James II of Scotland died hastily." The Scots carried on with the siege, led by George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus, and the castle fell a few days later. Once the castle was captured James's widow, Mary of Guelders, ordered its destruction. James's son became king as James III and Mary acted as regent until her own death three years later. James married Mary of Guelders at Holyrood Abbey, Edinburgh, on 3 July 1449. They had seven children: By his unknown mistress, James also left one illegitimate son: James II has been depicted in plays, historical novels and short stories. They include: James II
James IV of Scotland cause of my coming." Nonetheless, Anglo-Scottish relations generally remained stable until the death of Henry VII in 1509. James saw the importance of building a fleet that could provide Scotland with a strong maritime presence. James founded two new dockyards for this purpose and acquired a total of 38 ships for the Royal Scots Navy, including the "Margaret", and the carrack "Great Michael". The latter, built at great expense at Newhaven, near Edinburgh and launched in 1511, was in length, weighed 1,000 tons and was, at that time, the largest ship in the world. James IV was a true Renaissance