James I of England facts for kids

Quick facts for kids James I
Reign	24 July 1567 – 27 March 1625
Coronation	29 July 1567
Predecessor	Mary, Queen of Scots
Successor	Charles I
Reign	24 March 1603 – 27 March 1625
Coronation	25 July 1603
Predecessor	Elizabeth I
Successor	Charles I
Born	(1566-06-19)19 June 1566 Edinburgh Castle, Scotland
Died	27 March 1625 (aged 58)
Burial	7 May 1625 Westminster Abbey
Spouse	Anne of Denmark
House	House of Stuart
Father	Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley
Mother	Mary, Queen of Scots
Religion	Protestant (Published the King James Version bible)
Signature

James VI and I (19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI, and King of England and King of Ireland as James I. He was the first monarch to be called the king of Great Britain. He ruled in Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 until his death and he ruled in England and Ireland from 24 March 1603 until his death.

His reign was important because it was the first time England and Scotland had the same monarch. He was the first monarch of England from the House of Stuart. The previous English monarch had been Elizabeth I. She had died without any children, so the English agreed to have a Scottish monarch because James was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots, thus the closest relative Elizabeth had. By being king of both, he created a personal union.

James fought often with the Parliament of England. In addition, he did not use the kingdom’s money well. While James was ruling, the Scottish and English governments were quite stable. After James died, his son Charles tried to rule in the same way as James, but caused the English Civil War. At the end of the war in 1649, Charles was executed.

James was very well educated and good at learning. He helped people in England and in Scotland to study things such as science, literature, and art. James wrote Daemonologie in 1597, The True Law of Free Monarchies in 1598, Basilikon Doron in 1599, and A Counterblaste to Tobacco in 1604. He sponsored the Authorized King James Version of the Bible.

James was a target of the Gunpowder Plot. A group of Catholics planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament on 5 November 1605 during a ceremony while James was in the building. The plot was stopped when a member of the group, Guy Fawkes, was found in a basement with barrels of gunpowder. The event is remembered every year on 5 November, also known as Bonfire Night,where many people decide to celebrate and light bonfires and fireworks.

James believed in witchcraft. When he read The Discoverie of Witchcraft, he ordered all copies of the book to be burnt. The king had an importance with the first English settlers.

The first permanent English established settlement in North America was made under the charter granted by James to Sir Thomas Gates and other in 1606.

Marriage

A suitable marriage was necessary to reinforce his monarchy, and the choice fell on Anne of Denmark, younger daughter of Protestant Frederick II. The couple were married formally at the Bishop's Palace in Oslo on 23 November and returned to Scotland on 1 May 1590. The royal couple produced three children who survived to adulthood: Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, who died of typhoid fever in 1612, aged 18; Elizabeth and Charles, his successor. Anne died before her husband in March 1619.

Death

After about the age of fifty, James suffered increasingly from arthritis, gout and kidney stones. The King was often seriously ill during the last year of his life, leaving him rarely able to visit London.

In early 1625, James fell seriously ill in March and died at Theobalds House on 27 March. James's funeral on 7 May was a magnificent affair. James was buried in Westminster Abbey. The position of the tomb was lost for many years until his lead coffin was found in the Henry VII vault in the 19th century, during an excavation.

Images for kids

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  Portrait of James as a boy, after Arnold Bronckorst, 1574

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  James (right) depicted aged 17 beside his mother Mary (left), 1583. In reality, they were separated when he was still a baby.

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  James in 1586, age 20 (attrib. Adrian Vanson or the school of Alonso Sánchez Coello)

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  1589 marriage contract between James and Anne of Denmark

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  Suspected witches kneeling before King James; Daemonologie (1597)

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  Scottish gold coin from 1609–1625

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  James argued a theological basis for monarchy in The True Law of Free Monarchies.

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  Portrait after John de Critz, c. 1605. James wears the Three Brothers jewel, three rectangular red spinels; the jewel is now lost.

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  Portrait by Paul van Somer, c. 1620. In the background is the Banqueting House, Whitehall, by architect Inigo Jones, commissioned by James.

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  Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset, by John Hoskins, 1625–30

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  George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, by Peter Paul Rubens, 1625

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  On the ceiling of the Banqueting House, Rubens depicted James being carried to heaven by angels.

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  James I and his royal progeny, by Charles Turner, from a mezzotint by Samuel Woodburn (1814), after Willem de Passe

See also

In Spanish: Jacobo I de Inglaterra y VI de Escocia para niños