James V was King of Scotland from 9 September 1513 until his death in 1542. He was crowned on 21 September 1513 at the age of seventeen months. James was the son of King James IV and Margaret Tudor, daughter of Henry VII of England. During his childhood Scotland was governed by regents, firstly by his mother until she remarried, and then by his first cousin once removed, John Stewart, Duke of Albany. James's personal rule began in 1528 when he finally escaped the custody of his stepfather, Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus. His first action was to exile Angus and confiscate the lands of the Douglases.
Portrait by Corneille de Lyon, c. 1536
John Stewart, Duke of Albany James V's regent from 1515 to 1524
Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, James V's step-father
The four European orders of chivalry to which James V belonged — Garter, Thistle, Golden Fleece and St Michael — on the outer gate he built at his birthplace, Linlithgow Palace
James IV was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sauchieburn, following a rebellion in which the younger James was the figurehead of the rebels. James IV is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs. He was responsible for a major expansion of the Scottish royal navy, which included the founding of two royal dockyards and the acquisition or construction of 38 ships, including the Michael, the largest warship of its time.
James IV, copy by Daniël Mijtens of a lost contemporary portrait.
Stirling Castle, James IV's birthplace and childhood home.
Copy of contemporary portrait of James by Jacques Le Boucq
Arms of James IV