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Queen James: A New History About the Life and Loves of Britain’s First King, James Stuart
James Stuart, King of England, Scotland, and Ireland did not always love wisely, but he never failed to do so boldly.
He fell in love three times – with a Scottish lord, a knight and George Villiers, ‘the handsomest man in the whole world’. He was infatuated three more times – with a Highland earl, a Welsh lord and an English spy.
We know so much about the six wives of Henry VIII, why not the six loves of James I?
This groundbreaking new book puts James – genius, liar, spendthrift, idealist, witch-hunter – and the men he loved at the centre of one of the most dramatic stories in British royal history.
Beginning with the brutal and mysterious murder of his father in 1567, James’s life encompassed kidnapping, witchcraft trials, torture, his mother’s beheading, poison, political radicalism, religious fundamentalism, a queen’s alleged abortion, passionate sex, strong love, stronger hate, espionage, brothels, and a decade-long love affair that ended in assassination.
It is unquestionably one of the most gripping stories in British history, retold in Gareth Russell’s Queen James with scholarship, biographical insight and wit.
He fell in love three times – with a Scottish lord, a knight and George Villiers, ‘the handsomest man in the whole world’. He was infatuated three more times – with a Highland earl, a Welsh lord and an English spy.
We know so much about the six wives of Henry VIII, why not the six loves of James I?
This groundbreaking new book puts James – genius, liar, spendthrift, idealist, witch-hunter – and the men he loved at the centre of one of the most dramatic stories in British royal history.
Beginning with the brutal and mysterious murder of his father in 1567, James’s life encompassed kidnapping, witchcraft trials, torture, his mother’s beheading, poison, political radicalism, religious fundamentalism, a queen’s alleged abortion, passionate sex, strong love, stronger hate, espionage, brothels, and a decade-long love affair that ended in assassination.
It is unquestionably one of the most gripping stories in British history, retold in Gareth Russell’s Queen James with scholarship, biographical insight and wit.
496 pages, Paperback
Published February 12, 2026
About the author
Gareth Russell
13 books451 followersGareth Russell is an historian and broadcaster. He is the author of "Queen James," (a BBC History Book of the Year, a Daily Mail Book of the Year, a Waterstones Best History Book 2025, an Esquire Book of the Year, a Historia Book of the Year, an Amazon Editors' Pick for Best New History Book; published as "The Six Loves of James I" in Canada and the USA), "The Palace" (Amazon Editor's Pick for Best New History, A Waterstones Best Book of 2023, BBC History Book of the Year, Town and Country Must-Read, an Aspects of History Best Book of 2023), "Do Let's Have Another Drink" (A Times Book of the Year, 2022), "The Ship of Dreams" (A Daily Telegraph Best History Book, 2019), and "Young and Damned and Fair."
He divides his time between Belfast and London.
In 2026, his book "Queen James" was adapted into a documentary by the BBC.
He divides his time between Belfast and London.
In 2026, his book "Queen James" was adapted into a documentary by the BBC.
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