James III of Scotland

James III (10 July 1451/May 1452 – 11 June 1488) was King of Scots from 1460 until his death at the Battle of Sauchieburn in 1488. He inherited the throne as a child following the death of his father, King James II, at the siege of Roxburgh Castle. James III's reign began with a minority that lasted almost a decade, during which Scotland was governed by a series of regents and factions who struggled for possession of the young king before his personal rule began in 1469.

James III was an unpopular and ineffective king and was confronted with two major rebellions during his reign. He was much criticised by contemporaries and later chroniclers for his promotion of unrealistic schemes to invade or take possession of Brittany, Guelders and Saintonge at the expense of his regular duties as king. While his reign saw Scotland reach its greatest territorial extent with the acquisition of Orkney and Shetland through his marriage to Margaret of Denmark, James was accused of debasing the coinage, hoarding money, failing to resolve feuds and enforce criminal justice, and pursuing an unpopular policy of alliance with England. His preference for his own "low-born" favourites at court and in government alienated many of his bishops and nobles, as well as members of his own family, leading to tense relationships with his brothers, his wife, and his heir. In 1482, James's brother, Alexander, Duke of Albany, attempted to usurp the throne with the aid of an invading English army, which led to the loss of Berwick-upon-Tweed and a coup by a group of nobles which saw the king imprisoned for a time, before being restored to power.

James's reputation as Scotland's first Renaissance monarch has sometimes been exaggerated. The artistic legacy of his reign was slight when compared to that of his two immediate successors, and consists of the patronage of painters and musicians, coins that display realistic portraits of the king, the Trinity Altarpiece, and the King's Chapel at Restalrig. James III was killed at the Battle of Sauchieburn, following a rebellion in which his heir was the figurehead of the rebels, and succeeded him as James IV.

James was the first surviving son born to King James II and his wife, Mary of Guelders, the daughter of Arnold, Duke of Guelders, and a great-niece of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. The exact date and place of James's birth have been a matter of debate. Claims have been made that he was born in May 1452, or on 10 or 20 July 1451. The place of birth was either Stirling Castle, or St Andrews Castle (the seat of the Bishop of St Andrews), depending on the year. His most recent biographer, Norman Macdougall, argued strongly for late May 1452 at St Andrews. The infant Duke of Rothesay was born during the crisis which had seen his father stab William, Earl of Douglas to death in Stirling Castle. This murder did not end the power of the Douglases, but created a state of intermittent civil war until James II struck a decisive blow against the Douglases in 1455 at the Battle of Arkinholm and Parliament declared the extensive Douglas lands forfeit and permanently annexed them to the Crown. James III ascended the throne following the death of his father at the siege of Roxburgh Castle on 3 August 1460, and the new king was brought to Kelso from Edinburgh with his mother. It was not considered possible to have the king journey to Perthshire for a coronation at Scone Abbey, so James III was crowned at Kelso Abbey, a week after James II's death, and two days after the fall of Roxburgh.

During the early years of James III's reign, the government was led by the queen mother, Mary of Guelders, as regent, while James was educated by Archibald Whitelaw, the Secretary of State and a classical scholar who had taught at St Andrews and Cologne. In March 1461 the first parliament of the reign appointed a council of regency consisting of the Bishop of St Andrews, the Bishop of Glasgow, and the earls of Angus, Huntly, Argyll, and Orkney.

Mary of Guelders emerged as an astute and capable ruler, pursuing a pragmatic foreign policy during the Wars of the Roses taking place in England. Following the defeat of the Lancastrians by the Yorkists at the Battle of Towton in March 1461, Henry VI of England, Margaret of Anjou, and Edward, Prince of Wales fled north across the border seeking refuge. They were received by Mary of Guelders and lodged at Linlithgow Palace and the Dominican friary in Edinburgh.

The Lancastrians expected Mary to provide them with Scottish troops to help Henry VI recover the throne, but she had no intention of becoming involved in a war on their behalf. Mary sought to gain as much as she could from the Lancastrian fugitives while opening negotiations with the victorious Yorkists to explore the possibility of a truce. In return for a year's refuge in Scotland and loans that Mary of Guelders granted them, the Lancastrians surrendered Berwick to the Scots in April 1461.

This period also saw disputes between Mary and James Kennedy, Bishop of St Andrews over who had control over the person of James III, and over foreign policy, with the bishop favouring an alliance with the Lancastrians, while Mary initially wanted to continue playing off the warring parties in England against each other, before eventually supporting the Yorkists.