Every man here is laird of his own land. And every man here gathers the taxes from the folk on his land, doesn’t he? That’s all great. That’s the law doing what the law was supposed to do, since the time of my great-grandfather, since the time of the Bruce. But then we’ve got a problem, eh? A wee memory lapse about what should happen to all that tax money. Shall I remind you what the law says? The law says it’s due to me, to the crown.

And I will be having it, from now on, every farthing!

The start of an uproar, the Stewart brothers are howling in opposition. ‘Thief!’ ‘We bled for that money!’, etc.… JAMES pitches over this.

And any of you that haven’t paid me that money, or won’t pay me that money or just plain forgot to pay me that money I will be having your land off you because I am King of Scots and I will make you keep the laws of Scotland!

Uproar. The Stewart brothers are shouting at him, everyone is rushing out of the parliament. Helpless, JAMES watches them go as, unseen by him, MURDAC walks up to the throne. When JAMES turns MURDAC is sitting on the throne behind him.

MURDAC. That’s pretty much how it was when your father, King Robert, held his parliaments. He didn’t have lungs like yours, though, he’d a wispy wee indecisive voice. And he didn’t have it in him to do what my father did, what I did.

JAMES. What you did?

MURDAC. Sit on the throne of Scotland and look like a real king.

JAMES. That’s a good trick. Can you teach it to me?

MURDAC. When you think you can’t do it a minute longer, stand up and let some other fool sit down.

MURDAC stands up.

JAMES. Oh nice, thanks for that.

MURDAC. So, King James, are you ready for that conversation now because I think…

JAMES (cutting over him). No, you do not… you do not talk to me here!

Talking about my father? Telling me what he was like? Aye, you knew him so well, didn’t you? So well! I never knew my father, I barely remember my fucking father, do I?

I remember my brother, though. I remember David. What happened to him, Murdac Stewart? Where’s my big brother David?

You murdered him. Your family murdered him, didn’t they? Your fucking family…

What do you remember about him? About David?

JAMES. I have one clear memory of him. Just one. I’m sitting on his shoulders, we’re walking down to the sea. He said ‘When I’m King I’ll take you all the way over the sea to France, Jamie… when I’m King.’ Then he ran with me and I thought I was flying…

MURDAC. He was a useless prince and he’d have been a worse king.

Your brother David was a greedy wee bastard, he didn’t care about the King’s law, all he ever wanted was the King’s gold, he’d have robbed us all and called it justice.