Queen James - A Talk by Gareth Russell

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 – once with George Villiers, ‘the handsomest man in the whole world’ – and he was infatuated three more times – including with a Highland earl and an English spy.

We have so much on 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 M**der 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.

Gareth Russell is an historian and broadcaster. His books include Young and Damned and Fair, The Ship of Dreams, Do Let’s Have Another Drink and The Palace: From the Tudors to the Windsors, 500 Years of History at Hampton Court. He is the host of the podcast Single Malt History and he divides his time between Belfast and London.

This event will take place in the Cathedral library and is in-person only. It won't be streamed or recorded and doors will open ay 5.15pm.

Host or Publisher Southwark Cathedral