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James married Anne, daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark and Norway, on 23 November 1589. The couple had nine children, among them James's successor Charles I.

James was the first king to rule the whole of Britain. There were many difficulties caused by the merging of two kingdoms, both of which had different systems and identities. It is often said that James was more of a successful king of Scotland than England. As king of Scotland, he united the kingdom to a greater extent than any previous Scottish king.

James VI and I and his regents created firm government in Scotland. The Lowland Protestant and Highland Catholic split in Scotland was successfully handled by involving both in a General Assembly and using them against each other so that neither could become too powerful. 
 
In England, James carried out some reforms to the Elizabethan church and in 1611 published the English bible, otherwise known as the King James I bible, which is the bible still in use today.
 
Up until 1618, James was also successful in keeping the peace both at home and abroad. He used Scotland's friendship with the Spanish to bring an end to Spanish conflict with England, which had plagued the reign of Elizabeth, decided to remain neutral towards France and forged a relationship with the Protestant Dutch. He married his daughter, Elizabeth, to an Elector in the Holy Roman Empire, Frederick, Elector Palatine. He had planned a Catholic wedding for his son, Prince Henry, who unfortunately died young in 1612.

James's lowpoints centred around his relationship with the English Parliament, his extravagant court and favourites, and his reaction to the Thirty Years War. 

James and the English parliament had differing views as to the nature of kingship. James believed that he had been appointed by God to rule as he saw fit. Parliament held the view that the monarch was a representative of his people and should therefore govern according to their wishes. James's actions annoyed Parliament. He brought many of his courtiers down from Scotland, and lavished gifts and money on his 'favourites' like the Earl of Somerset and the Duke of Buckingham. 

James spent money at an alarming rate. The only body that could grant him money was parliament, but because of bad relations, James tried to avoid having to ask and as a result sank farther and farther into debt.

The outbreak of the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) caused many difficulties in the kingdom and destroyed the careful alliances that James had built up. War placed further financial difficulties on the king and made his relationship with parliament even more difficult. 

The war was started by James's son-in-law, Frederick, who accepted the crown of Bohemia and angered the Habsburg dynasty, who were Roman Catholic. They were a major European power and were related to the Spanish Habsburgs. The Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs, acting together, overthrew Ferdinand and began to launch a campaign of religious repression, beginning in Bohemia. This drastically affected the balance of power in central Europe. 

James's natural tendencies were to look for peace, and he already had alliances with the Dutch and Spanish. He called a parliament in 1621 (the first for seven years) in which money was granted for war, but nobody seemed quite sure exactly how best to fight such a war and against whom. Parliament went too far in its suggestions for James's liking. They drew up a petition demanding war with Spain and suggested a Protestant marriage for the king's son, Prince Charles (the future King Charles I). 

Ignoring parliament, James began to make moves towards a Catholic marriage for his son. This failed and negotiations dragged on. Some people, including the king's favourite, the Duke of Buckingham, wanted war with Spain. James did not want war and neither did many of his advisers. There was no clear direction to his foreign policy. On his death in 1625, some seven years after the beginning of the Thirty Years War, it was still not evident what action should be taken.

James was also unsuccessful in his plans for a firm union between England and Scotland. By the end of the reign there was still no official link between the two, except for the king himself. It was not until the 1707 Act of Union under Queen Anne, that the bond between the two countries was laid down by an Act of Parliament. 

On 5 November every year, people in the UK celebrate Bonfire Night. This marks the attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605. Roman Catholics had been campaigning to restore the rights they had lost in the Protestant Reformation, and planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament and overthrow the Protestant rulers. The authorities were tipped off and Guy Fawkes was found in the cellars beneath Parliament and tortured until he named his fellow plotters.

The Mayflower sailed from Plymouth in September 1620 for the New World. On board were a group that became known as the Pilgrim Fathers. They are often portrayed as the founders of the modern United States, although they were certainly not the first British settlers to land in North America.

James was always keen on the idea of a union between England and Scotland. He told the English Parliament:
What God hath conjoined, then let no man separate.  I am the husband, and the whole island is my lawful wife; I am the head and it is my body.

Henri IV (King of France), described King James as
the wisest fool in Christendom.

The historian Macaulay said of James:
He was made up of two men - a witty, well-read scholar who wrote, disputed and harangued, and a nervous, drivelling idiot who acted.

The rhyme often uttered on Bonfire Night, from the attempt of Guy Fawkes to blow up Parliament goes:
Remember, remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.