James II of Scotland

James II (16 October 1430 – 3 August 1460) was King of Scots from 1437 until his death in 1460. The eldest surviving son of James I of Scotland, he succeeded to the Scottish throne at the age of six, following the assassination of his father. The first Scottish monarch not to be crowned at Scone, James II's coronation took place at Holyrood Abbey in March 1437. After a reign characterised by struggles to maintain control of his kingdom, he was killed by an exploding cannon at Roxburgh Castle in 1460. Life James was born in Holyrood Abbey. He was the son of King James I and Joan Beaufort. By his first birthday, his only brother, his older twin, Alexander, had died, thus leaving James as heir apparent with the title Duke of Rothesay. On 21 February 1437, James I was assassinated, and the six-year-old James immediately succeeded him as James II. He was crowned in Holyrood Abbey by Abbot Patrick on 23 March 1437. On 3 July 1449, the eighteen-year-old James married the fifteen-year-old Mary of Guelders, daughter of Arnold, Duke of Guelders, and Catherine of Cleves at Holyrood Abbey. They had seven children, six of whom survived into adulthood. Subsequently, relations between Flanders and Scotland improved. James's nickname, Fiery Face, referred to a conspicuous vermilion birthmark on his face, which appears to have been deemed by contemporaries an outward sign of a fiery temper.