James I

James Stuart (1566–1625) was King of Scots (as James VI) from the abdication of his mother, Mary Queen of Scots, in 1567, and King of England and Ireland (as James I) from the death of Elizabeth I in 1603. On his accession to the English throne there was a saying Rex fuit Elizabeth, nunc est regina Jacobus (Latin for "Elizabeth was King, now James is Queen). The start of his reign was marked by the failed Gunpowder Plot (Guy Fawkes was discovered with barrels of gunpowder in the cellars of the Houses of Parliament, 5 November 1605). His lasting legacy is the Authorised Version (or King James Version) of the Bible, published 1611.

James was married and had seven children, but was noted for his relationships with men, including Esmé Stewart (Duke of Lennox), Robert Carr (Earl of Somerset) and George Villiers (Duke of Buckingham). However James's book Basilikon Doron condemns sodomy as a crime "ye are bound in conscience never to forgive".