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== Peace efforts with England ==
[[File:James IV of Scotland.jpg|thumb|Portrait of James IV]]
[[File:Marguerite Tudor.jpg|thumb|Portrait of James's queen, [[Margaret Tudor]], by [[Daniel Mytens]], c. 1620–1638]]

James IV's use of war as a forceful extension of his diplomacy with England and [[Henry VII of England|Henry VII]]'s realisation of the vulnerability of the [[Anglo-Scottish border]] led Henry to treat for peace with James. The [[Treaty of Ayton]] was signed on 30 September 1497, agreeing to a seven-year truce between Scotland and England. Shipping and trade were to be conducted according to the 1464 [[Treaty of York (1464)|Treaty of York]], and Border wardens on either side were given new powers to execute cross-border murderers after 20 days detention and punish thieves caught red-handed. It was agreed that neither king would harbour the other's rebels.<ref>Rymer, Thomas, ed., ''Foedera'', vol. 12 (1711), pp. 670–680, see sources</ref> The Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella were appointed to arbitrate future disputes and unresolved issues such as redress for damages caused by the recent invasions.<ref>Macdougall, Norman, ''James IV'', Tuckwell, (1997), 141, citing ''CSP Spain'', vol. 1 no. 186.</ref> The possibility was also raised of strengthening the peace between both kingdoms with the marriage of James IV to Henry VII's eldest daughter, [[Margaret Tudor|Margaret]].<ref name=good39>Goodwin, George, ''Fatal Rivalry'', p. 39.</ref>

Following several years in which the Treaty of Ayton held, Scottish and English commissioners met at [[Richmond Palace]] on 24 January 1502. They agreed to a marriage between James IV and Margaret, with a [[dowry]] of £35,000 [[Pound Scots|Scots]] and a peace treaty between the two kingdoms.<ref name=good39 />  Under the terms of the [[Treaty of Perpetual Peace]], there was to be "good, real and sincere, true, sound, and firm peace, friendship, league and confederation, to last all time coming" between England and Scotland, neither king or their successors were to make war against the other, and if either king broke the treaty, the [[Pope]] would [[excommunicate]] him.<ref>Goodwin, George, ''Fatal Rivalry'', p. 40.</ref> In a ceremony at the altar of [[Glasgow Cathedral]] on 10 December 1502, James confirmed the Treaty of Perpetual Peace with Henry VII, the first peace treaty between Scotland and England since 1328.<ref>Bain, Joseph, ed., ''Calendar of Documents relating to Scotland'', 1357–1509, vol. 4, HM Register House, Edinburgh (1888), nos. 1681, 1690–1697.</ref> 

The marriage between James and Margaret was completed by [[Proxy marriage|proxy]] on 25 January 1503 at [[Richmond Palace]] in the presence of the king and queen of England, the [[Patrick Hepburn, 1st Earl of Bothwell|Earl of Bothwell]] standing as proxy for the Scottish king.<ref>{{harvtxt|Leland|1770|pp=258–264}}</ref> Margaret left Richmond for Scotland on 27 June and, after crossing the border at [[Berwick upon Tweed]] on 1 August 1503, was received at [[Lamberton, Scottish Borders|Lamberton]] by the Archbishop of Glasgow and the Bishop of Moray.<ref>Goodwin, George, ''Fatal Rivalry'', p. 47.</ref> On 8 August 1503, the marriage of the 30-year-old Scottish king and his 13-year-old English bride was celebrated in person in [[Holyrood Abbey]]. The rites were performed by [[Robert Blackadder]], [[Archbishop of Glasgow]], and [[Thomas Savage (bishop)|Thomas Savage]], [[Archbishop of York]].<ref>{{harvtxt|Buchanan|1985|pp=30–32}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Stanley Bertram Chrimes |title=Henry VII |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AFtTdTK7kYcC&pg=PA284 |year=1972 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-02266-9 |page=284}}</ref> Their wedding was commemorated by the gift of the [[Hours of James IV of Scotland]] and was portrayed as the marriage of [[The Thrissil and the Rois]] (the thistle and rose — the flowers of Scotland and England, respectively) by the poet [[William Dunbar]], who was then resident at James's court.<ref name="Mackay Mackenzie">W. Mackay Mackenzie, ''The Poems of William Dunbar'', The Mercat Press, 1990, pp. 107–112</ref>

Margaret did not bear her first child until 1507, when she was seventeen.<ref name="Alison Weir 2002 p. 241">Alison Weir, ''Britain's royal families: the complete genealogy'', (London: Pimlico, 2002), p. 241.</ref> James IV's marriage to Margaret meant that only the future Henry VIII stood between the Scottish king and the English succession, as Henry's lack of an heir made it possible that either James or one of his successors might succeed if the [[Tudors]] failed to produce heirs.<ref>Macdougall, Norman, ''James IV'', p. 250.</ref> Margaret's first pregnancy resulted in the birth of James, Duke of Rothesay, at the [[Palace of Holyroodhouse]] in February 1507.<ref>Macdougall, Norman, ''James IV'', p. 196</ref> However, this heir to the throne died a year later, in February 1508.<ref name="Alison Weir 2002 p. 241" /> At this point Margaret was already pregnant with a second child, a daughter whose name is unknown, and who was born and died in July 1508.<ref name="Alison Weir 2002 p. 241" /> In October 1509, a second son was born and named Arthur, a name recalling Margaret's late brother, [[Arthur, Prince of Wales]], and reminding the still heirless Henry VIII that, if he were unable to produce a legitimate son to succeed him, it might be a son of Margaret Tudor who would succeed.<ref>Goodwin, George, ''Fatal Rivalry'', p. 133.</ref>