Henry was furious at James's refusal to join him in breaking away from the Catholic Church; neither king was present at the battle, but James died some three weeks later (aged 30; by some accounts he suffered a nervous collapse caused by the defeat), leaving his only legitimate child, Mary, to succeed him aged six days.
The battle was fought beside the River Esk in Cumbria, some two miles north–east of the Scottish village of Gretna.
James V was Henry VIII's nephew. His mother was Mary Tudor, Henry's sister.
© Haydn Thompson 2020