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For better or worse, many of us are familiar with the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible. This major translation was in fact commissioned by a monarch who is widely thought to be queer – a belief shared by his contemporaries as well as modern historians. References to “Queen James” in his own day and, more recently, “King James the Thirst”, are among many of the ribald jokes about this early 17th century monarch which have circulated for hundreds of years.
But who was the King who inaugurated the Stuart dynasty, and were the tales about him (and his rumored male lovers) credible? If so, how can we square this with the mores of his age, including those promulgated in the Bible translation which bears his name? What does King James’ legacy suggest the broader experience of famous queer individuals living in the early modern period?
From James VI to James I
King James I of England began his reign in Scotland, the land of his birth, many years before he ascended to the English throne on the death of “the Virgin Queen” Elizabeth I. Prince James was born to the ill-fated Mary, Queen of Scots in 1566. Lord Darnley, James’ father and the disastrous consort of Mary, Queen of Scots, was (like his future son) rumored to be actively bisexual.
The prince was only a toddler when he was formally declared King James VI of his homeland upon his mother’s messy, forced abdication in the wake of his father’s murder.[1] He became King James I of England (for no King James of that country had preceded him) in 1603 at the express wish of Queen Elizabeth, his distant cousin. King James would become the first monarch styled “King of Great Britain” though his two domains remained officially separate until the early 18th century.
King James found himself a monarch of two countries at a crucial period in European history, when religious conflict and a sharp breakage between the medieval and modern worlds were causing political crises throughout Europe. The British Isles, in particular, had been rocked by the Protestant Reformation and the endless swinging of England’s government back and forth between Catholicism and various branches of Protestantism. In this tense period, King James I articulated a theory of monarchal rule which would become known as the “Divine Right of Kings”, arguing that all monarchs derived their power directly from the Almighty himself, and therefore were not answerable to any earthly institutions (in the case of England, its increasingly influential Parliament).
Although the efficacy of King James’ rule is hotly debated, he himself was well known for his passion for philosophy, the sciences, art and architecture.[2] Less fortunately, however, James was especially interested in religious studies around witchcraft and demonology. The latter influenced his most famous book Daemonologies (published in 1597, before he rose to the English throne). This book would ultimately become one of the foundational works of the 17th century persecution of supposed “witches” throughout Europe and the American European colonies.[3]
Queen James?
There was a quip which flew threw the English court during King James’ reign: that the English had been ruled by “King” Elizabeth (a female monarch who, indeed, ruled with the vigor and authority of a man in her age) only to be followed by “Queen” James.[4] This joke almost certainly referenced the King’s, apparently ill-concealed, affections for some of his closest male advisors throughout his life.
Indeed, King James’ forays into homosexual love affairs may have begun during his youth. Historian Rictor Norton cites contemporary evidence pointing to James’ teenage affair with French courtier Esmé Stuart, the Earl of Lennox.[5] The Earl was reportedly a handsome, genial and polished young nobleman, and their affair lasted until their forcible parting in 1582 when James’ advisors forced Lennox out of Scotland – around James’ sixteenth birthday. Evidence from these years suggest that courtiers were well aware of the nature of James and Lennox’s relationship (one describing it outright as “carnal lust”), perhaps all the more reason for the King’s advisors to push Lennox aside. But the Earl of Lennox inaugurated what would become a pattern of James’ homosexual affairs: his male lovers would become close confidantes and advisors – regardless of their political acumen (or lack thereof).
“The Earl of Lennox inaugurated what would become a pattern of James’ homosexual affairs: his male lovers would become close confidantes and advisors – regardless of their political acumen (or lack thereof).”
The Royal Family
King James married Princess Anne of Denmark in 1589 in an arranged political marriage; of their five children, only three would survive to adulthood. While it might be tempting to assume that King James was a gay man forcibly wed to a woman for dynastic reasons, his (at least initially) loving and passionate relationship with Anne suggests James may have in fact been bisexual.
Anne was a dynamic and compelling figure in her own right. One source notes that Queen Anne “was not afraid to challenge her husband and manipulated political factions to achieve her own ends.”[6] She adored the arts, music, entertainment and high fashion, and was a bright, energetic foil to James’ cool and studious demeanor. Over the years of his joint English/Scottish reign, however, the pair reportedly drifted further apart from one another. By the time of her death in 1619, the Queen and King had not cohabited together for a decade.[7] Though the common onslaught of time and age may have taken its toll on their long-standing marriage, James’ continued and deepening intimacies with men may have also isolated the Queen in her own marriage bed.
All the King’s Men
One of King James’ most important affairs began, ironically, with a horseback riding accident just a few years after James ascended to the English throne. Robert Carr was a young gentleman attending a royal festival in March, 1607. Carr was thrown from his horse during a tilting exercise, in full view of shocked onlookers including the King himself. The King was deeply affected by Carr’s injuries, and reportedly devoted himself to the young man’s recuperation.
This episode sparked Carr’s meteoric rise at the English court: King James endowed Carr with the title Viscount Rochester in 1611 and then made him a privy councillor in April 1612.[8] Carr would go on to serve as a private secretary to His Majesty. In all of these positions, Carr enjoyed close and intimate access to the King – which James took full advantage of. According to one contemporary, “[t]he Prince constantly leaneth on his arm, pinches his cheek, and smoothes his ruffled garment. Carr hath all favours”.[9] David Bergeron, author of the book King James and Letters of Homoerotic Desire considers a number of James’ letters to Carr throughout their affair, and concludes that these letters show evidence of both sexual frustration and passionate adoration.[10]
However loving, their affair was not destined to have a happy denouement. In 1615, Carr and his wife became embroiled in a poisoning scandal in the death of Sir Thomas Overbury, an essayist and courtier to King James. Both Carrs were imprisoned, but later pardoned by the King in 1624. Though Carr survived the scandal, his reputation (and close relationship with the King) was ruined, and the pair was separated through the remainder of the King’s life.
King James’ next affair, however, was perhaps his most intensive – and politically influential. George Villiers, the future Duke of Buckingham, met the King in the mid-1610s and may have seduced him in 1614.[11] From there, Villiers was an unstoppable force at the English court. One source notes that “[t]he King became infatuated with him and made him Viscount in 1616, Earl in 1617, Marquis in 1618 and Duke of Buckingham in 1623…He manipulated the lovestruck King James to gain unprecedented control over royal patronage, rewarding himself and his family generously.”[12] All of this made Villiers dangerously powerful, to the dismay of James’ court, and sent his own Council into a frenzy. One of his courtiers famously quipped that, “I never yet saw any fond husband make so much or so great dalliance over his beautiful spouse as I have seen King James over his favourites, especially Buckingham.”[13]
But the politically precarious situation mattered little to the King himself; Bergeron’s book includes seventy-five of perhaps many more letters the pair exchanged over the many years of their love affair. Villiers often referred to himself as the King’s “dog” “slave” and “servant” among other terms, while James often called him “wife”. Perhaps most infamously, a contemporary poet bluntly assessed the relationship writing that “it is well known that the King of England F—s the Duke of Buckingham.”[14] The pair remained close and intimate, with Villiers among the most powerful men at court, until the King’s death in 1625. The new King, James’ son Charles, largely managed statecraft alongside Villiers during the final years of James’ reign. Villiers played a key role in negotiating Charles’ (deeply unpopular) marriage to the French Catholic princess, Henrietta Maria.[15]
Queer Love For Me, But Not For Thee?
These facts and anecdotes from King James’ life leave us with a obvious irony: in theory, His Majesty condemned male homosexuality (known in the period as “buggery”) – not just as the monarch of a country where such acts were punishable by death, but also in some interpretations of the famous biblical translation which bears his name. Records suggest that James himself publicly supported the anti-sodomy laws and endorsed their harsh penalties.[16] Indeed, the persecution of gay men occurred throughout the British early modern period – notably, the 18th century “molly houses” are one prominent example.
So, how are we today to separate James’ private life from his public positions? Or did the two go uncomfortably hand-in-hand? A few possibilities merit consideration. Most obviously, though less likely, James’ relationships with men were perhaps platonic or purely romantic/intellectual in nature. In this blog I have often discussed the split attraction model (particularly as it relates to the experiences of asexual and ace-spec people). It is possible that James’ affairs were more emotional, and less physical. That said, contemporary conjecture and the evidence of stacks of love letters strongly imply romantic and/or physical relationships – particularly in the case of the Duke of Buckingham.
King James may also have subscribed to his view on the “divine rights” of Kings both in a public and a personal sense. In this perspective, James may have seen himself as inherently above the law, entitled to do as he would without consequence or reproach. What was morally wrong (and illegal) for other men to do was irrelevant to His Majesty; since he was uniquely appointed by God himself, he could (and should) behave and love however he felt compelled. We might consider this hypocritical “queer love for me, but not for thee” approach as a potential baseline for his own thinking.
A perhaps more charitable interpretation is that King James’s privately held views contrasted with those he held publicly. Even if King James himself, as a gay or bisexual man, personally sympathized with those who enjoyed homoerotic passion, he was still a monarch of a deeply homophobic government and culture at a time when being openly queer was dangerous throughout Europe for anyone below the rank of high nobility. His private perspective was thus immaterial to the broader prerogative of ruling in a manner acceptable to his subjects. King Edward II of the medieval period, notably, also carried on a series of homosexual affairs during his reign even more openly than did James I; Edward’s reign ended in a coup by his aggrieved wife, and his brutal murder.
Whatever his self-justification, that King James was able to indulge in homosexual affairs in an apparently open manner throughout his life reiterates another consistent theme of this blog: the intersection of privilege with queer persons living authentically to themselves. King James was far from the only high-ranking individual of the 17th century European landscape to indulge in queer affairs (Louis XIV’s brother Phillipe is another example I have covered in a separate blog post). But in nearly all of these cases, the individual(s) in question enjoyed a degree of rank and social elevation which made their actions either tacitly acceptable or impossible to “punish” in the ways commoners could be (and were).
It is thus difficult to think of James I as anything approximating a “queer icon”, particularly since his so-named Bible has been used for generations since to condemn and ostracize men and women like him. But his life, and legacy, continues to offer intriguing insights into the politics of queerness in the early modern period. Likewise, James’ loves belie the notion that homosexuality was ever fully suppressed even in hostile social contexts, and is both present and visible throughout history.
[1] David Matthew, “James I”, Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-I-king-of-England-and-Scotland.
[2] “King James I and Queen Anne of Denmark,” Historic Royal Palaces, https://www.hrp.org.uk/banqueting-house/history-and-stories/james-i-and-anne-of-denmark/#gs.ixouc0.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Rictor Norton, “Queen James and His Courtiers”, Gay History and Literature, 8 January 2000, updated 9 January 2012 <http://rictornorton.co.uk/jamesi.htm>.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Historic Royal Palaces, ibid.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Robert Carr, earl of Somerset.” Encyclopedia Britannica, Invalid Date. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Carr-earl-of-Somerset.
[9] Norton, ibid.
[10] David M. Bergeron, “King James and Letters of Homoerotic Desire,” University of Iowa Press, 1999.
[11] Norton, ibid.
[12] Marilee Hanson, “George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, 1592-1628″ <a href=”https://englishhistory.net/stuarts/civil-war/george-villiers-1st-duke-of-buckingham/”>https://englishhistory.net/stuarts/civil-war/george-villiers-1st-duke-of-buckingham/</a>, January 17, 2022.
[13] Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, “JAMES VI of Scotland, JAMES I of England (1566-1625),” https://www.tulliehouse.co.uk/jamesi.
[14] Norton, ibid.
[15] Hanson, ibid.
[16] Tullie House, ibid.