Royal progresses were an opportunity to ‘perform’ monarchy for diverse audiences in locations beyond the palace gates. The monarch became the centre of a vast mobile spectacle, through which they could demonstrate the virtues of their personal rule. James VI & I was the first king of Scotland to accede to the English throne and the first monarch of a new entity that united three kingdoms: ‘Great Britain’. Yet, his progresses have received negligible scholarly attention. This is despite the fact that James was located outside the capital cities for more than half of his adult reign(s). What emerges from my research is a king who was more concerned with royal representation than has hitherto been appreciated. It reveals a king with an astute appreciation of how proximity and distance, intimacy and detachment, were formidable tools of government.

This paper will use themes of space, performance and accessibility to interrogate how James navigated his complicated inheritance. Constant motion enabled him to reinforce his authority, pursue an independent political course, and implement a newly ‘British’ regime. Cultural devices – such as hunting, banqueting, gift-exchange – strengthened the link between ‘centre’ and ‘periphery’. Indeed, I will argue that a fuller understanding of politics at the turn of the seventeenth century is only possible by situating James ‘on the road’.

Dr Joe Ellis is a scholar of early modern political culture, specialising in the royal progresses of James VI & I in Scotland and England. He undertook his doctoral study at the University of York. He also undertook a curatorial internship at Hampton Court Palace, and currently works for the National Trust as a Senior Collections and House Officer in Kent.

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