Editing James III of Scotland (section)

== Early reign ==
=== The Queen Regent ===
During the early years of James III's reign, the government was led by the [[queen mother]], Mary of Guelders, as [[regent]], while James was educated by Archibald Whitelaw, the [[Secretary of State (Kingdom of Scotland)|Secretary of State]] and a [[Classics|classical]] scholar who had taught at [[University of St Andrews|St Andrews]] and [[University of Cologne|Cologne]].<ref name="auto11"/> In March 1461 the first parliament of the reign appointed a council of regency consisting of the [[James Kennedy (bishop)|Bishop of St Andrews]], the [[Andrew de Durisdeer|Bishop of Glasgow]], and the [[earl]]s of [[George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus|Angus]], [[Alexander Gordon, 1st Earl of Huntly|Huntly]], [[Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll|Argyll]], and [[William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness|Orkney]].<ref>Tanner, Roland, ''The Late Medieval Scottish Parliament: Politics and the Three Estates, 1424–1488'' (John Donald, 2001), p. 208.</ref>

Mary of Guelders emerged as an astute and capable ruler, pursuing a pragmatic foreign policy during the [[Wars of the Roses]] taking place in [[Kingdom of England|England]]. Following the defeat of the [[House of Lancaster|Lancastrians]] by the [[Yorkists]] at the [[Battle of Towton]] in March 1461, [[Henry VI of England]], [[Margaret of Anjou]], and [[Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales|Edward, Prince of Wales]] fled north across the border seeking refuge. They were received by Mary of Guelders and lodged at [[Linlithgow Palace]] and the Dominican friary in [[Edinburgh]].<ref>Macdougall, Norman, ''James III'' (John Donald, 2009), p. 24.</ref>

The Lancastrians expected Mary to provide them with Scottish troops to help Henry VI recover the throne, but she had no intention of becoming involved in a war on their behalf. Mary sought to gain as much as she could from the Lancastrian fugitives while opening negotiations with the victorious Yorkists to explore the possibility of a truce.<ref>Macdougall, Norman, ''James III'' (John Donald, 2009), p. 26.</ref> In return for a year's refuge in Scotland and loans that Mary of Guelders granted them, the Lancastrians surrendered [[Berwick-upon-Tweed|Berwick]] to the Scots in April 1461.

This period also saw disputes between Mary and [[James Kennedy (bishop)|James Kennedy]], [[Bishop of St Andrews]] over who had control over the person of James III, and over foreign policy, with the bishop favouring an alliance with the Lancastrians, while Mary initially wanted to continue playing off the warring parties in England against each other, before eventually supporting the Yorkists.<ref>Macdougall, Norman, ''James III'' (John Donald, 2009), p. 30.</ref>

Although the sources for the period are vague, it is believed that Kennedy and his supporters mounted a coup in the autumn of 1462 by taking possession of the 10-year-old James III following an armed confrontation with Mary's supporters in [[Edinburgh]].<ref>Macdougall, Norman, ''James III'' (John Donald, 2009), p. 34.</ref> Mary of Guelders died in December 1463, leaving Bishop Kennedy in undisputed control of government.

=== Kennedys and Boyds ===
Bishop Kennedy died at St Andrews in May 1465, and his elder brother, [[Gilbert Kennedy, 1st Lord Kennedy|Gilbert Kennedy, Lord Kennedy]], assumed custody of James III. Lord Kennedy's guardianship lacked the sanction of Parliament, and his advancement of the Kennedy kin, such as the appointment of his half-brother, [[Patrick Graham (bishop)|Patrick Graham]], as the new bishop of St Andrews, made his regime increasingly unpopular.<ref>Macdougall, Norman, ''James III'' (John Donald, 2009), p. 51.</ref>

In July 1466, James III was seized while hunting at [[Linlithgow Palace]] by a large armed group led by [[Robert Boyd, 1st Lord Boyd|Robert, Lord Boyd]] and his son, [[Thomas Boyd, Earl of Arran|Thomas]], and was taken to [[Edinburgh Castle]] as the [[Clan Boyd|Boyds]] and their supporters mounted a coup to seize control of the government by gaining possession of the king during his minority.<ref name="auto3">Tanner, Roland, ''The Late Medieval Scottish Parliament: Politics and the Three Estates, 1424–1488'' (John Donald, 2001), p. 225.</ref> Gilbert Kennedy was then imprisoned in Stirling Castle for a period.

The 14-year-old king was forced to declare before [[Parliament of Scotland|Parliament]] in October that he had not been offended by being taken from Linlithgow, and that it was his intention to appoint Lord Boyd as his governor, to serve until his twenty-first year.<ref name="auto3"/> The Boyd faction made itself unpopular, especially with the king, through self-aggrandizement such as the creation of Lord Boyd's son, [[Thomas Boyd, Earl of Arran|Thomas]], as [[Earl of Arran (Scotland)|earl of Arran]], and Arran's marriage to the king's 13-year-old sister, [[Mary Stewart, Countess of Arran|Mary]] in 1467, which antagonised the king and considerable sections of the [[three estates]].<ref>Tanner, Roland, ''The Late Medieval Scottish Parliament: Politics and the Three Estates, 1424–1488'' (John Donald, 2001), p. 227.</ref>

[[File:James III and Margaret of Denmark.jpg|thumb|James III and Margaret of Denmark]]

The Boyds sought to maintain power by gaining diplomatic success, and in August 1468 an embassy was sent to [[Denmark]] to secure a royal marriage. The ambassadors' negotiations resulted in a treaty which provided for an alliance between Scotland and Denmark, and James III's marriage to [[Margaret of Denmark, Queen of Scotland|Margaret]], the only daughter of King [[Christian I of Denmark and Norway]].<ref name="auto4">Macdougall, Norman, ''James III'' (John Donald, 2009), p. 56.</ref> Margaret's [[dowry]] was 60,000 [[Rhenish guilder]]s, 10,000 of which were to be paid before the Scottish embassy left Denmark.

However, Christian I was unable to raise more than 2,000 of the promised 10,000 guilders, and in May 1469, [[Orkney]] and [[Shetland]] were [[pledge (law)|pledged]] by him, as king of Norway, to James III as security until the outstanding amount of Margaret's dowry.<ref name="auto4"/> However, James had no intention of allowing the Danes to redeem their rights in Orkney and Shetland, and would quickly acquire full sovereignty over the islands.<ref>Macdougall, Norman, ''James III'' (John Donald, 2009), p. 58.</ref>

The Boyds' misuse of power to enrich themselves with lands and offices had made them many enemies, and in April 1468 there was an attempt by the king's half-uncles, the [[John Stewart, 1st Earl of Atholl|Earl of Atholl]] and [[James Stewart, 1st Earl of Buchan|James Stewart of Auchterhouse]], and his younger brother, the Duke of Albany, to seize Edinburgh Castle and free the king from the Boyds.<ref>Macdougall, Norman, ''James III'' (John Donald, 2009), p. 59.</ref>

The impending marriage of the now seventeen-year-old James III signalled an appropriate moment for him to bring his minority to an end, and the king began to plot his revenge against the Boyds in the summer of 1469, while Lord Boyd was on an embassy to the English court, and the earl of Arran was one of the ambassadors in Denmark.<ref>Macdougall, Norman, ''James III'' (John Donald, 2009), p. 62.</ref>