James the son of Mary Queen of Scots and Henry Stuart Lord Darnley was born at Edinburgh Castle.

Henry, Lord Darnley, was murdered as he tried to escape from his attackers as they laid gunpowder in his house. His house was destroyed in the explosion. The culprit was thought to be the Earl of Bothwell who was then very close to Queen Mary and it may have been the Queen herself who ordered the killing. ¹

The infant son of Mary, Queen of Scots, was crowned in Stirling in an ordinary church called the Holy Rude. This wasn't the traditional location for the coronations of Scottish kings. The ceremony was led by the Bishop of Orkney and John Knox. ¹

James Stewart, the illegitimate son of King James V of Scotland, and half-brother of Mary Stewart, was escorted from France through England to Edinburgh where he was declared Regent of Scotland to the young King James VI.

James Stewart, acting as regent to the young King, was assassinated by a member of the Hamilton family. It would be several months before a new regent was appointed.

The regency of Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox was ended when he was assassinated during a raid by forces loyal to Mary, Queen of Scots, in Stirling. The raid was part of the ongoing civil war in Scotland between the factions supporting Mary and those supporting her son James VI. His death was a blow to the pro-English faction and marked the continuation of political instability in Scotland.

A proxy marriage was performed in Denmark to wed James VI of Scotland, who was not present, to Anne, the daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark.

After the proxy marriage in Denmark, Queen Anne attempted to sail to Scotland to join King James, but bad weather prevented the Danish fleet, carrying the new queen, reaching Scottish shores. On hearing the news King James decided to rescue his queen himself.

Charles, the future king of England was born at Dunfermline Palace, Fife in Scotland.

Elizabeth's health was failing and before her death she reportedly named James of Scotland as her successor. She was buried in the Henry VII Chapel in Westminster Abbey.

Within hours of the Queen's death, James VI of Scotland was declared King of England. He had three rights to the English throne, being a direct descendant of Henry VII, being the nearest relative to Queen Elizabeth and finally being chosen by Elizabeth herself.

Eleven days after the death of Queen Elizabeth, King James left Scotland and travelled to London.

The citizens of London welcomed their new King with entertainments.

Sir Walter Raleigh was accused of treason as part of a plot to remove King James I from the English throne and replace him with Arbella Stuart. Lord Cobham was the supposed ringleader and was planning to use Spanish money to put the plans into reality. Once the plot was discovered, both Cobham and Raleigh were arrested and found guilty. They were both transferred to the Tower of London.

After many years imprisoned in the Tower of London, Sir Walter Raleigh was pardoned by the King and released. During this time locked up in the Tower of London he had keep abreast of events and had been working on a book entitled 'The History of the World'.

On his journey to Scotland King James I visited Warkworth Castle. He found it in a state of disrepair and there were sheep and goats living within the rooms. ¹

King Charles I became the first person to succeed to the crown of both England and Scotland. His father James VI the King of Scotland from 1567 and later James I King of England from 1603. James was buried at Westminster Abbey.