George Bernard Shaw once

claimed that the media were

unable to tell a bicycle accident

from the collapse of civilisation.

Prepare to pedal down the byways

of Scottish history with

Jim Hewitson

HISTORIANS and genea-

logists have always poured scorn on suggestions that there was some

hidden, unspeakable secret connected with the birth of King James VI on

June 19, 1566, in a tiny, oak-panelled room in Edinburgh Castle.

However, for students of the conspiracy theory of history there remain a

few lingering, irritating, yet intriguing, doubts.

The initial controversy hanging over the birth of James was the

question of the child's paternity. For decades James was haunted by

hints that his father was not Darnley but his mother's boyfriend, the

murdered court musician David Rizzio.

Cruelly, Henry IV of France joined the gossip-mongering by observing

that James was indeed the modern Solomon since he was the son of David,

and James was said to have wept openly when this old scandal was

resurrected by his enemies.

More sensational by far was the suggestion that James died at birth

and an infant from a noble Scots family was substituted. Here we

certainly find food for thought. It was unquestionably a long and

difficult birth. So intense was the pain that Mary was later to say that

during the delivery she had begun to wish that she had never married. It

seems she had feared for her life in childbirth and even went as far as

making her will.

Beyond that there is no suggestion that the baby was still-born or

struggled for survival, yet in Edinburgh and in the country at large

rumours quickly spread that the child had died and another baby had

taken his place. Of course, the last thing Elizabeth of England wanted

was a healthy, legitimate son for Mary who would become heir to the

English throne. Such rumours suited her well.

If an infant substitution did take place there are one or two possible

candidates. One story names the baby son of the Earl of Mar and it is

interesting to note that as governor of Stirling Castle, the earl was

later to have custody of the young King James.

On the world stage this week we note the birth of Andrew Crosse,

electrician, who tried improving wines and ciders with electricity (June

17, 1784); Sir Inigo Jones, the architect, died (June 21, 1652); and the

foundation of Tower Bridge in London was laid (June 20, 1886).

Concerning Scotland:

June 17

1239 -- Edward I of England, the ''Hammer of the Scots'' was born at

Westminster.

1841 -- More than half of Glasgow's Irish population of 32,000 were

said to be enrolled under the banner of teetotalism.

1974 -- Foreign Office probed a visit to Glasgow by a Russian ship

laden with electronic equipment which passed close to the nuclear base

in the Holy Loch.

June 18

1633 -- Coronation of Charles I at Holyrood.

1844 -- East Lothian-born architect Peter Nicholson who designed

Glasgow's Carlton Place, died aged 79, in Carlisle.

June 19

1538 -- James V's beautiful bride-to-be, Mary, daughter of the Duke

Guise, landed at Crail in Fife.

1639 -- Covenanters finally gained control of the north-east of

Scotland with a victory at Brig o' Dee, securing Aberdeen for the army

of Montrose.

June 20

1436 -- Scottish fleet of 46 vessels under the Earl of Orkney prepared

to sail for France with Margaret, daughter of James I and bride-to-be of

Dauphin Louis.

1567 -- Controversial ''Casket'' Letters which implicated Mary Queen

of Scots in the murder of Darnley found in possession of George

Dalgleish, Bothwell's servant.

1945 -- Southern Kintyre was struck by a localised tempest, winds

rising from calm to 50mph in less than two minutes.

June 21

1593 -- George Smollett, an ancestor of the novelist and a burgess of

Dumbarton, denounced as a rebel for oppressing honest Highland folk who

came to trade in Glasgow and Renfrew.

1894 -- Channel Squadron anchored off Gourock; arrival of the seven

vessels was watched by huge crowds.

June 22

1590 -- Lady Foulis of Ross-shire accused of gathering a coven of

witches to promote the rights of succession of her children; she was not

convicted.

1735 -- John Millar, Professor of Law at Glasgow University and an

opponent of the slave trade, born at Shotts, Lanarkshire.

1965 -- Plea in Commons to have the Royal Mint transferred to Scotland

as part of Government policy of redistribution of industry failed.

June 23

1585 -- The coining of gold, silver, and alloyed money was switched

from Edinburgh to Dundee, the Exchequer to Falkland, and the Court of

Session to Stirling, because of plague in the capital.

1928 -- Inaugural rally in King's Park, Stirling, of home-rule-seeking

National Party of Scotland, the forerunner of the SNP.