James IV of Scotland but from all of Great Britain, to be killed in battle. James was the son of King James III and Margaret of Denmark, born in Holyrood Abbey. As heir apparent to the Scottish crown, he became Duke of Rothesay. In 1474, his father arranged his betrothal to the English princess Cecily of York, daughter of Edward IV of England. His father James III was not a popular king, facing two major rebellions during his reign, and alienating many members of his close family, especially his younger brother Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany. James III's pro-English policy was also unpopular, and
Charles II of England falsely claimed that they had secretly married. Her son, James Crofts (afterwards Duke of Monmouth and Duke of Buccleuch), was one of Charles's many illegitimate children who became prominent in British society. Despite his son's diplomatic efforts to save him, King Charles I was beheaded in January 1649, and England became a republic. On 5 February, the Covenanter Parliament of Scotland proclaimed Charles II "King of Great Britain, France and Ireland" at the Mercat Cross, Edinburgh, but refused to allow him to enter Scotland unless he accepted the imposition of Presbyterianism throughout Britain and Ireland. When negotiations with the Scots