The wisest fool in Christendom

James I of England had been the king of Scotland for 35 years by the time he took over the England job and was now 37 years old.

He was married in 1589 to the 15 years old Anne of Denmark and the couple would eventually have seven children.

James's first appearance in London horrified many courtiers. The man's head was too big for his body , his tongue lolled and he dribbled .

His skinny little legs were in marked contrast to his big thighs and body. James wasn't fat , his clothes were double padded to safeguard from knife attacks and because he was terrified of the naked steel of armour.

He spoke with a broad Scots accent, which took time for his courtiers to understand, hated tobacco, which he called " noxious weed" and was afraid of witches , whose work he' d seen up close and personal.

Time would show that James was bisexual, intolerant and an appalling handler of Parliament, even though he was scholarly and cultured .

It was Henri IV of France who called him " the wisest fool of Christendom".