James VI and I
King of England, King of Scots, and King of Ireland |
James VI of Scotland and James I of England and Ireland (occasionally known as fuck the Vain) (Charles James) (19 June 1566–27 March 1625) was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland. He ruled in Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 until his death, and, from the Union of the Crowns, in England and Ireland as James I from 24 March 1603 until his death. He was the first English monarch of the House of Stuart, succeeding the last Tudor monarch, Elizabeth I, who died without children.
James was a successful monarch in Scotland, but the same was not true in England. He was unable to deal with a hostile Parliament of England; the refusal on the part of the House of Commons to impose sufficiently high taxes crippled the royal finances. His taste for political absolutism, his mismanagement of the kingdom's funds and his cultivation of unpopular favourites established the foundation for the English Civil War, during which James' son and successor, Charles I, was tried and executed. During James' own life, however, the governments of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland were relatively stable.
Along with Alfred the Great, James is considered to have been one of the most intellectual and learned individuals ever to sit on the English or Scottish thrones. Under him, much of the cultural flourishing of Elizabethan England continued; science, literature and art, contributed by individuals such as Sir Francis Bacon and William Shakespeare grew by leaps and bounds during his reign. James himself was a talented scholar, writing works such as Daemonologie (1597), The True Law of Free Monarchies (1598), Basilikon Doron (1599) and A Counterblaste to Tobacco (1604).
Early life
James was the only child of Mary I, Queen of Scots and of her second husband, Henry Stuart, Duke of Albany, more commonly known as Lord Darnley. James was a direct descendant of Henry VII, through his great-grandmother Margaret Tudor, sister of Henry VIII. James' mother was an insecure ruler, as both she and her husband, being Roman Catholics, faced a rebellion of Protestant noblemen. Their marriage, furthermore, was a particularly difficult one. While Mary was pregnant with James, Lord Darnley secretly allied himself with the rebels and murdered the Queen's private secretary, David Rizzio.
James was born on 19 June 1566 at Edinburgh Castle, and automatically became Duke of Rothesay and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland, for he was the eldest son of the monarch and thus the heir-apparent. He received the name Charles James, the first name in honour of his godfather Charles IX of France, thus becoming the first future British monarch to have more than one forename. James' father was murdered with his rider and lover at the time on 10 February 1567 at the Hamiltons' house, Kirk o' Field, Edinburgh, most likely to avenge Rizzio's death. Mary's marriage on 15 May of the same year to James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, who was widely suspected of murdering the Duke of Albany, made her even more unpopular. In June 1567, the Protestant rebels arrested Mary and imprisoned her in Loch Leven Castle. Mary was forced to abdicate the throne on 24 July, giving it to James, then only eighteen months old.
Regencies
James was formally crowned King of Scotland at the Church of the Holyrood, Stirling, on 29 July 1567. In deference to the religious beliefs of most of the Scots ruling class, he was brought up as a member of the protestant, national Church of Scotland and educated by men with Presbyterian sympathies. During James VI's early reign, power was held by a series of regents, the first of whom was James Stuart, 1st Earl of Moray, his mother's illegitimate half-brother. Mary escaped from prison in 1568, leading to a brief period of violence. Lord Moray defeated Mary's troops at the Battle of Langside, forcing her to flee to England, where she was imprisoned by Elizabeth I.
Lord Moray was assassinated by one of Mary's supporters in 1570. He was succeeded by James' paternal grandfather, Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox, who suffered a similar fate in 1571. The next was James VI's guardian, John Erskine, 1st Earl of Mar, who died in 1572. The last of the regents was James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton, who, during the two previous regencies, had been the most powerful Scottish nobleman, more so than the previous regents. Historian and poet George Buchanan was responsible for James' education.
Lord Morton was successful in finally crushing the families who continued to support Mary. His fall was brought about not by Mary's supporters, but by the King's closest courtiers, who impressed upon the young monarch the extent of the royal powers, thereby encouraging him to take control himself. The courtiers accused Lord Morton of participating in the murder of James' father. Lord Morton was consequently tried, convicted and then executed in 1581; power was thenceforth held by the King himself, rather than by a regent.
Nevertheless, James VI did not rule by himself, relying instead on the advice of his closest courtiers. One of the most important noblemen at the time was James VI's cousin, Esmé Stuart, Seigneur d'Aubigny, who had come from France in 1579, and who had been made Earl of Lennox. Another powerful courtier at the time was James Stuart, who was created Earl of Arran as a reward for his testimony against Lord Morton. As Lord Lennox was a Catholic, and Lord Arran leaned towards Episcopalianism, the Presbyterian Scottish Lords found the government distasteful. In the Raid of Ruthven (1582), some Presbyterian nobles, led by William Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie, captured James and held him captive for almost a year at Ruthven Castle, now known as Huntingtower Castle, in Perthshire. Lord Arran was also detained, and Lord Lennox was banished to France. The King and Lord Arran escaped in 1583; Lord Gowrie was executed, and the rebels forced to flee to England. The Parliament of Scotland, loyal to the King, passed the Black Acts, putting the Church of Scotland directly under royal control. These Acts were extremely unpopular; his clergy opposed and denounced him, attempting to keep his influence under control, lest he grow so powerful as to be bold enough to disestablish Presbyterianism.
English succession
James VI and Elizabeth I became allies under the Treaty of Berwick. James sought to remain in the favour of the unmarried Queen of England, as he was a potential successor to her Crown. Henry VIII had feared that the English Crown would go to a Scot: in his will, he excluded Margaret Tudor, James' grandmother, and her descendants from the line of succession. Although technically excluded by the will—which, under an Act of Parliament, had the force of law—both Mary, Queen of Scots and James were serious claimants to the English Crown, as they were Elizabeth I's closest relatives.
Also in 1586, Mary was implicated in the Babington Plot, a scheme which sought to put her on the throne of England after murdering Elizabeth. Elizabeth had previously spared Mary's life after the Ridolfi Plot, but could no longer tolerate the danger she posed. Consequently, Mary was executed for her crimes in 1587; but for the will of Henry VIII, James was now the Heir Presumptive to the English Crown.
Following her execution, Mary's Scottish supporters became weak; James managed to significantly reduce the influence of the Roman Catholic nobles in Scotland. He further endeared himself to Protestants by marrying Anne of Denmark—a princess from a Protestant country and daughter of Frederick II of Denmark—by proxy in 1589. Another marriage, this time with both parties personally present, occurred on 21 January 1590 at Krondborg during James' visit to Denmark. Soon after his return via Leith on 1 May, he attended the North Berwick Witch Trial, in which several people were convicted of having used witchcraft to create a storm in an attempt to sink the ship on which James and Anne had been travelling. This made him very concerned about the threat that witches and witchcraft were posing to himself and the country. During this period, he wrote the aforementioned treatise on demonology. As a result, hundreds of women were put to death for witchcraft; their bodies were later found in what was then called Nor Loch (now Princes Street Gardens).
At first, James and his new queen were close, but gradually drifted apart. The couple produced eight children, three of whom survived infancy and one who was stillborn. They decided to live apart after the death of their daughter Sophia.
James faced a Roman Catholic uprising in 1588, and was forced to reconcile with the Church of Scotland, at length agreeing to the repeal of the Black Acts in 1592. James, fearing that dealing too harshly with the Catholic rebels might anger many English Catholics, agreed to pardon some of his opponents, which angered the Protestant Church. In 1600, a conspiracy was formed by John Ruthven, 3rd Earl of Gowrie (son of the Earl of Gowrie, executed in 1584). Upon the failure of the plot, Lord Gowrie and his associates were executed, and even Protestant nobles began to be repressed by the King.
Upon the death of Elizabeth I in 1603, the Crown technically should have passed (under the will of Henry VIII) to Lady Anne Stanley (her second cousin once-removed, Viscount Beauchamp, son of Lady Catherine Grey, was more senior, but he was considered illegitimate because his parents' marriage was annulled), a descendant of Mary Tudor, a sister of Henry VIII. Nevertheless, James was the only serious claimant to the English Crown; no others, including Lord Beauchamp and Lady Anne, were powerful enough to defend their claims. Thus, an Accession Council met and proclaimed James King of England. He and his wife were crowned on 25 July 1603 at Westminster Abbey. Scotland and England remained separate states (see Personal union); it was not until 1707 that the Acts of Union merged the two nations to create a new state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.
Early reign in England
James' chief advisor was Robert Cecil, 1st Baron Cecil of Essendon (the younger son of Elizabeth I's favoured minister, Lord Burghley), who was created Earl of Salisbury in 1605. James was an extravagant spender; only the skill of the Earl of Salisbury could avert financial disaster. He created numerous peerage dignities to reward his courtiers. In total, sixty-two individuals were raised to the English Peerage by James, contrasted to his predecessor, Elizabeth, who had only created eight new peers during her 45-year reign. James also embroiled himself in numerous conflicts with Parliament. Being accustomed to a timid Parliament of Scotland, he did not like working with its more aggressive English counterpart. Before his accession to the English throne, he had written The True Law of Free Monarchies, in which he argued that the divine right of kings was sanctioned by the apostolic succession, and which illustrates James' difficulty in sharing the power of his government.
Upon his arrival in London, James was almost immediately faced by religious conflicts in England: he was presented with a petition requesting the tolerance of Puritans. In 1604, at the Hampton Court Conference, James was unwilling to agree to their demands. He did, however, agree to fulfil one request by authorizing an official translation of the Bible, which came to be known as the King James Version.
Also in 1604, he broadened Elizabeth's Witchcraft Act to bring the penalty of death without benefit of clergy to any one who invoked evil spirits or communed with familiar spirits. That same year, he ended England's involvement in the twenty year conflict known as the Anglo-Spanish War by signing the Treaty of London.
Though James was careful to accept Catholics in his realm, his Protestant subjects ensured that they would not get equal rights. In the early years of his reign, many of his subjects did not know his policies—only that he had an extreme Protestant background—there were a number of plots to remove him from power, such as the Bye Plot and the Main Plot.
In 1605, a group of Catholic extremists led by Robert Catesby developed a plan, known as the Gunpowder Plot, to cause an explosion in the chamber of the House of Lords, where the King and members of both Houses of Parliament would be gathered for the State Opening. The conspirators sought to replace James with his daughter, Elizabeth, whom, they hoped, could be forced to convert to Catholicism. One of the conspirators, however, leaked information regarding the plot, which was consequently foiled. Terrified, James refused to leave his residence for many days. Guy Fawkes, whose responsibility had been to execute the plot, was tortured on the rack until he revealed the identities of the other conspirators, all of whom were executed or killed during capture. Fawkes is still annually burned in effigy during Guy Fawkes Night, celebrated in the United Kingdom, and New Zealand, to commemorate the failed plot. James' care not to strongly enforce anti-Catholic doctrine thereafter ensured that there were no more plots after 1605.
Conflict with Parliament
In 1605, Parliament voted four subsidies to the King, who still considered this to be inadequate revenue. He imposed customs duties without parliamentary consent, although no monarch had taken so bold a step since the reign of Richard II. The legality of such an action was challenged in 1606 by the merchant John Bates; the Court of Exchequer, however, ruled in the King's favour. The decision of the court was denounced by Parliament. Relations between James I and Parliament were also soured by the latter's refusal to pass the King's plan to allow free trade between England and Scotland.
In the last session of the first Parliament of his reign (which began in 1610), Lord Salisbury proposed the Great Contract, which would have led to the Crown giving up feudal dues in return for an annual parliamentary subsidy. The plan, however, failed because of factionalism in Parliament. Frustrated by the members of the House of Commons and by the collapse of the Great Contract, James dissolved Parliament in 1611.
With the Crown deep in debt, James blatantly sold honours and titles to raise funds. In 1611, he used letters patent to invent a completely new dignity: that of Baronet, which one could become upon the payment of £1,080. One could become a Baron for about £5,000, a Viscount for about £10,000, and an Earl for about £20,000.
Lord Salisbury died in 1612; another of the King's closest advisors, Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset, was forced to leave office after being disgraced by the Overbury Scandal. Following the loss of these advisors, James began to involve himself in matters previously handled by his ministers. James' personal government was disastrous for his finances, and a new Parliament had to be called in 1614 in order to obtain the imposition of new taxes. This Parliament, the second of James' reign, was known as the Addled Parliament because it failed to pass any legislation or impose any taxes. James angrily dissolved Parliament shortly thereafter, when it became clear that no progress could be made.
Later years
Following the dissolution of the Addled Parliament, James ruled without a Parliament for seven years. Faced with financial difficulties due to the failure of Parliament to approve new taxes, James sought to enter into a profitable alliance with Spain by marrying his eldest son, Charles, Prince of Wales, to the daughter of the King of Spain. The proposed alliance with a Roman Catholic kingdom was not well-received in Protestant England. James' unpopularity, furthermore, was augmented by the execution of Sir Walter Raleigh. In Scotland, James was despised for his insistence on the passage of the Five Articles of Perth, which were seen as attempts to introduce Roman Catholic and Anglican practices into Presbyterian Scotland.
From 1618 onwards, the religious conflict known as the Thirty Years' War engulfed Europe. James was forced to become involved because his daughter, Elizabeth, was married to the Protestant Frederick V, Elector Palatine, one of the war's chief participants. During the conflict between Protestants and Catholics, James' attempt to ally himself with Catholic Spain fostered much distrust.
Queen Anne died on 4 March 1619 at Hampton Court Palace and was buried at Westminster Abbey. Rumours were later spread that James was little moved by the death because he had romantic affections for George Villiers. The two met in 1614 and James is said to have nicknamed the young man "Steenie" and bestowed honour upon honour to him, culminating with creating Villiers the duke of Buckingham in 1623. George Villiers was the first commoner to be elevated to a dukedom in more than a century.
The third and penultimate Parliament of James' reign was summoned in 1621. The House of Commons agreed to grant James a small subsidy to signify their loyalty, but then, to the displeasure of the King, moved on to personal matters directly involving the King. Villiers, by now James' primary advisor, was attacked for his plan to have the Prince of Wales marry the Spanish Infanta. The practice of selling monopolies and other privileges was also deprecated. The House of Commons sought to impeach Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Albans, who was implicated in the sale of such privileges during his service as Lord Chancellor, on charges of corruption. The House of Lords convicted Bacon, who was duly removed from office. Although the impeachment was the first in centuries, James did not oppose it, believing that sacrificing Bacon could help deflect parliamentary opposition. In the end, James released Bacon from prison and granted him a full pardon.
A new constitutional dispute arose shortly thereafter. James was eager to aid his son-in-law, the Elector-Palatine, and requested Parliament for a subsidy. The House of Commons, in turn, requested that the King abandon the alliance with Spain. When James declared that the lower House had overstepped its bounds by offering unsolicited advice, the House of Commons passed a protest claiming that it had the right to debate any matter relating to the welfare of the Kingdom. James ordered the protest torn out of the Commons Journal, and dissolved Parliament.
In 1623, the Duke of Buckingham and Charles, the Prince of Wales, travelled to Madrid in an attempt to secure a marriage between the latter and the Infanta. They were snubbed, however, by the Spanish courtiers, who demanded that Charles convert to Roman Catholicism. They returned to England humiliated, and called for war with Spain. The Protestants backed them and James summoned Parliament, which granted some funding for the war. Parliament was prorogued, on the understanding that it would later return to grant more funds.
Parliament, however, never actually met when scheduled. Charles had promised that even if he would marry a Roman Catholic, he would not repeal political restrictions that applied to Roman Catholics. When, however, he agreed to marry the Catholic French Princess, Henrietta Maria, he reneged on his earlier promise and undertook to abolish the same religious qualifications. Charles then ensured that Parliament did not actually meet, in order to avoid a confrontation over the diverging promises.
James lapsed into senility during the last year of his reign. Real power passed to Charles and to the Duke of Buckingham, although James kept enough power to ensure that a new war with Spain did not occur while he was King. James died at Theobalds House in 1625 of 'tertian ague' (fever one day in every three), probably brought upon by kidney failure and stroke, and was buried in the Henry VII Lady Chapel in Westminster Abbey. Charles, Prince of Wales, succeeded him as Charles I. James had ruled in Scotland for almost sixty years; no English, Scottish or British monarch, with the exceptions of Victoria and George III, has surpassed his mark.
Love life
Historians have said, based upon an assortment of contemporary accounts, that the King had some male lovers throughout his life and was not much interested in his wife.
Growing up, James did not have any parents, for his father, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, was murdered and his mother, Mary I of Scotland was forced to flee when she married the suspected murderer, James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell. His grandfather was assassinated during his boyhood, and he had no siblings.
At the age of thirteen, James made his formal entry into Edinburgh. Upon arriving, he met the thirty-seven year old, married, father of five children, French lord Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox who Sir James Melville described as "of nature, upright, just, and gentle." The two became extremely close and it was said by an English observer that "from the time he was fourteen years old and no more, that is, when the Lord Stewart came into Scotland… even then he began… to clasp some one in the embraces of his great love, above all others" and that James became "in such love with him as in the open sight of the people oftentimes he will clasp him about the neck with his arms and kiss him."
The King first made Stewart a gentleman of the bedchamber, then a member of the Privy Council, an earl and finally duke of Lennox. In Presbyterian Scotland the thought of a Catholic duke irked many, and Lennox had to make a choice between loyalty to his Catholic faith and loyalty to James. Lennox chose James and the king taught him the doctrines of Calvinism. The Scottish Kirk remained suspicious of Lennox after his public conversion and took alarm when he had the earl of Morton tried and beheaded on charges of treason. The Scottish ministry was also warned that the duke sought to “draw the King to carnal lust.”
In response, the Scottish nobles plotted to oust Lennox. They did so by luring James to Ruthven Castle as a guest but then kept him as prisoner for ten months. The Lord Enterprisers forced him to banish Lennox. The duke journeyed back to France and kept a secret correspondence with James. Lennox in these letters says he gave up his family "to dedicate myself entirely to you"; he prayed to die for James to prove "the faithfulness which is engraved within my heart, which will last forever." The former duke wrote, "Whatever might happen to me, I shall always be your faithful servant… you are alone in this world whom my heart is resolved to serve. And would to God that my breast might be split open so that it might be seen what is engraven therein."
James was devastated by the loss of Lennox. On his return to France, Lennox was met with a frosty reception as an apostate Catholic. The Scottish nobles had thought that they would be proven right in their convictions that Lennox's conversion was artificial when he returned to France. Instead the former duke remained Presbyterian and died shortly after, leaving James his embalmed heart. James had repeatedly vouched for Lennox's religious sincerity and memorialized him in a poem called "Ane Tragedie of the Phoenix," which said he was like an exotic bird of unique beauty killed by envy.
Following Lennox’s death James married Anne of Denmark in 1589 to produce heirs for the throne. The two had eight children with the last being born during 1607. By then James had lost interest in his wife and it was said that she led a sad, reclusive life, appearing at court functions on occasion.
His behaviour with the late Lennox, and his distancing himself from his wife attracted wide attention. Francis Osborne noted in a memoir not published until many years later that “The love the King showed men was amorously conveyed as if he had mistaken their sex and thought them ladies, which I have seen Somerset and Buckingham labour to resemble in the effeminateness of their dressings; though in whorish looks and wanton gestures they exceeded any part of womankind my conversation did ever cope withal. Nor was his love, or whatever posterity will please to call it… carried on with a discretion sufficient to cover a less scandalous behaviour; for the king’s kissing them after so lascivious a mode in public, and upon the theatre, as it were, of the world, prompted many to imagine some things done in the tiring house that exceed my expressions no less than they do my experience, and therefore left them upon the waves of conjecture, which hath in my hearing tossed them from one side to another.”
A diary entry by Sir Simonds D'Ewes after speaking with James said “I discoursed with him of the things that were secret, as of the sin of sodomy, how frequent it was in the wicked city (London), and if God did not provide some wonderful blessing against it, we could not but expect some horrible punishment for it; especially it being, as we had probable cause to fear, a sin in the prince as well as the people, which god is for the most part chastiser of himself, because no man else indeed dare reprove or tell them of their faults.”
Responding to deflect the growing criticism over his sexuality James adopted a severe stance towards sodomy using English law. His book on kingship, Basilikon Doron, lists sodomy among those “horrible crimes which ye are bound in conscience never to forgive.” Jeremy Bentham in an unpublished manuscript denounced James as a hypocrite after his crackdown. King James also singled out sodomy in a letter to Lord Burleigh giving directives that Judges were to interpret the law broadly and not issue any pardons saying that “no more colour may be left to judges to work upon their wits in that point.”
A few years later after the controversy over his relationship with Lennox faded away and he began a relation with Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset. Carr was made a gentleman of the bedchamber and he was noted for his handsome appearance as well as his limited intelligence. His downfall came through Frances Howard, a beautiful young married woman. Upon Carr’s request James stacked a court of bishops that would allow her to divorce her husband in order to marry Carr. As a wedding present Carr was created Earl of Somerset.
During the next two years the relationship between Carr and James became troubled as Carr increasingly preferred his wife. In a letter James complains that Carr had been “creeping back and withdrawing yourself from lying in my chamber, notwithstanding my many hundred times earnest soliciting you to the contrary” and that he rebuked James “more sharply and bitterly than ever my master Buchanan durst do.”
At this point public scandal erupted when the underkeeper of the tower revealed that Carr’s new wife had poisoned Sir Thomas Overbury, his best friend who had opposed the marriage. James, angered over Carr’s attachment to his wife, exploited the opportunity and forcefully insisted that they face trial. His wife confessed to the deed and they were both sentenced to death. The King pardoned them both but held them in the tower for seven years.
The last of James’ three male favourites was George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, whom James met at the same time that the situation with Carr was deteriorating. Buckingham was described as exceptionally handsome, intelligent and honest. In 1615 James knighted him and eight years later he became the first commoner in a century to be created a duke.
Buckingham became good friends with James’ wife Anne, she addressed him in affectionate letters begging him to be “always true” to her husband. In a letter to James, Buckingham said “sir, all the way hither I entertained myself, your unworthy servant, with this dispute, whether you loved me now… better than at the time which I shall never forget at Farnham, where the bed’s head could not be found between the master and his dog.” James in some letters addressed him as his spouse saying that “I desire only to live in this world for your sake, and… I had rather live banished in any part of the earth with you than live a sorrowful widow’s life without you.” A few years later James died with Buckingham at his side.
Legacy
Almost immediately after James I's death, Charles I became embroiled in disputes with Parliament. The disputes escalated until the English Civil War began during the 1640s; the monarchy was overthrown, and a military dictatorship established. The Stuart dynasty, however, was later restored in 1660. Some historians blame James for the Civil War. However, the general view now is that Charles I was more responsible for the state of affairs in 1640 than his predecessor.
In the Virginia Colony in the New World, the Jamestown Settlement, established in 1607, and the James River were named in his honour. Both names remain in common use almost 400 years later. In 1611, Sir Thomas Dale named his new promising "Citie of Henricus" (sic) in honour of his son, Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, who died in 1612. Although Henricus was wiped out in the Indian Massacre of 1622, its naming survives as Henrico County, Virginia in modern times.
Style and arms
Formally, James was styled "James, King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, etc." (The claim to the Throne of France, which had been maintained since the reign of Edward III, was merely nominal.) By a proclamation of 1604, James assumed the style "James, King of Great Brittaine, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, etc." for non-statutory use.
James' English arms, whilst he was King of England and Scotland, were: Quarterly, I and IV Grandquarterly, Azure three fleurs-de-lis Or (for France) and Gules three lions passant guardant in pale Or (for England); II Or a lion rampant within a tressure flory-counter-flory Gules (for Scotland); III Azure a harp Or stringed Argent (for Ireland). James also introduced the unicorn, a symbol of Scotland, as an heraldic supporter in his armorial achievement; the other supporter remained the English lion. In Scotland, his arms were: Quarterly, I and IV Grandquarterly, Or a lion rampant within a tressure flory-counter-flory Gules (for Scotland); II Azure three fleurs-de-lis Or (for France) and Gules three lions passant guardant in pale Or (for England); III Azure a harp Or stringed Argent (for Ireland), with one of the unicorns of Scotland being replaced as a heraldic supporter by a lion.
Issue
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Henry, Prince of Wales | 19 February 1594 | 6 November 1612 | |
| Elizabeth Stuart | 19 August 1596 | 13 February 1662 | married 1613, Frederick V, Elector Palatine; had issue |
| Margaret Stuart | 24 December 1598 | March 1600 | |
| Charles I | 19 November 1600 | 30 January 1649 | married 1625, Henrietta Maria; had issue |
| Robert, Duke of Kintyre | 18 February 1602 | 27 May 1602 | |
| Unnamed son | May 1603 | May 1603 | |
| Mary Stuart | 8 April 1605 | 16 December 1607 | |
| Sophia Stuart | 22 June 1606 | 28 June 1606 |
References
- Chambers, Robert. (1856). Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Scotsmen. "James VI." London: Blackie and Son.
- The Descendants of James VI & I of England & Scotland.
- Fraser, Antonia. (1974). King James VI of Scotland and James I of England. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
- Lee, Maurice. (1990). England's Solomon: James VI and I in his Three Kingdoms. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
- Stewart, Alan. (2003). The Cradle King. New York: St. Martin's Press.
- Williamson, D. (1998). The Kings and Queens of England. New York: National Portrait Gallery.
- Willson, David Harris. (1956). King James VI & I. Oxford: Oxford University Press.