The Glorious Exception: James V survives

James V, King of the Scots and his wife Queen Marie d'Guise
In early December 1542 James V, the King of the Scots, fell ill to what is believed to be a fever although accounts vary on what type and when exactly he first fell ill. For several weeks, during which a daughter of his was born and named Mary, he drifted in an out of consciousness and was according to some delirious. During this period many of his courtiers, as well as his wife, believed that the King was going to pass away and there were whispers that the Earl of Arran would assume the regency for the King's week old daughter. As the Earl of Arran favored Protestantism, as well closer relations with England, there was backlash against him, especially from both Cardinal Beaton and the Earl of Lennox who were strong Catholics and supported keeping the Auld Alliance intact. This behind the scenes squabbling would be put to rest, however, when James began to surprisingly show signs of improvement. The fever began to subside and by the end of 1542 King James V of Scotland had fully recovered from his mystery illness. It appeared two crises had been avoided, the prospect of a regency for an infant as well as the potential fight for control over said regency between the dominant Catholics and the rising Protestants, which many had believed undoubtedly would occur.
While some took James' recovery as a miracle, there was no time for him to dwell upon it. Scotland was still at war, and Henry VIII (the Uncle of the King) sought to advance the Reformation in Scotland by defeating them in Battle. James had already been dealt a heavy blow with the loss of the Battle of Solway Moss and viewed it as a personal failure. So much so, that it was said during his period of delirium during his fever that he expressed guilt over the loss of the Battle as well as his standard. The King knew he needed to strike at the English yet again, this time with a victory, in order to either end the war on his terms or at least earn a white peace.
By late January 1543 the King began to assemble more men all the while sending envoys to England inquiring as to the amount of gold the Kingdom of England would require in order to ransom the high-ranking individuals who had been taken prisoner after the Scottish lines had fallen apart at Solway. This was both genuine and a ploy. James did in fact want many of the highborn lords back in Scotland to assist his war efforts, but he also knew that sending diplomats to his uncle would make it appear as though he was leaning towards peace so as to make the English let their guard down and focus on preparing an invasion of France instead. On their way south however, the envoys were informed that the majority of the high ranking prisoners had been released by Henry, who hoped that upon returning home they'd be less willing to take arms against England and instead would work on advancing its cause within the country. This would be a big blunder on the behalf of the English King ,who had mistakenly believed that James V had succumbed to his fever based on faulty information, as few of the prisoners who had made pledges kept their vows and most rejoined James and the army he was assembling. Scotland, it appeared, was going to strike back.
There was another issue the King had to deal with following his recovery besides the war against England, and that was the succession. During his sickness there had been numerous questions over whom the King desired take up the regency as well as a general concern over the lack of a male heir. James V cleared up the situation by making a will specifying that Cardinal Beaton, and not the Earl of Arran, would assume the regency in the event of his death. The King passed over his wife Marie d'Guise as not only was she female but she was a foreigner as well, and James had seen how the realm had reacted to his mother, Margaret Tudor, during his minority. Although he never stated it outright many people expected he had passed over Arran due to his connection with Protestantism which made James, a devout Catholic, uncomfortable. The Earl took this as a slight, being the second in line to the throne, and reportedly furiously demanded that the King reconsider, something which the stubborn Stewart refused to do. This created a rift between the distant cousins and allowed for Arran to become largely viewed as the leader of the pro-English and Protestant movement among the nobility, something which disgusted James.
The formation of this rift motivated James in other areas as well. The King became determined to keep Arran as far away from the throne as possible and the only way he could do so was by producing more legitimate children. James and Marie had once had 2 sons, although both had died within the span of hours with one being a year old and the other little more than a week. The King knew he needed another surviving child if he was to keep Arran, or his children, off the throne and it had to be a son if he was to keep the House of Stewart on the throne. The House had ascended to the throne with the marriage to one of Robert the Bruce's daughters and ever since then had been weary of being replaced through the same means. The other 3 James's, as well as the 2 Roberts before them, had all been able to produce a male heir despite the reputation they had for dying young and forcing a regency upon the realm. In fact, for a time, there had been too many Stewarts, not too few. Before the King finally set off to campaign against the English in early March 1453 Marie reportedly vowed to James that the next time they were together, she would give him a son. Seeing as James and Marie's marriage was not happy and the King was often seen frequenting the beds of mistresses and other women, this instance serves to show how the Queen knew how desperate the realm was for the security a second child, and a male one at that, offered. James would depart a week later, reportedly having frequented his wife's bed in the hopes that her promise to him would come true.