James I of England

James Charles Stuart (1566–1625) ruled as King of James VI of Scotland, and as James I, King of England and King of Ireland. He ascended the Scottish throne in 1567, when he was only one year old, succeeding his mother Mary Queen of Scots. On 24 March 1603, as James I, he succeeded Elizabeth I, who died without issue, as King of England and Ireland. He then ruled the three kingdoms for 22 years, often using the title King of Great Britain, until his death at the age of 58.

Under James, the "Golden Age" of Elizabethan literature and drama continued. His reign saw a new translation of the Bible into English, that affirmed the divine right of kings to rule.

James I in "We Haven't Got There Yet"
In 1606, the third year of James I reign as King of England, a troupe of actors began performing a play entitled Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, which borrowed several characters from William Shakespeare's Hamlet.

James I in Ruled Britannia
James VI was king of Scotland in the late sixteenth century. When England was conquered by Spain in 1588, Scotland maintained its independence and James maintained Scotland's throne.

Though his mother had been the Catholic martyr Mary Queen of Scots, James was himself a Protestant. He was wary of the militantly Catholic stance of the Spanish-backed Queen Isabella of England, and suspended the state visits which Scottish kings periodically made to London while she reigned for fear of being imprisoned or killed.

A second cousin twice removed of Queen Elizabeth, James was the English queen's closest living relative at the time of her restoration to the English throne and was expected to become heir to the throne of England. His ascension to the English throne would unite the island of Britain into one kingdom.

James I in A Different Flesh
The first permanent English settlement in North America was named in James I's honor. Jamestown had a difficult start, as it was isolated from food and supplies, and was the target of the sims that lived in the area.

James' successor, Charles, imposed the system of "Divine Right of Kings" upon England.