King James III of Scotland was king for 28 years in the 15th Century. A controversial, at times deeply unpopular monarch, he lost his life at the hands of the enemy, his own people.

His birth year and place are disputed: July 1451 at Stirling Castle or May 1452 at St. Andrews in Fife. His father was the ruling monarch, King James II, and his mother was Mary of Guelders. Not much is known of his early childhood. He became king in 1460, when his father died from injuries sustained from an exploding cannon. The king died on August 3, while besieging the English-held castle of Roxburgh. Young King James was crowned at nearby Kelso Abbey a week later. His mother served as regent for three years; she died in late 1463.

James Kennedy, the Bishop of St. Andrews, took over the regency. He died just two years later, and James's care was left to the Boyd family. Sir Alexander Boyd, the king's instructor in arms, and his brother Robert had taken the king on a hunting expedition on July 9, 1466. The Boyds kidnapped young James and took him to Edinburgh as a prisoner. Robert Boyd then ousted his brother and ruled the realm.

Boyd gave his son Thomas an important title and much riches and arranged his marriage to Mary, sister of King James. Thomas Boyd arranged another marriage, that of King James to Margaret of Denmark, whose father was King Christian I of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. The marriage contract was part of the 1468 Treaty of Copenhagen, which also arranged for the writing off of some debt that Scotland owed King Christian.

James and Margaret were married in 1469; he was 17, and she was 13. They had three children.

Once married, James took full control of the government, taking advantage of the absence of both Robert and Thomas Boyd and declaring them both enemies of the realm. Robert Boyd fled to England and died there in 1470; Thomas died three years later, and his marriage to the king's sister was invalidated.

King James was early a fan of music. When he came into his own as a king, he encouraged the pursuit of music and other arts, such as architecture and painting and poetry.

In the political realm, the king annexed Orkney and the Shetlands and, in 1474, came to an agreement with England's king, Edward IV, that saw James's oldest son, James, (who was just 1 year old) betrothed to Edward's daughter Cecily (who was then just 5). The idea of a marriage match with England didn't set well with the Scottish nobles; neither did James's decisions to raise taxes in 1479 and debase the currency with copper coinage in 1480.

The alliance with England lasted only five years, and the two countries went to war in 1480. King Edward's brother Richard (the future King Richard III) arrived in Scotland at the head of a large army. When James, supported not by his main nobles but by his hand-picked commanders, rode out to meet the English army, he was captured by a group of nobles and taken to Edinburgh Castle. The English army continued the invasion but, unable to take Edinburgh, returned to England. On the way, they took the oft-fought-over Berwick-Upon-Tweed, making it a permanent part of England.

Appearing in the invading English army with Richard was James's own brother, Alexander, Duke of Albany. (The three brothers had quarreled, and Albany had fled the country. The other brother, John, Earl of Mar, died mysteriously in Edinburgh.) With James imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle, Albany ran the country for a time. James convinced members of the government to switch allegiances, leaving Albany isolated. When his benefactor Edward IV died in 1483, Albany fled to England. He invaded Scotland once more but failed again to take power.

Back on the throne in full, James set about rewarding his favorites and punishing those who had opposed him. He also grew estranged from his wife, who didn't appreciate his warlike tendencies. She lived apart from him, in Stirling, and died in 1486.

James eventually decided that he wanted his second son, also named James, to succeed him. His oldest son James went over to the opposition, which by 1488 was considerable. James raised an army, the opposition raised an army, and the two sides met at the Battle of Sauchieburn, near Stirling, on June 11. During the battle, the king was thrown from his horse and later died.

Just as with his birth, the events of the death of King James III are uncertain. One account of his death says that he was slain on the battlefield after he was thrown from his horse. Another account says that he fled the fighting and encountered a woman at a well, who agreed to hide him at a nearby mill and go in search of a priest. As the account goes, someone who had no love for the king disguised himself as a priest, found the king at the mill, and killed him. However he died, what happened next is known: His oldest son became King James IV.