James VI and I was a person.
James VI and I ( 19 June 1566 -- 27 March 1625 ) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until his death . James was the son of Mary , Queen of Scots , and a great-great-grandson of Henry VII , King of England and Lord of Ireland , positioning him to eventually accede to all three thrones . After the Union of the Crowns , he based himself in England ( the largest of the three realms ) from 1603 , only returning to Scotland once in 1617 , and styled himself `` King of Great Britain and Ireland '' . James himself was a talented scholar , the author of works such as Daemonologie ( 1597 ) , The True Law of Free Monarchies ( 1598 ) , and Basilikon Doron ( 1599 ) .