‘Queen James’ documentary reveals King James I’s male lovers

The BBC programme “Queen James,” based on historian Gareth Russell’s book, sheds light on the personal life of Britain’s first king, focusing on his relationships with men. While contemporaries were not shy about discussing these affairs, Victorian historians suppressed them, leaving James’s sexuality largely unknown even today.

The film centers on two royal favourites: Robert Carr, Earl of Somerset, and George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham. Russell, consulting fellow historians, draws on abundant primary evidence, including James’s own letters, to show the complex dynamic between the monarch and his lovers. The letters reveal emotional depth that goes beyond mere political alliance.

Director John O’Rourke uses an unusual technique: actor James McArdle reads the king’s letters in a cold room, his breath turning to mist, emphasizing the weight of the words. Russell’s commentary is analytical but not sensational, deftly connecting 17th-century mores with modern sensibilities.

James I was married to Anne of Denmark, with whom he had several children, but his romantic ties with men were significant during his reign. The film also explores the king’s inner conflicts: he published a moral treatise condemning “sodomy,” yet his actions contradicted his public stance. Russell notes that James’s troubled childhood made him an “intellectually brilliant and emotionally traumatised” ruler.