↑ By the normal rules of succession James did have the best claim to the English throne, as the great-great-grandson of Henry VII. However, Henry VIII's will had passed over the Scottish line of his sister Margaret in favour of that of their younger sister Mary Tudor. In the event, Henry's will was disregarded. Stewart, pp 159–161; Willson, pp 138–141.
↑ "James VI and I was the most writerly of British monarchs. He produced original poetry, as well as translation and a treatise on poetics; works on witchcraft and tobacco; meditations and commentaries on the Scriptures; a manual on kingship; works of political theory; and, of course, speeches to parliament...He was the patron of Shakespeare, Jonson, Donne, and the translators of the "Authorized version" of the Bible, surely the greatest concentration of literary talent ever to enjoy royal sponsorship in England." Rhodes et al., p 1.
↑ "A very wise man was wont to say that he believed him the wisest fool in Christendom, meaning him wise in small things, but a fool in weighty affairs." Sir Anthony Weldon (1651), The Court and Character of King James I, quoted by Stroud, p 27; "The label 'the wisest fool in Christendom', often attributed to Henry IV of France but possibly coined by Anthony Weldon, catches James’s paradoxical qualities very neatly." Smith, p 238.
