The legal start of the year in…

The legal start of the year in Scotland is moved in 1600 to January 1, but the country otherwise will continue until 1752 to use the Julian Calendar.

Observers regularly note incidents of marital discord between King James IV of Scotland and his queen, Anne of Denmark.

The so-called Gowrie conspiracy of 1600, in which the young Earl of Gowrie, John Ruthven, and his brother Alexander Ruthven are killed by James's attendants for a supposed assault on the King, triggers the dismissal of their sisters Beatrix and Barbara Ruthven as ladies-in-waiting to Anne, with whom they are "in chiefest credit."

The Queen, who is five months pregnant, refuses to get out of bed unless they are reinstated and stays there for two days, also refusing to eat.

When James tries to command her, she warns him to take care how he treats her because she is not the Earl of Gowrie.

James placates her for the moment by paying a famous acrobat to entertain her but she never gives up.