In June 1589, James VI of Scotland celebrated his 23rd birthday. He was a baby-faced king, raised amid factional politics and had ruled in place of his mother – the ill-fated Mary, Queen of Scots – since he was a year old. As the potential heir of the childless queen of England, Elizabeth I, James also knew how important it was to have a legitimate son. He had been criticised for his close friendships with various gentlemen of his court, especially the dashing Esmé Stuart, Duke of Lennox, so the presence of a young, fecund wife would go a considerable way to dispelling rumours of his homosexuality.
A PERILOUS VOYAGE
James’ choice was the 14-year-old Anna of Denmark, a high-foreheaded, long-nosed beauty who was the daughter of the recently deceased Frederick II. She had the added advantage of being Protestant, the faith in which James himself had been raised. Her family also had considerable wealth. The marriage contract, sewn with numerous terracotta seals
