Question: Who was the King of England when William Shakespeare died?
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James I.
When William Shakespeare passed away in 1616, King James I ruled England. His reign marked a distinctive era not just in political history, but in the world of arts and literature, too.
King James I was born on June 19, 1566, in Edinburgh Castle in Scotland. He was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots, and a great-great-grandson of Henry VII of England. James began his rule in Scotland as James VI when he was just a year old, after the abdication of his mother. When Elizabeth I of England, the last of the Tudors, died in 1603 without an heir, James ascended to the English throne as James I, uniting the crowns of Scotland and England.
This was a time of relative peace and stability, following the turbulent era of Elizabeth I. It allowed the arts, particularly drama, to flourish. The period of his rule in England, from 1603 to 1625, is often referred to as the Jacobean era, a term derived from “Jacobus,” the Latin form of James. The Jacobean era followed the Elizabethan era, another golden age of English drama where Shakespeare’s early works were written and performed.
During King James I’s rule, Shakespeare penned some of his most famous tragedies like “Macbeth,” “King Lear,” and “Antony and Cleopatra.” James I had a significant interest in theater and was a patron of the arts. Notably, in 1603, he became the patron of Shakespeare’s playing company, which was then renamed the “King’s Men.”
James was also known for commissioning the King James Bible in 1604, a translation of the Bible into English. This version was completed in 1611 and remains one of the most famous translations in the English-speaking world.
