19/06/2026
Cheer up James it’s your birthday! 🎂
On this day in 1566, Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to a son in Edinburgh Castle. Six months later, the child was christened Charles James in Stirling and in the following days his mother formally appointed him Duke of Rothesay and Earl of Carrick.
A special tax of £12,000 was raised for the baptismal celebrations and the Queen of Scots organised a sumptuous feast which was attended by ambassadors from England, France, and Savoy, alongside many members of the Scottish nobility (though not, apparently, the baby’s father, Lord Darnley).
Within a year of these lavish festivities however, the young prince’s father would be murdered and his mother deposed. The next title bestowed upon the infant would be that of King of Scots and he was crowned as James Vl in July 1567.
The new king learnt to hunt and hawk from a young age. During James VI’s adult reign Falkland Palace, with its fine hunting park, reclaimed its traditional status as an important royal residence. The king and his court visited frequently until 1603, when this king also became James I of England, and the future of the Stuart dynasty changed forever.
In the drawing room here at Falkland Palace we have this very striking portrait of James VI which was painted by Alonso Sanchez Coello in 1586.
