29th July 1567: James VI crowned king of Scotland at just 13 months old

Описание: James was the only son of Mary, Queen of Scots, so immediately became heir to the Scottish throne when he was born. His mother’s Roman Catholic faith caused her reign to be constantly under threat from the largely Protestant nobility and eventually contributed to her arrest and imprisonment in June 1567.

Mary was forced to abdicate in favour of her young son a month after her imprisonment. She never saw him again as he was quickly taken away to be raised in Stirling Castle as a God-fearing Protestant king.

Having been crowned king when he was barely one year old, James was understandably unable to rule Scotland himself. Power instead lay with a series of four regents who handled the affairs of government until his minority ended in 1578 when he was 12 years old. He didn’t gain complete control over the government for another 5 years.

James ruled Scotland until 24 March 1603, when Elizabeth I of England – James’ first cousin twice removed – died. As the great-great-grandson of Henry VII, King of England and Lord of Ireland, James succeeded Elizabeth and became the first monarch to rule all of Scotland, England and Ireland in a surprisingly smooth and peaceful succession.

Known as the Union of the Crowns, England and Scotland continued to be separate sovereign states but shared their monarch alongside Ireland. This situation only changed in 1707 when the Acts of Union created the United Kingdom.