James V, b. Apr. 10, 1512, d. Dec. 14, 1542, was the seventh Stuart king of Scotland (1513–42), the son of James IV. In 1514, James V's mother, Margaret Tudor, daughter of England's Henry VII, married Archibald Douglas, 6th earl of Angus (see Douglas family). John Stuart, duke of Albany, became regent, and a power struggle ensued among factions controlled by Albany, Angus, and Margaret. For a time, Angus, a leader of the pro-English faction, held James prisoner (1526–28).
When James reached his majority, he sided with Scotland's pro-French party against the English. On Jan. 1, 1537, he married Madeleine, the daughter of Francis I of France, and received a large dowry. She died the following July, and James married (1538) Mary of Guise (see Guise family). His aggressive, vindictive policies lost him the support of the nobility, weakening his army and contributing to his defeat by the English at Solway Moss in 1542. Soon after this battle, he died at Falkland Palace, leaving a week-old daughter, Mary, Queen of Scots, to succeed him.
Haws, Charles H. "James V, King of Scotland." Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. Grolier Online, 2012. Web. 29 Jan. 2012