The Kings and Queens of England - King James I
http://www.britroyals.com/kings
.asp?id=james1
Name:
King James I
Born: June 19, 1566 at
Edinburgh Castle,
Scotland
Parents:
Mary, Queen of Scots, and
Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley
Relation to
Elizabeth II: 9th great-grandfather
House of: Stuart
Ascended to the throne: March 24, 1603 aged 36 years
Crowned: July 25, 1603 at
Westminster Abbey, also as
James VI of Scotland at
Stirling Castle on
July 29, 1567
Married:
Anne,
Daughter of
Frederick II of Denmark and
Norway
Children: Three sons and five daughters, of whom three survived infancy;
Henry,
Elizabeth and
Charles
Died: March 27, 1625 at
Theobalds Park, Hertfordshire, aged 58 years,
9 months, and
7 days
Buried at:
Westminster
Reigned for: 22 years, and 3 days,
King of Scotland for 57 years 1567-1625
Succeeded by: his son
Charles
James was the son of
Mary Queen of Scots and her second husband Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley. He was descended through the
Scottish kings from
Robert the Bruce, and the
English Tudors through his great grandmother
Margaret Tudor sister of
Henry VIII. His parent’s marriage was short-lived and
Darnley was found murdered 8 months after
James was born in June 1566. His mother married again, but in 1567 was forced to renounce the throne of Scotland in favour of her infant son. James became
King James VI of Scotland aged 13 months in July 1567, and was crowned at
Stirling.
Mary fled to
England where she was eventually executed following
Catholic plots against
Elizabeth I in 1587.
His childhood and adolescence were unhappy, abnormal, and precarious; he had various guardians, whose treatment of him differed widely. His education, although thorough, was weighted with strong Presbyterian and Calvinist political doctrine, and his character – highly intelligent and sensitive, but also fundamentally shallow, vain, and exhibitionist – reacted violently to this. He also sought solace with extravagant
and unsavoury male favourites who, in later years, were to have a damaging effect on his prestige and state affairs. A suitable
Queen was found for him in
Anne of Denmark and they were married in 1589. As King of Scotland, he curbed the power of the nobility, although his attempts to limit the authority of the
Kirk (
Church of Scotland) were less successful.
When
Elizabeth I of England died in 1603 unmarried, James moved to
London and was crowned
King James I of England the first of the
Stuart Kings of the combined crowns of England and Scotland.
The English courtiers were wary of his
Scottish favourites, affairs with male courtiers and uncouth ways. He was however a supporter of literature and arts.
William Shakespeare was among the ‘
Kings Men’ troupe of actors who performed plays for their patron James. He commissioned the
King James Authorized Version of the Bible, published in 1611, which remains one of the most important
English translations of the Bible. He initially acted mainly upon the advice of
Robert Cecil,
Earl of Salisbury, but on
Salisbury’s death all restraint vanished. His religious policy consisted of asserting the supreme authority and divine right of the crown and suppressing both Puritans and
Catholics who objected.
Guy Fawkes' attempt to blow up
Parliament in 1605 produced an anti-Catholic reaction, which gave James a temporary popularity which soon dissipated.
His foreign policy aimed primarily at achieving closer relations with
Spain was not liked by
Parliament who saw Spain as the
Old Catholic enemy of the
Armada and competitor for world trade. During his reign the
East India Company expanded trade bringing spices from the
East, and
Jamestown was founded in
Virginia. His willingness to compromise politically, even while continuing to talk in terms of absolutism, largely accounts for the superficial stability of his reign. However, the effects of many of his actions were long term, becoming fully obvious only after his death. James and Anne had 8 children only three of whom survived infancy. Their eldest son Henry died aged 18 of typhoid, and their 2nd son Charles became
King Charles I. The marriage of their daughter Elizabeth to
Frederic V,
Elector Palatine and
King of Bohemia, was to result in the eventual
Hanoverian succession to the
British throne.
Quotes:
'What God hath conjoined let no man separate.
I am the husband and the whole isle is my lawful wife' - James VI of Scotland who also became
James I of England on the union of the crowns of Scotland and England, 1603
‘[
Smoking is] hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, and dangerous to the lungs.” – King James I
’I can make a lord, but only God can make a gentleman’ – King James I
‘God’s wounds! I will pull down my breeches and they shall see my arse!’ – King James I (on being told that his subjects wanted to see his face)
’
Kings are justly called gods for they exercise a manner or resemblance of divine power upon earth’ – King James I