James I Stuart inherited the English throne after the death of the childless Tudor Queen Elizabeth I, at the beginning of the 17th century, in 1603. He was King James I of England and also King James VI of Scotland. The monarch was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots and her second husband Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley. James I became the first joint ruler of the kingdoms of both England and Scotland.  The King was born on 19th June 1566. He was the only son of his parents. Eight months after James's birth his father died when his house was destroyed by an explosion...

William was born in the Norman city of Falaise in the 11th century. The boy was the elder of the two children of Robert I of Normandy and his concubine Herleva. The Christian marriage between Robert I and Herleva didn't take place and for this reason their son was considered illegitimate. The child was nicknamed William the Bastard. However his father acknowledged him as his own. The Duke Robert of Normandy was King Edward the Confessor's cousin. After Robert's death William the Bastard was accepted as duke by the Norman magnates and by his overlord, King Henry I of France...