On This Day in History: James III of Scotland Dies

Poor King James III of Scotland. When your countrymen, your royal advisers, and even members of your own family hate you, it’s tough to get a fair shake in the annals of history. Today marks the day that James’s disastrous reign came crashing to an end on the battlefield at Sauchieburn in 1488.

James got his start in the kingship business young: his father, James II, died in 1460 when little James was about eight. Various factions ruled Scotland until he reached maturity ten years later; one of the major players jockeying for control of the crown was his mother, Mary of Gueldres. He married Princess Margaret of Denmark, daughter of King Christian I, in 1459 and had three sons (two of whom were, confusingly, both named James — James III was apparently the George Foreman of his time).

Trouble really started when James decided it was time to make nice with his neighbors to the south. His attempts to forge an alliance with England were, to say the least, unpopular with his fellow Scots. As a part of a treaty with the English, he decided to marry off his son James (that’s the heir to the throne James, not the second son James) to Princess Cecily of York, daughter of the King and Queen of England. As if it wasn’t enough to marry off their future king to an Englishwoman, James also ticked off his subjects by raising their taxes to pay for the wedding. And, because the prospective bride was five and the future James IV was barely a year old, it was going to be a while before wedding bells could officially ring.

This marriage was never to take place, but James persisted in playing royal matchmaker. James tried to marry off his son to other English ladies, including Anne de la Pole. When Queen Margaret died, James even considered trying to marry Elizabeth Woodville, widow of King Edward IV of England.

Family infighting started about the same time — James and his brothers, the Duke of Albany and the Earl of Mar, got into it over James’s friendliness with England. He accused Albany of treason and shipped him off to France. Not long after, Mar died under suspicious circumstances. James was also not getting along with James Junior #1. Then England decided to invade in 1482. Even the queen was turning against her husband at this point. The English succeeded in imprisoning James for a while in Edinburgh before running out of money and deciding to abandon the entire project.

But James’s troubles were far from over, and rebels were still mounting a campaign to kick him out. They installed the elder son James (who was by then fifteen) as their king and raised an army. James fought against his son and the rebel leaders at the Battle of Sauchieburn on June 11, 1488. The king was thrown from his horse and died, and his son officially became James IV of Scotland.