The 41st ruler of Scotland, James V was the successor of King James IV and mother, Margaret Tudor, daughter of Henry VII of England and sister of Henry VII and was crowned the infant king when his father died in the Battle of Flodden on September 9, 1513.
The Ruler was just born
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James V was only 17 months old when his father’s death declared him an infant king as he was the only surviving and legitimate child of the demised king who had survived infancy. He ruled Scotland until his own death on 14th December 1542. He was born in the Linlithgow Palace on 10th of September 1512. He was later crowned at the Chapel Royal in Stirling castle on 21st September when his father and then ruler died in the battle.
The early years of James V
A few years after the second marriage of James’ mother, Margaret Tudor, she estranged from her husband when she got to know that he has been keeping mistresses on her money. This resulted in the young king being held captive by his stepfather, in order to gain his confidence for a period of almost three years.
The Earl of Angus tried placing his relatives in power to attain full control over the country but was kept distracted because of the conspiracies to free young James V from his grip. There were a few trials made to free the youthful King – one by Walter Scott of Branxholme and Buccleuch, who trapped the King’s powers on 25 July 1526 at the clash of Melrose and was directed off the field. Another one soon thereafter, on 4 September at the skirmish of Linlithgow Bridge, flopped again to ease the King from the grasp of Angus.
However, the plans worked and James escaped to take command of the government under the guidance of several court men.
The journey to take control
Till the time James V reached a level of intelligence to rule the country, the control was given in hands-on several people including his mother. After the Battle of Flodden, Scotland was not left with much of wealth and weary establishment accepted Queen Margaret as regent for the young James V. However, she married Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus a few months later in 1514 and was replaced by James’ V uncle, the Duke of Albany.
The reign of the Duke of Albany continued for almost a period of ten years with support from French troops in the name of young James V. Then in 1524, he departed to France and his mother came into the picture again. Later in 1526, James took control of the government at the age of 14.
James V as a King
The very step taken by the King James V of Scotland was to remove his stepfather, the Earl of Angus from any power which he held in his country. Since the king took a time of 14 years to take charge of what his father had left him, the situation worsened during these years. What James V inherited were leftovers of corruption and misrule. The kingdom was bankrupt so the arrangement of wealth became the biggest hurdle to move further.
Solution to this was proposed as the King getting married to a woman who belonged to a rich family and would bring in large dowry along with her. SO the king marries Princess Madeleine of France on January 1st in 1537 at the age of 24. Although the Queen was sick of tuberculosis, the match was yet made as it was perfect for the matters of wealth and also strengthened the Auld Alliance against England.
However, till this time James V has had several mistresses and he was now a father of nine ill-legitimate children. The king and the queen returned to Scotland in May 1537 but her health got worse and she died in arms of the king at Holyrood Palace in July 1537.
In June 1538 James wedded once more and got another endowment from Marie de Guise, the adopted sister of Madeleine. James and Marie along these lines had two children of their own; however, both could not even survive infancy.
Like his dad before him, James V dropped out with Henry VIII of England, this time over Henry’s request that the Scots ought to pursue the English lead in breaking with the Roman Catholic Church. James had effectively sworn his help to the Pope and the Catholic confidence as an end-result of a critical cut of religious incomes in Scotland, so couldn’t stand to conform to Henry’s requests. In 1542, James, at this point in sick wellbeing himself, declined a challenge to meet Henry VIII at York. Henry reacted by attacking Scotland.
James sent his military south to stem the English attack, yet the Scots were vanquished at the Battle of Solway Moss, close Carlisle, on 24 November 1542. James, at this point matured only 30, was sick in bed at Falkland Palace in Fife.
On 8 December 1542, Marie de Guise brought forth a little girl, who became Mary Queen of Scotland. After six days, on 14 December 1542, James passed on, most likely from cholera succeeded by the little Mary Queen of Scots.
