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Historical Figure
King James V
History's King James V
Biographical Information
Title: King of Scotland
Reign: 9 September 1513 –
14 December 1542
Coronation: 21 September 1513
Predecessor: James IV
Successor: Mary Stuart
Born: 10 April 1512
Died: 14 December 1542
Burial: Holyrood Abbey, Edinburgh
Religion: Roman Catholic
House: Stuart
Relationship Information
TV Character Information
Portrays: King James V


King 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, Queen of Scots, 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. [1]

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. [2]

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 de 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. [3]

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 de 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. [4]

Notes[]

  • Only legitimate child of James IV to survive infancy.
  • Became King at just seventeen months old.
  • He ruled Scotland for 29 years.
  • He had two wives and three children.
  • He asked for the hand of Catherine de' Medici multiple times. He married his first wife Princes Madeleine a few years after Catherine's own marriage to King Henry II.
  • His first wife was King Henry II of France's sister, Madeleine of Valois.
  • King James, King Francis I of France, the young Prince Henry, and King Henry II of Navarre (Queen Jeanne's father) all went boar-hunting together in 1536, before King James' wedding to Princes Madeleine.
  • His marriage to his second wife, Marie de Guise was done via proxy on 12 June 1538.
  • His only surviving legitimate child was Mary Stuart, she succeeded him when she was just six days old.
  • Legend says that on his deathbed, James was rueful when he discovered his wife had given birth to a girl; Mary was his only surviving legitimate heir, and he believed a woman would bring an end to the empire.

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

Related Pages[]


Historical Figure

Pages: Historical Events | Historical References | Historical Timeline |
Kings: Antoine of Navarre | Edward VI of England | Henry II of France | Henry VIII of England | James V of Scotland | Francis I of France | Francis II of France | Charles IX of France | Philip II of Spain | James VI and I of Scotland and England |
Queens: Catherine of Aragon | Catherine de' Medici | Mary, Queen of Scots | Anne Boleyn | Elizabeth I of England | Jane Grey | Mary I of England | Jeanne of Navarre | Elisabeth de Valois | Marie de Guise |
Princes: Louis of Condé | Don Carlos of Spain | Henry of France | Henry de Bourbon | Francis de Valois |
Princesses: Claude de Valois | Margaret de Valois | Catherine de Bourbon |
Noblemen: Robert Dudley | William Cecil | Henry Stuart | Matthew Lennox | Patrick Ruthven | James Stuart |
Noblewomen: Amy Dudley | Diane de Poitiers | Lucrezia de' Medici | Mary Beaton | Mary Boleyn | Mary Fleming | Mary Livingston | Mary Seton | Margaret Lennox |
Others: David Rizzio | John Knox | Nostradamus | Pope Clement VII |


References[]

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