Mary Queen of Scots was raised in France and preferred to read, write and speak the language of her adopted land. She was also Catholic and although she promised not to interfere in religious matters when she returned to Scotland following the death her husband, Francis II, in August 1561 it wasn’t long before she became embroiled in difficulties. The birth of her heir, by her second husband Henry Stewart, confirmed the Stuart dynasty and enhanced her claim to the English throne.

James was baptised at Stirling on 17 December 1566. Elizabeth I was one of his godmothers. She sent the Earl of Bedford, with a gold font for the boy to be received into the church. But Mary intended that her son would be a prince of the Catholic Church rather than the Presbyterian one of John Knox. It was the Archbishop of St Andrews who baptised the boy before he was proclaimed to the world by his full titles. The Earl of Bedford, having dropped off the font waited outside the Chapel Royal along with the earls of Moray, Huntly and Bothwell who were all reformers and deeply involved with the political shinanigans that bedevilled Mary’s rule. Jane Stewart, the Countess of Argyle held the baby, as Elizabeth I’s proxy, while he was baptised but was required to do penance later for participating in a papist ritual.

Nor were those the only difficulties. Mary’s relationship with her husband, Henry, Lord Darnley was strained since the murder of her secretary, David Rizzio and he still resented the fact that he wasn’t king. He was present in Stirling but refused to attend the baptism or the festivities that followed because he knew the English delegation would call him Lord Darnley rather than King Henry.

Things went from bad to worse for Mary while James remained in his nursery at Stirling where she herself had been raised during her early years as had James V. The murder of Darnley and Mary’s third marriage to the Earl of Bothwell resulted in civil conflict and her enforced abdication after an armed confrontation at Carberry Hill. On 29 July 1567 James was carried to the parish church at Stirling and was crowned King James V according to Protestant rites. John Knox preached the sermon on that occasion.

Mary’s departure from the throne did not end Scotland’s troubles. James grew up in one of Scotland’s most turbulent periods of civil unrest. Before he reached the age of five, his rule had been managed by three regents. James Stewart, Earl of Moray, the queen’s half brother, was murdered in 1570 at Linlithgow. James’ own grandfather, Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox became regent in Moray’s stead. He was fatally shot during an attack on Stirling Castle by men who supported Mary in 1571. James’ guardian John Erskine, 1st Earl of Mar, was chosen to be the next regent. One of his first acts was to have the men who killed his predecessor executed by being broken on the wheel. He died in October 1572 in his own bed at Stirling after a short illness – even so, the job of regent wasn’t one which came with a long life expectancy, especially as the civil war continued unabated.

James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton had helped Lord Darnley plan the murder of David Rizzio. He ended the civil war but faced continuing resentment from his peers who plotted to bring about his downfall. He resigned in 1578 and 11-year-old King James decided that he needed no more regents even though Morton retained much of his power as well as the favour of Queen Elizabeth I in England. A month later, in April, Morton regained control of the king, the council and Stirling Castle. As James’ nobles and the Scottish Church jockeyed for power, Morton was finally accused of being part of the plot to murder Henry Lord Darnley in 1567. He was arrested and tried in 1581 before being executed on 2 June by an early form of the guillotine known as ‘The Maiden’ – which was said to be modelled on the ‘Halifax gibbet.’ He was buried in Greyfriars.