French to his wife, Marie of Guise mentioning he had three days of illness. Next month his army suffered a serious defeat at The Battle of Solway Moss. James took ill shortly after this, soon James was on his deathbed at Falkland Palace when his only surviving legitimate child, a girl, was born. James died at midnight on Thursday 15 December. James was buried at Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh.

Notes

• King Henry II's sister, Madeleine of Valois, was Queen Mary of Scotland's father's first wife.
• Only legitimate child of James IV to survive infancy.
• Became king at just seventeen months old.

Family Tree

Henry Tudor

Elizabeth of York

Catherine of Aragon

Henry VIII of England

Anne Boleyn

Margaret Tudor

James IV of Scotland

Mary I of England

Elizabeth I of England

Margaret Erskine

James V of Scotland

Mary of Guise

James Stuart

Mary I of Scotland

Francis II of France

James VI and I

References