How much do you know about Scotland's kings?

James I ruled from 1406 until 1437 and was the great-grandson of Robert the Bruce. He was 11 when he ascended the throne though by that point he had been squirrelled away on Bass Rock in the Forth to avoid Scotland’s vicious internecine faction-fighting. Then, just days before the death of his father, Robert III, he was captured by pirates en route to France and delivered to Henry IV of England as a hostage. He was held for 18 years and on his return to Scotland in 1424 secured his position through a ruthless campaign of attacks on those he felt posed a threat to him. He had eight children by English noblewoman Joan Beaufort, though only two were boys – twins Alexander and James, born October 16, 1430. Alexander died before the year was out, James went on to become James II. James I was assassinated in Perth on the evening of February 20, 1437. Joan, though injured, escaped to Edinburgh.

James II

James was only six when he was crowned at Holyrood Abbey on March 25, 1437 – the following day saw the public beheading of one of the conspirators in his father’s murder the previous month. He married 15-year-old Mary of Guelders in 1449 and, though he was known for his temper, was a generally popular king. One of his more enduring legacies is Glasgow University, founded in 1451. One of his less is the so-called ‘Black Dinner’ of 1440 when the 16-year-old Earl of Douglas and his brother were invited to a feast in Edinburgh Castle – then summarily beheaded. James was 10 at the time, and the incident is said to have inspired the infamous ‘Red Wedding’ scene in George RR Martin’s Game Of Thrones. James died in 1460 aged 29 when one of his beloved canons exploded during a siege of Roxburgh Castle.

James III

Crowned at Kelso Abbey a week after his father’s death, James was around nine when he ascended the throne (his birth date isn’t certain) and didn’t rule in his own name until 1469. His minority was troubled and two surviving younger brothers didn’t make his majority any more secure. He married 13-year-old Margaret of Denmark in 1469 (her dowry: Orkney and Shetland) and they had three sons who all lived to see the dawn of the 16th century.

READ MORE

James plays are about making Scottish history visible, says writer Rona Munro

A man of his time – this was the start of the Northern Renaissance and the so-called Age of Discovery – James enjoyed the company of artists and scholars and among the artistic legacies of his reign are the Trinity Altarpiece (on view today in Edinburgh’s National Gallery). He died at the Battle of Sauchieburn in June 1488, trying to quell a rebellion which sought to place his son on the throne. It worked, he failed.

James IV

Probably the most successful of the Stewart monarchs, James IV had the advantage of not being a child when he was crowned – he was 15 – and he threw his energies into everything from expanding the Scottish navy and establishing royal dockyards to being a patron of the arts. He introduced compulsory schooling, oversaw the foundation of the University of Aberdeen and the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, and commissioned the Palace of Holyroodhouse around the time of his propitious marriage to Margaret Tudor. It was through her that the Stuarts would eventually accede to the English throne. James died at the Battle of Flodden in September 1513, giving Scotland one of its most grievous military defeats and Scottish history one of its greatest What If? moments.

James V: Katherine opens at Capital Theatres’ The Studio, Edinburgh on April 5 (until April 20) before touring to the Tron Theatre, Glasgow (April 25-27); Lemon Tree, Aberdeen (April 30-May 4); Mull Theatre, Tobermory (May 7-8); Eden Court Theatre, Inverness (May 10-11); Dunoon Burgh Hall (May 13-14); Birnam Arts Centre, Dunkeld (May 17-18); The Byre Theatre, St Andrews (May 21-22); Macrobert Arts Centre, Stirling (May 24-25); Eastgate Theatre, Peebles (May 28-29); and Melrose Corn Exchange (May 31-June 1)