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.
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