Twelve-year-old, Prince James of Scotland is captured by English pirates off Flamborough Head. on March 22, 1406, while fleeing to France with a party led by his guardian Henry Sinclair, Earl of Orkney, who was also captured. James was handed over to King Henry IV of England, initiating an 18-year imprisonment.
The capture was believed to cause James’s father, King Robert III, to die soon after on April 4, 1406 with James becoming King James I at age 12, but remaining an English captive. Reportedly, he was well treated and educated while kept captive. During his capture, Scotland was ruled by Regents or Governors from the House of Stewart. First, his uncle, Robert Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany, from 1406 to 1420, followed by Robert's son, Murdoch Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany, who negotiated, James I's release. James was assassinated at Perth on February 21, 1437 in a failed coup by his uncle Walter Stewart, Earl of Athol. Queen Joan, although wounded, managed to scape and reached their son, who became King James II, in Edinburgh Castle.
