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
Wąchock Abbey today was rebuilt in the late 13th century. The abbey, like many Cistercian monasteries, prospered over the next several centuries, farming and earning income from metal mining and manufacturing operations. Another series of invasions, culminating with that of George II Rákóczi of Transylvania, left the abbey plundered and burnt. The monastery was finally rebuilt in 1696. It was suppressed, and the church converted to a parish church, in 1819 following the Congress of Vienna, which had created the "Kingdom of Poland" five years earlier as a "de facto" puppet state of the Russian Empire under the Romanov Tsars. In 1951,