When James VI became King of Scots in 1567, odds were that his rule would not be especially notable. He was 13 months old, and Scotland would be ruled by regents. Additionally, James succeeded his mother Mary not because she died, but because she abdicated the throne. She herself took the throne as a baby, at just a few days old, and she was raised almost entirely at the French court so she could be prepared to marry Francis, Dauphin of France, heir to the King of France. Therefore, the Queen of Scots was never in Scotland, and she was prouder of being the 18 year old Queen Consort of France. Then Mary's husband the King passed away suddenly, she returned to Scotland, and she married her Catholic cousin, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. The volatile Darnley was unpopular, and Mary was not much more well loved. Yet they produced an heir, James. Within months of James'  birth, Darnley would be assassinated, and Mary was suspected because she quickly married the chief suspect, the Earl of Bothwell. Eventually, this would force Mary's capture and abdication. Despite these difficulties in his accession to the throne, James would go on to lead Scotland, inherit the throne of England, and unite all of Britain under one crown.