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You are here: UK History > Royal History > Scottish Monarchy > James IV
James IV was King of Scotland from the death of his father until his own demise at the Battle of Flodden while fighting English forces under the command of Catherine of Aragon, the wife of his brother in law, Henry VIII. Throughout his 25 year reign, he took an active interest in the law, literature, science and the arts and thanks to him, the printing press came to Scotland, and the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and the University of Aberdeen were both founded. He is also credited with commissioning the building of Holyrood Palace, Falkland Palace and for building works to extend Linlithgow Palace, Edinburgh Castle and Stirling Castle. It is also thanks to James IV that compulsory schooling was introduced in Scotland in 1496.
As royal income doubled during his reign, James IV...Read More
James IV was King of Scotland from the death of his father until his own demise at the Battle of Flodden while fighting English forces under the command of Catherine of Aragon, the wife of his brother in law, Henry VIII. Throughout his 25 year reign, he took an active interest in the law, literature, science and the arts and thanks to him, the printing press came to Scotland, and the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and the University of Aberdeen were both founded. He is also credited with commissioning the building of Holyrood Palace, Falkland Palace and for building works to extend Linlithgow Palace, Edinburgh Castle and Stirling Castle. It is also thanks to James IV that compulsory schooling was introduced in Scotland in 1496.
As royal income doubled during his reign, James IV is seen as a very effective and influential ruler.
Quick Facts:
Born: 17th March 1473
Died: 9th September 1513
Reign: 1488 - 1513
Parents: James III of Scotland and Margaret of Denmark
Predecessor: James III
Successor: James V
Spouse: Margaret Tudor
Children: James V; James, Duke of Rothersay; Arthur, Duke of Rothersay; Alexander, Duke of Ross; and at least 5 other illegitimate children.
Royal House: House of Stewart
James was born at Stirling Castle, the eldest son of King James III and Margaret of Denmark and was made Duke of Rothersay at birth. It is believed that he spent most of his youth at Stirling Castle under the care of his mother alongside his younger siblings, as his mother was officially entrusted with his custody and education in 1478. Under his mother’s direction, he received a good education and was known to be fluent in Latin, Spanish, French, German, Flemish, Italian, English and Gaelic and is in fact, the last Scottish monarch who was known to use Gaelic.
King James III was not a popular ruler, in part because of his pursuit of a lasting peace with England and attempts to create a marriage alliance. Firstly, the young prince was betrothed to Edward IV’s daughter Cecily of York, and then later, when Richard III usurped the throne, Anna de la Pole, one of his nieces. There were a number of rebellions under James III, mostly because of this unpopular policy towards the English. He was imprisoned for a time, with his captors turning to Queen Margaret and the nine year old Prince James at Stirling Castle to discuss the future. This led to distrust between father and son, with James III starting to favour his second son over his heir, something that grew once Queen Margaret passed away.
In 1488, Prince James left Stirling Castle without his father’s knowledge, something which unintentionally brought about another rebellion, making the prince the figurehead of the rebels. James III was killed in battle against the rebels, despite many claiming that Prince James had forbidden any man to harm his father. After being named King James IV, James bore a life long guilt for his role in his father’s death and was said to wear an iron belt around his waist. Reports say that he added weight every year throughout his life as part of his penance.
Immediately after being named king, James IV secured Edinburgh and Stirling Castles, his father’s money and jewels. He then rewarded the rebels with offices of state and posts in the royal household. His coronation took place on 24th June 1488 at Scone Abbey, he was crowned by Robert Blackadder, the Bishop of Glasgow.
From the beginning of his reign, James IV was more popular than his father. He appointed a series of efficient and well liked men to his government and defeated a major rebellion, just a year after coronation.
Though he negotiated a truce with Henry VII, the new king of England, he did not have as strong a desire to join with England as his father had. In fact, in 1495, James IV welcomed Perkin Warbeck, a pretender to the English Throne to Scotland. He hoped that by recognising Warbeck, it would give him leverage to seek European alliances and would threaten the English into a more attractive alliance for Scotland. James IV, joined Warbeck in invading England in 1496, destroying a number of towns, however, they were forced to retreat after support for Warbeck failed to materialise. James would invade England again the following year without Warbeck, who by that time had sailed to Ireland. James used the threat of war as part of his diplomacy with England and forced Henry VII to see how vulnerable the borderlands were. The pair finally agreed on a seven year truce, which was later followed by a trade deal. A further step towards peace came with the betrothal of James IV to Henry’s eldest daughter, Margaret.
The marriage negotiations went on for several years, with even the pope becoming involved and a threat of ex-communication should either king break the rules of the marriage treaty. The marriage between 13 year old Margaret Tudor and the 30 year old King of Scotland was completed by proxy in January 1503 at Richmond Palace in the presence of the King and Queen of England. The Earl of Bothwell stood in as proxy for James.
Margaret Tudor left her home in Richmond that summer, setting out in June and was received at the border by the Bishop of Moray in August. A second wedding ceremony took place in August at Holyrood Abbey where the king and his new queen met in person. Blackadder, once again, looked over the proceedings.
Historians believe that has the couple maintained separate households for several years and Margaret did not have her first child until she was 17, indicating that the marriage remained unconsummated for some time. This is likely because James IV respected the convention of avoiding consummation until she was a more acceptable age. The marriage between James and Margaret meant that only her brother Henry stood between the Scottish King and the English throne, as Henry’s lack of an heir made it possible that either James or one of his successors could take the crown, should the Tudors fail to produce heirs. Margaret’s first child, also named James, was born in 1508 but died a year later. Their second son, Arthur was born in 1509.
James maintained relationships with several mistresses throughout his marriage with Margaret Tudor and recognised many of his illegitimate children.
Together James and Margaret would have six children, though only one, James V, would survive to adulthood. He was also known to acknowledge Alexander and Catherine Stewart, his children by Marion Boyd; Margaret Stewart, his daughter by Margaret Drummond; James Stewart, who would be made 1st Earl of Moray by Janet Kennedy, and Janet Stewart, the Lady Fleming by Isabel Stewart.
Throughout James’ reign, there was a decline in parliament being held, most likely because ongoing peace with England meant there was little need for parliament to meet to arrange the funds needed for battle. The majority of his parliaments were called only to discuss justice and he would prefer to use general councils rather than calling parliament. This didn’t mean that he wasn’t heavily interested in military matters, however. He was particularly interested in developing the Royal Scots Navy and his naval expenditure was by far the largest, especially towards the end of his reign. He was also known to import a wide range of guns and canons, much of which was captured by the English at Flodden.
Relations between Scotland and England began to deteriorate after Henry VIII took the throne. Unlike his father, Henry had no interest in keeping the Scottish onside, instead vying for a war against the French, a Scottish ally. Henry’s lack of an heir also caused tension, as he was aware that James, and any children of his sister, Margaret, would have a claim to the English throne. Something that would continue until the birth of his first daughter Mary. While Henry remained childless, Margaret and James lost their son Arthur, but had another son, also named James, who would be the future James V.
On 30th June 1513, James was excommunicated by the pope as he was deemed to have broken the treaty with English. Henry VIII would then invade France, leading James to summon an army, some of which attacked the English in Ireland and others joined the French. James sent most of his experienced men out on these expeditions, leaving only a few in Scotland for the Battle of Flodden.
James IV led his troops into England on 22nd August. The battle began with an artillery duel, but heavy gunfire did not perform well, as the Scots were shooting downhill, and this allowed the much lighter English guns to more quickly return fire. James refused to listen to advice, placing himself on the front lines rather than hanging back. The Scottish forces were overrun by the English and the Battle of Flodden remains one of the worst military defeats for the Scottish.
James’ body was discovered the day after the battle surrounded by the corpses of his bodyguards. He was identified by a nobleman. According to reports from the time, his jaw had been pierced by an arrow and he had slash marks on his face and throat, it was also noted that his left hand had been almost severed. His body was taken to Berwick upon Tweed, where it was embalmed, sealed in a lead lined coffin and taken to Sheen Priory in Surrey where it remained unburied. His coat was sent to Henry VIII, who was fighting in France, by Catherine of Aragon.
As James had been excommunicated prior to his death, he could not be buried without the pope’s permission. Henry VIII did obtain a dispensation from the pope to have the Scottish king buried in London however, he remained unburied and was left above ground at Sheen Priory. It is believed he was kept in a storeroom and remained there following the dissolution of the monasteries. His coffin was rediscovered during the reign of Elizabeth I of England, it is said that his body was used for amusements and would later disappear. It is said that his head was kept by one of her courtiers as a curio but it was later buried.
On hearing the news of the king’s death, his son James was crowned, at just a year old.
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