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- James V, (born April 10, 1512, Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scot.? died Dec. 14, 1542, Falkland, Fife), king of Scotland from 1513 to 1542.
During the period of his minority, which lasted throughout the first half of his reign, James was a pawn in the struggle between pro-French and pro-English factions; after he assumed personal control of the government, he upheld Roman Catholicism against the Protestant nobles and allied his country with France.
James was 17 months old when he succeeded to the throne of his father, James IV (ruled 1488? 1513). In the power struggle that developed between the pro-French regent, John Stewart, duke of Albany, and the head of the English party, Archibald Douglas, earl of Angus, each side sought to gain possession of the young ruler. James's mother, Margaret Tudor, complicated events by shifting her allegiance from her husband, Angus, to Albany.
Albany retired to France in 1524, and Angus kept James in confinement from 1526 until 1528, when the king escaped and forced Angus to flee to England. By 1530 James had consolidated his power in Scotland. He signed a treaty with his uncle, King Henry VIII of England, in 1534, but in 1538 he married the French noblewoman Mary of Lorraine and thereafter allied with France against England. A cruel man, he instituted in his later years a near reign of terror in Scotland, and his financial exactions did not endear him to his subjects.
When Henry VIII's forces attacked Scotland in 1542, James's small army, weakened by the disaffection of the Protestant nobles, crossed into England and was easily routed near the border at Solway Moss on Nov. 24, 1542. The disaster caused the king to suffer a mental breakdown; he died on Dec. 14, 1542, a week after the birth of his daughter? his only surviving legitimate child? Mary Stuart (Mary, Queen of Scots). Among his several illegitimate children was James, earl of Moray (died 1570), who became regent of Scotland when Mary Stuart abdicated her throne in 1567.
His marriage to Mary of Guise: James then proceeded to marry Mary of Guise, daughter of Claude, Duke of Guise, and widow of Louis II d'Orl?eans, Duke of Longueville, by proxy on 12 June 1538. Mary already had two sons from her first marriage, and the union produced two sons. However, both died in April 1541, just eight days after baby Robert was baptised. Their daughter and James's only surviving legitimate child, Mary(Queen of Scots), was born in 1542 at Linlithgow Palace.
His children, many illegitimate:
By Madeleine de Valois: no children
By Mary of Guise:
James, Duke of Rothesay (22 May 1540, St Andrews, Fife ? 21 April 1541).
Arthur[59] or Robert, Duke of Albany (12 April 1541, Falkland Palace ? 20 April 1541), buried in Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh.
Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542, Linlithgow Palace ? 8 February 1587; had issue).
Additionally, James V had nine known illegitimate children, at least three of whom were fathered before the age of 20. The young King was said to have been encouraged in his amorous affairs by the Angus regime to keep him distracted from politics. In addition to these aristocratic liaisons, David Lindsay described the king's other affairs in his poem, The Answer to the Kingis Flyting; 'ye be now strang lyke ane elephand, And in till Venus werkis maist vailyeand.'
Many of the sons of his aristocratic mistresses entered ecclesiastical careers. Pope Clement VII sent a dispensation to James V dated 30 August 1534, allowing four of the children to take holy orders when they came of age. The document stated that James elder was in his fifth year, James younger and John in their third year, and Robert in his first year.
Adam Stewart (d. 20 June 1575), son of Lady Elizabeth Stewart, (daughter of John Stewart, 3rd Earl of Lennox.)
Prior of Charterhouse, Perth. Buried at St. Magnus, Kirkwall, Orkney; tombstone survives.
James Stewart, son of Christine Barclay
Jean Stewart (d. 7 January 1588), daughter of Elizabeth Bethune.
Married Archibald Campbell, 5th Earl of Argyll in 1553, divorced in 1573 due to desertion.
James Stewart (c. 1529? 57), son of Elizabeth Shaw.
Commendator of Kelso and Melrose.
Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney (b.1533), son of Euphame Elphinstone
Prior and Commendator of Holyrood Abbey.
John Stewart, Lord Darnley and Prior of Coldingham, (c. 1531 ? November 1563), son of Elizabeth Carmichael (1514? 1550) who later married John Somerville of Cambusnethan.
He married Jean (or Jane) Hepburn, sister and heiress of James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, their son Francis Stewart became Earl of Bothwell and a daughter Christine Stewart was appointed to rock the cradle of Prince James in March 1567.
James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, son of Margaret Erskine, James's favourite mistress.
Prior of St Andrews, Advisor and rival to his half-sister, Mary, Queen of Scots and regent for his nephew, James VI.
Robert Stewart, junior, (d. 1581), mother unknown.
Prior of Whithorn.
- (Research):Nickname
The Poor Man's King
Also Known As
James V
Also Known As
King of Scotland
Also Known As
James V King Scots
Birth Name
James Stewart V
Military Service
Invasion of England
1542
Lauder, Scottish Borders, Scotland
Defeat: Invasion of England at Battle of Solway Moss on the English Side of the Anglo/Scottish border
31 October 1542
Invasion of England at Lauder, Scotland
November 1542
Solway Moss, Scottish Borders, Scotland
Title of Nobility
Prince
Scotland
Earl
Moray
Grand Steward
Scotland
Duke
Rothesay
King
from 21 September 1513 to 1542
Scotland
Custom Event
Fatherless
He was 17 months old when his father was killed in battle on Flotten Field.
9 September 1513
Branxton, Northumberland, England
Kidnapped
The Regent Albany brought 7,000 men to Sterling Castle to abduct him from his mother, Margaret Tudor
1515
Sterling Castle, Scotland
Declared to have 'Authority Royal'
14 June 1526
Tribe Name
Cause of Death: There are accounts he might have died of grief over the war defeat...although some historians consider that it may just have been an ordinary fever, he had been ill for three days, after the war.
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1512 - 1542 (30 years)
