Sex, Scandal, Succession and the Salacious Stewarts. Professor Richard Oram. Power, politics and sex has been a heady mix throughout human history. From Helen of Troy and Paris or Antony and Cleopatra, to John F Kennedy and Marilyn Monro, the Profumo Affair, or even Boris Johnston’s extra-marital relationships, they have been basic elements in the…
James I’s Accession as King (4 April 1406): Scotland’s Kingship [Paused]. Professor Richard Oram. Just as winter ended in 1406, Scotland’s invalid king, Robert III, was approaching the end of his life. Excluded from active involvement in the government of his kingdom for all of his reign (1390-1406), Robert had spent most of his time…
A Forgotten Tudor in Perth: Queen Margaret, Archibald Douglas, and Henry Lord Methven. Professor Richard Oram Although the Perth Charterhouse Project is focused heavily on King James I and Queen Joan Beaufort, we must not forget that the Charterhouse was also the burial place of another Scottish queen who was a member of one…
How Climate Played and Important Role in the Assassination of a Scottish King at Perth. As modern day Scotland is in the grips of a climate change crisis, Professor Richard Oram and the Perthshire Advertiser have been looking back at how the people of the past reacted and dealt with the world’s changing climate. Few…
A Battlefield for Power on the Scottish Border: Melrose Abbey. Professor Richard Oram. James and Joan’s first hours in Scotland were spent within the precinct at Melrose Abbey. The oldest monastery of Cistercian monks in Scotland, founded in 1136 by James’s ancestor, King David I, it was one of the richest and most extensive landowners…
Castles and Kings… Just where was Perth’s Royal House? This is the second article in the new series about James I from the Perthshire Advertiser. The Perthsire Advertiser has teamed up with Professor Richard Oram of the James I / Charterhouse Project, who are looking at the fascinating apects of James I’s life and how…