King James V was born on 10 April, 1512 (died in 1542) in Scotland. He was the son of James IV and of his queen Margaret Tudor, a daughter of Henry VII of England. He became king at seventeen months when his father was killed at Flodden in 1513. The regency (reggenza) was at first given to his mother, but after Queen Margaret’s second marriage, it was transferred to John Stewart, duke of Albany. As a consequence James’s minor age (minore età) was disturbed by constant quarrels (litigi) between factions and struggles to get him under control until, in 1524, the parliament declared that James was fit (adatto) to govern, but that he must be advised (consigliato) by his mother and a council. This “nomination” of James as king was mainly due to (principalmente dovuta) the efforts (sforzi) of Henry VIII who was interested in a Scotch alliance. In 1529 and 1530 James V suppressed his turbulent vassals in the south of Scotland and in May 1534 he signed a treaty (firmò un trattato) with England. Henry VIII wished James to marry his daughter Mary, but the Scottish king preferred a French bride (sposa) and married first Madeleine, daughter of King Francis I, then, after her premature death, he united to Mary (1515-1560), widow of Louis of Orleans, duke of Longueville. With this marriage he definitely ranged (si pose) himself among the enemies of England. After refusing to meet his uncle Henry VIII – already excommunicated by the Church of Rome – James V received the gift (dono) of a cap and sword from Pope Paul III renouncing the friendship of his uncle. James also persecuted people who did not embrace the Catholic church and executed many of them. In 1540, after a last attempt (tentative) to win the neutrality of James for his religious policy, Henry VIII sent an army and defeated (sconfisse) Scotland at Solway Moss. This blow caused his death. His only successor was Mary, later Mary Stuart – the famous queen rival of Queen Elizabeth I, Henry VIII’s daughter.