{"id":35109,"date":"2024-04-05T10:55:54","date_gmt":"2024-04-05T08:55:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.historyextra.com\/?p=264713"},"modified":"2024-04-06T00:13:14","modified_gmt":"2024-04-05T22:13:14","slug":"how-did-james-vi-and-i-die","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/rss_feed\/how-did-james-vi-and-i-die\/","title":{"rendered":"How did James VI and I die?"},"content":{"rendered":"

As drama Mary & George dramatises the final moments of King James VI and I, find out what’s known about what really happened in the king\u2019s sickroom\u2026 <\/p>

By Elinor Evans\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 05 April 2024 at 08:55 AM<\/p>

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James VI and I became king of Scotland in 1567 when he was just 13 months old, and succeeded his cousin, Elizabeth I of England, in 1603 to become the first monarch to unite the two crowns. He went on to rule the kingdoms of Scotland, England and Ireland for a further 22 years, and his death meant the end of a period often known as the Jacobean era (taking its name from Jacobus, the Latin version of James). He is the longest reigning monarch of Scotland, holding the throne for 57 years and 246 days.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had presided over some of the most significant political and cultural events in British history,\u201d said historian Joe Ellis on the HistoryExtra<\/em> podcast<\/a>. \u201cThe Gunpowder Plot<\/a>, the witch hunting craze<\/a>, colonization in America, and the success of William Shakespeare<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Gunpowder\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
James VI and I was the subject of many kidnap and murder plots, including the conspiracy to blow up the Houses of Parliament in November 1605. The conspirators of the Gunpowder Plot are pictured, including Guy Fawkes, third from right. (Photo by Print Collector\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Over the course of his reign, James VI and I<\/a> had also been the target of multiple kidnap and murder plots, from groups of nobles who planned to steal away the boy king in his minority and rule in his place, to the infamous attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605. So it\u2019s perhaps no surprise that, in the wake of his death, rumours swirled that the king had been poisoned.<\/p>\n

How and when did James VI and I die?<\/h2>\n

James VI and I died, aged 58, at Theobalds Palace in Hertfordshire on 27 March 1625.<\/p>\n

In his later years, James had suffered with many ailments, including \u201cincreasingly painful arthritis, gout and kidney stones,\u201d Joe Ellis explains. \u201cAnd because of his frail health, he was increasingly a peripheral figure at court and on the political stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn his final years, he rarely visited London; he preferred to stay at hunting lodges around Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire. We find [James\u2019s eldest surviving son] Prince Charles really beginning to play a much more significant role in policymaking and direct government.\u201d<\/p>\n