James III. (1460-88), born 10th July 1451, succeeded James II. in 1460. The guardianship of the young monarch was entrusted to his mother and Kennedy, Bishop of St Andrews, a prelate of great sagacity and integrity, while the Earl of Angus, chief of the 'Red Douglasses,' was made lieutenant-general. Under their management the government of the kingdom was carried on judiciously and successfully; but the death of the earl in 1462 and of the bishop in 1466, while the king was still a boy, left the country a prey to the factious and ambitious nobles, conspicuous among whom was Lord Boyd, high justiciar. Lord Boyd's son was created Earl of Arran, and in 1467 he obtained the hand of the king's sister, the Princess Margaret. The ambition and arrogance of the family, however, led to their downfall. The Earl of Arran fled to the Continent; and after his death, which took place apparently before 1472, the Princess Margaret married Lord Hamilton (1474), whose descendants became by this alliance the nearest heirs to the crown. When the king reached manhood the defects of his character became apparent. He had a refined and cultivated mind and fine tastes, was fond of mathematics and of music, and possessed great skill in architecture; but he was quite unfit to rule a country like Scotland at that period and to keep in order its rude and turbulent nobles. He was fond of money and of pleasure, and spent his time in the society of architects, painters, and musicians. The nobles were indignant at the slight thus put upon them, and attached themselves to the king's brothers, the Duke of Albany and the Earl of Mar, who were distinguished for their courage and skill in military exercises. James became jealous of their popularity and put them in prison, whence Albany escaped to the Continent, but Mar died in confinement. Albany had, in fact, aspired to the crown and had engaged to hold it as the vassal of Edward, king of England. In retaliation for an invasion of the country by an English fleet, James summoned the array of the kingdom to make an inroad into England. The army had advanced as far as Lander when the disaffected nobles suddenly seized the royal favourites and hanged them on a bridge over the river Leader—Angus obtaining the name of Bell-the-Cat from his boldness in taking the initiative. Returning to Edinburgh, they committed the king a close prisoner to the castle of
Edinburgh. A reconciliation was effected between the king and his brother, but it was of short duration. The conspiracy among the nobles was speedily renewed. They rose in open rebellion, and induced the young heir to the throne to become their nominal head. The king was supported by the northern barons, but they were greatly outnumbered by the rebels. An encounter took place between the two bodies (11th June 1488) at Sauchieburn, about a mile from the famous field of Bannockburn. When the battle was going against the royalists the king galloped from the field, but was thrown from his horse at Beaton's Mill, and murdered. James left by his queen, Margaret of Denmark, three sons, the eldest of whom succeeded to the throne.