James V, King of Scots

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

James V, King of Scots, circa 1536; Credit – Wikipedia

James V, King of Scots was born at Linlithgow Palace in Linlithgowshire, Scotland on April 10, 1512. He was the third of the four sons of James IV, King of Scots and Margaret Tudor, eldest daughter of King Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, daughter of King Edward IV of England. At his birth, James became Duke of Rothesay and Steward of Scotland, traditional titles of the eldest son of the King of Scots as his two elder brothers James and Arthur had died in infancy. James had one younger brother who also died in infancy and two stillborn sisters.

James IV, King of Scots and Margaret Tudor; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1509, James’ maternal grandfather King Henry VII of England died and was succeeded by James’ uncle King Henry VIII. Despite the great hopes of peace between England and Scotland as symbolized by the marriage of Margaret Tudor and James IV, King of Scots, Henry VIII did not have his father’s diplomatic patience and was heading toward a war with France. James IV was committed to his alliance with France and invaded England. Henry VIII was away on campaign in France and Flanders in 1513 and he had made his wife Catherine of Aragon regent in his absence. It was up to Catherine to supervise England’s defense when Scotland invaded. Ultimately, the Scots were defeated at the Battle of Flodden near Branxton, Northumberland, England on September 9, 1513, and 30-year-old James IV was killed in the battle and 17-month-old James succeeded his father as James V, King of Scots.

James V was crowned on September 21, 1513, at Stirling Castle. Under the terms of James IV’s will, Margaret was the regent for her son as long as she did not remarry. While the Scottish Parliament had confirmed Margaret as regent, many were unhappy with an English female regent and sought to replace Margaret with John Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany, grandson of King James II of Scotland, the closest male relative to the infant king, and the heir presumptive to the throne. Margaret sought an ally with the pro-English House of Douglas. On August 6, 1514, Margaret secretly married Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus. The marriage stirred up the jealousy of the nobles and the opposition of the faction supporting French influence in Scotland. Civil war broke out, and Margaret lost the regency to John Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany. Margaret fled to England where she lived until 1517 when she returned to Scotland.

James V was educated by leading scholars and ranked among the best-educated rulers at that time.  His tutors included Gavin Dunbar, Dean of Moray, later Archbishop of Glasgow; the poet John Bellenden; the poet Sir David Lyndsay, Lyon King of Arms; and James Inglis, Abbot of Culross.

In the autumn of 1524, James V dismissed his regents and was proclaimed an adult ruler by his mother. However, James V remained under the control of his stepfather Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, Margaret Tudor’s second husband. In 1528, James finally escaped from Angus’ control and assumed control of the government. James V then spent some time limiting the role of Scottish nobles.

Madeleine of Valois by Corneille de Lyon; Credit – Wikipedia

The 1517 Treaty of Rouen, signed after the Battle of Flodden, stated that King James V of Scotland was to marry a French princess. When King James V reached a marriageable age, talks began regarding marriage with Madeleine of Valois, daughter of King François I of France and Claude, Duchess of Brittany. However, Madeleine’s ill health was an issue, and another French bride, Mary of Bourbon, was offered as a substitute. When James V came to France to meet Mary of Bourbon, he also met Madeleine and decided to marry her. Because of his daughter’s health issues, François I was reluctant to agree to the marriage, but eventually, he did so. Madeleine and King James V of Scotland were married on January 1, 1537, at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. The couple arrived in Scotland on May 19, 1537, after months of celebrations in France, but Madeleine’s health had further deteriorated. Madeleine wrote a letter to her father on June 8, 1537, saying that she was feeling better and that her symptoms had subsided. Despite this, on July 7, 1537, Madeleine died in her husband’s arms, a month short of her seventeenth birthday.

James V and Marie of Guise; Credit – Wikipedia

On May 18, 1538, at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, less than a year after the death of his first wife, James V married again. The marriage was a proxy marriage with Robert Maxwell, 4th Lord Maxwell standing in for the groom. James V’s second bride was Marie of Guise, the eldest daughter of Claude of Lorraine, Duke of Guise, head of the House of Guise, and his wife Antoinette de Bourbon. Marie had previously been married to Louis II d’Orléans, Duke of Longueville for three years before he died. Marie had one surviving son, three-year-old François, whom she was forced to leave in France as he had succeeded his father as Duke of Longueville. James V and Marie married in person at St. Andrews, Scotland on June 12, 1538.

James V and Marie had two sons and one daughter, but their sons died in infancy:

James V had at least nine illegitimate children:

When his mother Margaret Tudor died in 1541, James V saw no reason to keep the peace with England. When war broke out between England and France in 1542, it was inevitable that Scotland would go to war against England because of their treaty with France. When Henry VIII of England broke from the Roman Catholic Church, he asked James V of Scotland, his nephew, to do the same. James ignored his uncle’s request and further insulted him by refusing to meet with Henry VIII at York. Furious, Henry VIII sent troops against Scotland. In retaliation for the English raid into Scotland, James responded by assigning Robert, Lord Maxwell, the Scottish Warden of West March, the task of raising an army. On November 24, 1542, the Battle of Solway Moss in Cumberland, England resulted in a decisive English victory.

After the Battle of Solway Moss, James V fled to Falkland Palace where he became ill and took to his bed. Overcome with grief and shame about the Battle of Solway Moss, James V lost the will to live. The news that Marie of Guise had given birth to a daughter on December 8, 1542, did nothing to raise his spirits. James V, King of Scots died at Falkland Palace in Fife, Scotland on December 14, 1542, at the age of 30. He was buried at Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh, Scotland alongside his first wife Madeleine and his two sons by Marie of Guise.  James’ tomb was desecrated in 1544 during the War of the Rough Wooing and his remains were reburied in the Royal Vault at Holyrood Abbey during the reign of Queen Victoria. James V was succeeded by his only surviving, legitimate child, six-day-old Mary, Queen of Scots.

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James V’s vault at Holyrood Abbey; Photo Credit – www.findagrave.com

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Sign on James V’s vault at Holyrood Abbey; Photo Credit – www.findagrave.com

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Works Cited
“Battle of Solway Moss.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, 28 July 2016. Web. 23 Oct. 2016.
“James V of Scotland.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, 8 Oct. 2016. Web. 23 Oct. 2016.
Susan Flantzer. “Margaret Tudor. Queen of Scots.” English Royals. Unofficial Royalty, 29 Nov. 2016. Web.
“Mary of Guise.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, 3 Oct. 2016. Web. 23 Oct. 2016.
Susan Flantzer. “Madeleine of Valois, Queen of Scots.” Scottish Royals. Unofficial Royalty, 6 July 2013. Web. 23 Oct. 2016.
Williamson, David. Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell, 1996. Print.