James, Duke of Rothesay (born 1507)

James Stewart, Duke of Rothesay (21 February 1507 – 27 February 1508) was a short-lived heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Scotland. He was the eldest son of James IV and his queen consort Margaret Tudor.

At the time of his birth at Holyrood Palace, James IV had survived his own brothers. The newborn Duke of Rothesay and his father were the only living descendants of his paternal grandfather James III. The heir presumptive since 1504 was John Stuart, Duke of Albany, a nephew to James III.

The young Duke died only a year after his birth, at Stirling Castle. His death left James IV again childless and the Duke of Albany again heir to the throne. His younger brother, Arthur, Duke of Rothesay, would not be born until 1509. Arthur also died the year following his birth — a younger brother of the young Princes was born in 1512 and would eventually succeed as James V.

Sources

• Alison Weir, Britain's Royal Family: A Complete Genealogy