James V, 1512-42, king of Scotland (1513-42), son and successor of James IV. His mother, Margaret Tudor, held the regency until her marriage in 1514 to Archibald Douglas, 6th earl of Angus, when she lost it to John Stuart, duke of Albany. The factions of Albany, Angus, and the queen mother struggled for control until Angus seized (1526) the young king. In 1528, James escaped, and Angus fled to England. James began to ally himself with France against his uncle, Henry VIII of England. In 1537 he married Madeleine, daughter of Francis I of France, and after her death in the same year he married (1538) Mary of Guise. James rejected Henry's attempts to win his support for the English religious policy, and in 1542 war broke out between the two countries. James's nobles gave him little support, and his army was routed at Solway Moss in 1542. He died shortly thereafter and was succeeded by his infant daughter, Mary Queen of Scots.

James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was King of Scots from 9 September 1513 until his death.

Early life

The son of King James IV of Scotland, he was born on 10, 11 or 15 April 1512, at Linlithgow Palace, West Lothian, and was still an infant when his father was killed at the Battle of Flodden Field on 9 September 1513.

He was crowned in the Chapel Royal at Stirling Castle on 21 September 1513. During his childhood, the country was ruled by regents, first by his mother, Margaret Tudor (sister of King Henry VIII of England), until she remarried in the following year, and thereafter by John Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany, who was himself next in line for the throne after James and his younger brother, the posthumously-born Alexander Stewart, Duke of Ross. In 1525, Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, the young king's stepfather, took custody of James and held him as a virtual prisoner for three years, exercising power on his behalf. James finally escaped in 1528 and assumed the reins of government himself.

Reign

His first action as king was to remove Angus from the scene, and he then subdued the Border rebels and the chiefs of the Western Isles. James V increased his royal income by tightening control over the royal estates and from the profits of justice, customs and feudal rights. He also gave his illegitimate sons lucrative benefices, thereby diverting substantial church wealth into his coffers. James spent a large amount of his wealth on building work at Stirling, Falkland, Linlithgow and Holyrood.

James V did not tolerate heresy, and during his reign a number of outspoken supporters of church reform were executed. The most famous of the reformers sentenced to death was Patrick Hamilton who was burned at the stake as a heretic at St Andrews in 1528.

Illegitimate children

James V fathered about nine known illegitimate children, at least three of whom were sired before the age of twenty. The most notable were:

• Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney, son of Euphame Elphinstone and
• John Stewart (b circa 1531, d. November 1563 in Inverness), son of Elizabeth Carmichael, both of whose families were to entangle themselves with the Shetland Islands and with the Bruces of Cultmalindie. John Stuart was the 1st Lord Darnley and Prior of Coldingham.
• James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, son of Margaret Erskine, James' favourite mistress, who went on to play an important part in the reigns of Mary, Queen of Scots and James VI

Marriages

James renewed the Auld Alliance with France, and on 1 January 1537, he married Madeleine de Valois, the daughter of Francis I of France.

Following her death a few months later, he proceeded to marry, on 12 June 1538, Mary of Guise, the daughter of Claude, Duke of Guise and the widow of Louis of Orleans, Duke of Longueville. Mary already had two children from her first marriage, and the union produced two legitimate sons, James Stewart, Duke of Rothesay (b. 22 May 1540), and Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany (b. 1541). However, both died in infancy in April 1541, the second just eight days after his baptism. In 1542, their only child to survive to adulthood, Mary, later Queen of Scots, was born.

War with England

The death of his mother in 1541 removed any incentive for keeping peace with England, and war broke out. Initially the Scots won a victory at the Battle of Haddon Rig in 1542, but later in the year they suffered a more serious defeat at the Battle of Solway Moss. Although this is now disputed by some historians, by some accounts he experienced a nervous collapse after this defeat, and he was on his deathbed at Falkland Palace on 8 December when his only living heir, a girl, was born. Before he died, he is reported to have said, "it came wi' a lass, it'll gang wi' a lass" ("It began with a lass and it will end with a lass"). This was a reference to the Stewart dynasty, and how it had come to the throne through Marjorie, the daughter of Robert the Bruce. As it happened, his words came true, although not with his daughter Mary I who married a Stewart cousin (Lord Darnley), but with the last monarch of the House of Stewart, Queen Anne.

Outside interests

As part of a language deprivation experiment, James sent two children to be raised by a mute woman in a specially-constructed cabin, to determine if language was learned or innate. Since neither child ever spoke, he determined that language must be learned.

According to legend James would sometimes travel around his kingdom disguised as a common man, describing himself as the Goodman of Ballengeich, and sometimes even seducing women. However it has been suggested that, if he did do this, many people may have recognised him e.g. because of his red hair.

Later life

James was succeeded by his infant daughter, Mary, Queen of Scots. He was buried at Holyrood Abbey alongside Madeleine and his sons by Marie de Guise.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

• 10 April 1512–9 September 1513: The Duke of Rothesay
• 9 September 1513–14 December 1542: His Grace The King

James' full style prior to acceding the throne was Prince James Stewart, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Lord Renfrew, Prince and Great Steward of Scotland

Ancestors