One king to rule them all

James VI and I fended off turmoil and assassination attempts to live an extravagant life, ruling over a country where the Arts flourished. On the 400th anniversary of his death, Mary Miers considers the man who united Britain's thrones

- Mary Miers

IN 1604, a year after he succeeded Elizabeth I, James VI of Scotland and I of England (1566-1625) posed for a Flemish painter sporting a huge ruby and diamond rhomboid, pinned jauntily onto his hat.

A dazzling symbol of unification, the so-called Mirror of Great Britain had been made that year using dismantled jewellery from Elizabeth and the King's mother, Mary, Queen of Scots, with the legendary Sancy diamond as a pendant. James wore it with the Order of the Garter's St George insignia hanging from a pearl-encrusted collar, projecting his new status as sovereign of both kingdoms.

The dressing of the bonnet in royal portraiture, which rarely featured the crown, was an all-important visual metaphor for the monarch as head of state. James's penchant for flamboyant hats ornamented with significant jewels—a recurring motif in his portraits—nonetheless set a new fashion and reflected one of the hallmarks of his reign: unbridled extravagance.

Jewellery purchases alone, which neither he nor his wife, Anne of Denmark, could resist, racked up a bill of $130,000 during their first six years in England—nearly one-third of the Crown's annual income. Lavish spectacles and largesse added greatly to the debts that caused such rancour with Parliament.

For the christening of their son Henry at Stirling Castle in 1594, James had commissioned a new Chapel Royal with a triumphal-arched frontispiece, one of the first properly proportioned Classical buildings in Scotland. Here, nobility, foreign ambassadors and dignitaries mingled with Calvinist clergymen, all marvelling (or staring sourly) at the velvet-draped interior with its Greek friezes and idolatrous frippery. The ensuing party echoed the three-day revelry of James's own baptism here in 1566, with allegorical pageants, music, feasting and fireworks.