I am surprised,” James said angrily when he had occasion to dissolve one of his Parliaments, “that my ancestors should have permitted such an institution to come into existence.” His short-sighted successors, in fact, were to view that event even more ruefully.

Keay, John; Keay, Julia (1994), Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland, London: HarperCollins, ISBN 978-0-0025-5082-6 The occasion was the opening of the Scottish Parliament. In those days the Scots liked to have their king on view, no matter how young he was, so James, at four, was obliged to perform the royal opening before the M.P.s. From his throne the little fellow silently and curiously summed up his surroundings, and among other things he noticed a hole in the roof of the hall, where probably a slate had slipped. When he was required to make his speech he recited it with astonishing gravity and precision, and added to it, in the same tone, the words, “There is one hole in this parliament.”Röhl, John C. G.; Warren, Martin; Hunt, David (1998), Purple Secret: Genes, "Madness" and the Royal Houses of Europe, London: Bantam Press, ISBN 0-5930-4148-8. The arms used in Scotland were: Quarterly, I and IV Scotland, II England and France, III Ireland, with Scotland taking precedence over England. The supporters were: dexter a unicorn of Scotland imperially crowned, supporting a tilting lance flying a banner Azure a saltire Argent ( Cross of Saint Andrew) and sinister the crowned lion of England supporting a similar lance flying a banner Argent a cross Gules ( Cross of Saint George). The Scottish crest and motto was retained, following the Scottish practice the motto In defens (which is short for In My Defens God Me Defend) was placed above the crest. [194] Letter of Mary to Mar, 29 March 1567, quoted by Stewart 2003, p.27: "Suffer nor admit no noblemen of our realm or any others, of what condition soever they be of, to enter or come within our said Castle or to the presence of our said dearest son, with any more persons but two or three at the most."

Willson 1963, p.333: "Finances fell into chaos, foreign affairs became more difficult. James exalted a worthless favourite and increased the power of the Howards. As government relaxed and honour cheapened, we enter a period of decline and weakness, of intrigue, scandal, confusion and treachery."

Kerr-Peterson, Miles; Pearce, Michael (2020). James VI's English Subsidy and Danish Dowry Accounts, 1588–1596. Woodbridge. p.35. {{ cite book}}: |work= ignored ( help)

The discovery by the English of this plant was the saving of the colony due to it being so lucrative as a new hobby for Europeans smoking pipes. Ironically King James himself found the product so disagreeable that he wrote a book about tobacco called A Counterblast to Tobacco where he described it as ‘loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brains and dangerous to the lungs’ proving a somewhat prophetic analysis four hundred years ahead of its time. James was ambitious to build on the personal union of Scotland and England to establish a single country under one monarch, one parliament, and one law, a plan that met opposition in both realms. [96] "Hath He not made us all in one island," James told the English Parliament, "compassed with one sea and of itself by nature indivisible?" In April 1604, however, the Commons refused his request to be titled "King of Great Britain" on legal grounds. [h] In October 1604, he assumed the title "King of Great Britain" instead of "King of England" and "King of Scotland", though Francis Bacon told him that he could not use the style in "any legal proceeding, instrument or assurance" and the title was not used on English statutes. [98] James forced the Scottish Parliament to use it, and it was used on proclamations, coinage, letters, and treaties in both realms. [99]See for example Rhodes, Neil (2004), "Wrapped in the Strong Arm of the Union: Shakespeare and King James", in Maley, Willy; Murphy, Andrew (eds), Shakespeare and Scotland, Manchester University Press, pp. 38–39.