Born James Charles Stuart, he became the
King of
Scotland while he was 13
months old. In 1603, he became the successor to
Queen Elizabeth, who died childless, to become
King James I of
England.
As he was
King of both
Scotland and
England, he declared himself the King of what he called
Great Britain. This signalled the end of the line of
Scottish kings.
Amongst his famous acts are the creation of the
Union Jack, which is now one of the worlds most famous flags, by combining the
St. Andrew's Cross of
Scotland with the
St George's Cross of
England.
Although the creation of
Great Britain is probably his most
prestigeous accomplishment, it should be noted that he also sanctioned the creation of the
King James bible, which has been one of the most influential works of modern
Christianity.
Although the monarchies were joined, the
parliaments of the two countries were not joined until over one hundred years after James took the
throne, in 1707.