James IV was born 17 March 1473 to James III of Scotland and Margaret of Denmark. Invested as the Duke of Rothesay by his mother, James had two younger brothers:
- James, Duke of Ross (March 1476 - January 1504). His loyalty gave James IV a secure dynastic partner during the 1490s.
- John, Earl of Mar (c. 1479 - 11 March 1503). His suspicious death in 1503 was seen by some as politically motivated, and chroniclers sometimes wondered if James ordered it (though evidence is thin).
His early childhood was shaped by tensions at court, where his father’s unpopularity with both magnates and commons led to repeated unrest. As such, James's mother was entrusted with the care of James his younger brothers while James III persued unpopular negotiations with England and other continental schemes, such as attempting to obtain the Duchy of Guelders or the Duchy of Brittany. One of James III's attempts to secure ties with England was, in 1474, organizing a marriage between his young heir and Cecily of York, the daughter of Edward IV. This was an unpopular move in Scotland, who felt they were being dragged into English politics. Other brides for the young James included Anne de la Pole (niece of Edward IV and Richard III), and another unspecified daughter of Edward's. Furthermore, James III was accused of favoring artists and architects over magnates, relying on upstarts like Robert Cochrane, and neglecting the business of war. Especially so with Edward IV and later Richard III looming over Scotland.
James III's relentless pursuit of English policies alienated many of his advisors and family, including his wife and younger brother Alexander, Duke of Albany. Alexander in particular discussed James III's behaviours with Margaret and the young James, now around eight, setting the stage for conflict between father and son. James III, likely suspecting Alexander and Margaret had turned his heir against him, began favouring his second son James whom he invested as Duke of Ross in 1486, presumably to try and sideline the Duke of Rothesay.
Under the care of Margaret, James received an exceptional education. In addition to Scottish, James became fluent in Latin and Spanish, also learned English, French, German, Flemish and Italian, and was the last Scottish monarch known to have spoken Gaelic. He took an active interest in literature, science and the law, even trying his hand at dentistry and minor surgery. He began taking on an active role in politics as young as eight, though was usually simply attending with his presence as the heir being used more as a political tool for James III's detractors.
Margaret of Denmark died in 1486, while Alexander of Albany was exiled and died in 1485. In 1488, at just fifteen, James was caught up in the rebellion against his father. It's unclear whether or not James took an active role in the revolt, or was simply a figurehead that the rebels used. Regardless of his involvement, the revolt culminated in the Battle of Sauchieburn on 11 June 1488 where James III was killed attempting to flee the battlefield (or was killed when his horse threw him off) and the Duke of Rothesay was crowned king on 24 June. Although James IV was not personally responsible, he did feel very guilty about his father’s death. He would wear an iron chain around his waist for the rest of his life and would travel on pilgrimage to St. Ninian’s Shrine at Whithorn Cathedral Priory, Dumfries, Galloway and other holy places to do penance.
James IV’s reign is remembered as a cultural high point. He patronized poets, musicians, and printers, supported medicine and learning, and corresponded with scholars across Europe. He personally experimented in sciences, funding alchemical projects at Stirling and Edinburgh. His court became a center of Renaissance humanism, with James himself at its heart as chivalric, learned, and approachable. He also took justice seriously, presiding in person over courts and extending royal authority into the Highlands and Islands. His reign saw greater control of the Lordship of the Isles, breaking the power of semi-independent lords and bringing the region more firmly under the crown.
Economically, James encouraged burghs and trade, particularly with the Low Countries, Spain, and the Hanseatic ports. His most visible accomplishment, however, was the creation of a formidable royal navy. He built new dockyards on the Firth of Forth and commissioned powerful ships, including the Great Michael, launched in 1511 as the largest warship in Europe. This investment symbolized Scotland’s ambition as a maritime power (and made his brother-in-law Henry VIII quite jealous!).
Despite his domestic successes, James inherited tense relations with England. In the 1490s he supported the pretender Perkin Warbeck who claimed to be Richard of Shrewsbury, one of the Princes in the Tower. James gave Warbeck a royal marriage to Lady Catherine Gordon and even funded an invasion of England, but the rebellion collapsed. Recognizing the futility of further hostility, James turned to diplomacy.
The result was the Treaty of Perpetual Peace in 1502, the first formal peace between Scotland and England in nearly two centuries. Its terms called for a “good, real and sincere, true, sound, and firm peace, friendship, league and confederation, to last all time coming.” and the centerpiece was James’s marriage to Margaret Tudor, daughter of Henry VII, in 1503. The match symbolized a new Anglo-Scottish friendship and would, a century later, lead to the Union of the Crowns under James VI.
Before his marriage, he fathered several illegitimate children, many of whom he acknowledged and supported, granting them positions of power and prestige. Notably, his natural son James Stewart, Earl of Moray, would become a key figure in later Scottish politics. With Margaret Tudor, he had several children, though only one, the future James V, survived infancy. Despite occasional strains, James’s marriage to Margaret seems to have been genuinely affectionate. James also never took another mistress, let alone an sired illegitimate child, after their marriage.
By Margaret Tudor (1489–1541):
- James (21 February 1507 – 27 February 1508) – Died in infancy.
- Unnamed daughter - Born and died 15 July 1508.
- Arthur (20 October 1509 – 14 July 1510) – Died as a baby.
- James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) – Succeeded his father as king at just nine months old after Flodden. His reign was marked by factional struggles in his minority, but as an adult he restored royal authority and pursued both Renaissance patronage and conflict with England.
- Unnamed daughter - Born and died sometime in November 1512.
- Alexander, Duke of Ross (30 April 1514 - 18 December 1515) - Likely named for James's brother Alexander, and his father's posthumous son.
Illegitimate children (acknowledged):
By Marion Boyd:
- Alexander Stewart, Archbishop of St Andrews (c. 1493 – 1513) – A brilliant scholar trained in Paris and Padua, he was appointed Archbishop of St Andrews but was killed alongside his father at Flodden.
- Catherine Stewart (c. 1495 - c. 1554) – Married James Douglas, 3rd Earl of Morton.
By Margaret Drummond:
- Margaret Stewart (dates uncertain) – Married John Gordon, Lord Gordon.
By Janet Kennedy:
- James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray (c. 1500 – 1544) – He became a powerful nobleman and ally of James V.
By Isabella Stewart:
- Janet Stewart (d. 1560) – Known as “the Lady Fleming,” she later became governess to Mary, Queen of Scots, and had a son with King Henry II of France.
Come Henry VII's death in 1509, James IV did not find the same respectful relationship with the new king, Henry VIII. The relationship between James and Henry was cool and increasingly strained. Unlike his cordial, respectful dealings with Henry VII, James received little diplomatic engagement from Henry VIII, who treated him more as a subordinate than a sovereign equal. James reportedly regarded Henry’s refusal to negotiate and his demands that Scotland remain neutral as both insulting and dismissive. For his part, Henry, eager to assert his dominance on the European stage, saw little reason to treat the Scottish king as a peer.
But Scotland remained bound by the Auld Alliance with France, dating back to 1295. This pact required Scotland to invade England if France were attacked. The problem arose in 1513, when James’s brother-in-law Henry VIII launched an ambitious war against France as part of his bid for continental glory. France, in turn, called upon Scotland to act. James was torn between conflicting obligations: to his English wife and the treaty that had bound his kingdom to peace, or to the older, sacred alliance with France, seen by many Scots as essential to resisting English dominance.
James attempted to avert the conflict. He sent envoys to Henry VIII urging him not to invade France and stressing the sanctity of their peace. These overtures were ignored, and Henry curtly demanded that James stay out of the war. To James, Henry’s refusal to negotiate was more than a dismissal, it was a humiliation. This arrogance, combined with James’s strong sense of knightly honor and his belief in upholding oaths, tipped the balance toward war. James chose the Auld Alliance.
James was subsequently excommunicated by Cardinal Christopher Bainbridge, Archbishop of York, acting on the authority of Pope Julius II. Somewhat ironically, Henry VIII himself would be excommunicated twenty-five years later in 1538 by Pope Paul III, though under very different circumstances. In any case, James mustered a Scottish host of perhaps 30,000 and crossed into Northumberland. His army was well-equipped, supported by modern French artillery, and commanded by nobles eager to uphold the Auld Alliance. James took up a strong position on the heights near Flodden Field, his men entrenched behind earthworks with the high ground to their advantage.
The English army, commanded by the veteran Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, was smaller but better supplied. Surrey maneuvered carefully, forcing James to abandon his defensive perch and descend into marshy ground. This proved disastrous. The long Scottish pikes, suited for firm terrain, became unwieldy in the mud, while the shorter English billhooks were devastating in close quarters. James led from the front, charging into the thick of combat. Chroniclers describe him fighting with reckless valor, cutting his way toward Surrey’s banner. He was reportedly struck by arrows and artillery fire, then slain in the melee, his body later identified among the fallen by English heralds.
The scale of the defeat at Flodden was catastrophic for Scotland. Alongside James IV fell an astonishing proportion of the kingdom’s ruling elite: around a third of the Scottish peerage was killed, including twelve earls, fifteen lords, an archbishop, two bishops, and numerous abbots and knights. Never before had so many of Scotland’s magnates perished in a single battle. Chroniclers remarked that it was as if “the nobility of the realm was buried in one grave.” This sudden loss of leadership crippled both government and military organization.
The human cost extended beyond the nobility. Estimates suggest up to 14,000 Scots were killed, compared to only 1,500 English, leaving border communities depopulated and families shattered. The death toll was so severe that some regions of Scotland lost entire kin groups of fighting men in a single day. The absence of experienced commanders also meant that many noble families went into decline, their lands passing to widows, children, or distant relatives, creating power vacuums and disputes across the realm.
James IV’s death at Flodden marked the last time a British monarch died in battle. His body was carried to Berwick and later interred in London, though the exact fate of his remains is uncertain. Because James had been excommunicated, he could not be buried in consecrated ground. Instead, the body was placed in a wooden coffin at Sheen Priory (later Syon Abbey). After that, the fate of the body becomes murky. At the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII, Sheen was closed, and James’s coffin seems to have been neglected. There are accounts likely from John Stow (a Tudor chronicler) that the coffin was later broken open, the body mistreated, and eventually discarded.
Stow claimed that James’s embalmed head was used by workmen as a gruesome curiosity, and the head eventually made its' way to Elizabeth I's master glazier, Lancelot Young, who is said to have kept it at his house on Wood Street, noting its still-recognizable red hair and beard and describing it as “sweetly scented.” Eventually, the head passed to the sexton of St Michael’s, Wood Street, who had it interred in a charnel pit in the churchyard.
The crown passed to James IV's and Margaret's nine-month-old James V, plunging Scotland into yet another regency and giving way to a situation that had plagued the realm for much of the 15th century. With so many leading nobles dead, factionalism flourished, and the English gained a temporary advantage along the border.
James IV is celebrated as one of Scotland’s most capable and cultured kings, a Renaissance ruler who strengthened the monarchy, fostered commerce, and gave the kingdom new prestige. On the other, his reckless decision at Flodden left Scotland politically weakened for a generation. Both the most brilliant and most tragic of Scotland’s kings—a man whose reign promised greatness but ended in disaster.
