[MR] Wikipedia: James IV of Scotland Marries Margaret Tudor

[Garth Groff via Atlantia]

Noble Friends, Especially Fellow Scots:

On this date in 1503 King of Scots James IV married Margaret Tudor, 
eldest daughter of Henry VII, King of England. This made James the 
brother-in-law of the future Henry VIII. The consequence of this union 
was that 100 years later James' great-grandson James VI ascended the 
throne of England as James I. So in a way, Scotland conquered England, 
though James VI & I hated Scotland and quickly became as English as he 
could.

You can read about James IV here: 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_IV_of_Scotland

And here is a short biography of Margaret: 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Tudor

Now in my not-so humble opinion, the Stewart kings and Queens of 
Scotland, and later both Scotland and England (they wore "dual crowns", 
so to speak) were a bunch of losers. They were mercurial, ineffective 
rulers who made many terrible decisions with drastic consequences for 
both countries, though they certainly provided a great deal of drama. 
One of their worst blunders was upholding the "Auld Alliance" with 
France, which nearly always turned out to be a disaster for the Scots: 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auld_Alliance .

James IV was probably the best of the lot. He was wise enough to 
conclude a peace treaty with England as part of the marriage package. 
Scotland was able to enjoy 10 years of relative peace with England, and 
enjoyed one of the most stable and prosperous decades in her long and 
troubled history. That ended when James IV entered the War of the League 
of Cambrai in 1513 on the side of France, and made a diversionary 
invasion of England. He, and most of the Scottish nobility, was 
massacred at the Battle of Flodden on 9 September 1513.

Yours Aye,


Lord Mungo Napier, Whose Real Ancestors Served the Stewarts, and Most 
Somehow Survived