James V, king of Scotland

James V, 1512–42, king of Scotland (1513–42), son and successor of James IV. His mother, Margaret Tudor, held the regency until her marriage in 1514 to Archibald Douglas, 6th earl of Angus, when she lost it to John Stuart, duke of Albany. The factions of Albany, Angus, and the queen mother struggled for control until Angus seized (1526) the young king. In 1528, James escaped, and Angus fled to England. James began to ally himself with France against his uncle, Henry VIII of England. In 1537 he married Madeleine, daughter of Francis I of France, and after her death in the same year he married (1538) Mary of Guise. James rejected Henry's attempts to win his support for the English religious policy, and in 1542 war broke out between the two countries. James's nobles gave him little support, and his army was routed at Solway Moss in 1542. He died shortly thereafter and was succeeded by his infant daughter, Mary Queen of Scots.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: British and Irish History: Biographies