Overview of King James IV

Scottish monarch. Crowned at Scone in 1488, having overthrown his father James III at the Battle of Sauchieburn. He had an affair with Lady Margaret Drummond, which gave rise to a child and, it is supposed, marriage. However, the plan had always been for a political union and Lady Margaret was poisoned along with her sisters to clear the way for James to marry Margaret Tudor, daughter of the English King Henry VII in 1503. It was this marriage which eventually gave rise to the Union of the Crowns in 1603. James strengthened the Auld Alliance with France. Following Henry VIII's invasion of France, James took advantage of the situation by invading England. However, this was a disastrous miscalculation on James' part, leading directly to the Battle of Flodden (1513) where the Scots were slaughtered, including James himself.

James IV became the first recorded player of the game of golf, when he played in Perth in 1502.