14. Reckless Romanticism, a Touch of Gayness, and Bonfires

The marriage of James VI of Scotland, later James I of England, to Anne of Denmark started off with some romanticism, including a dangerous sea crossing to fetch her home, and it certainly produced a lot of pregnancies (very much a royal couple's duty), though things then rather faded. That's possibly because James wasn't quite as interested in women as the initial gesture suggested. But there was no way he could be openly gay at that time.

There were also quite a few conspiracies against him, most famously the 'Gunpowder Plot' in which Guy Fawkes played a major role. That left Britain with its annual bonfire nights, including the burning of the unfortunate Guy in effigy. Not perhaps the most charming of traditions.

Illustration: George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, favourite of James I of England
Portrait by Michiel J. van Miereveld

Music: Bach Partita #2c by J Bu licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/