The first queen Elizabeth died just after midnight on 24 March 1603. Very near that hour, while the Scottish king James prepared himself for bed, Robert Pont, a minister of the Reform Church of Scotland, entered the king's chambers and proclaimed him king of England. In an age where post horses carried the bulletins, confirmation from London arrived two days later. How many nights prior to this occasion had the prince been tucked away to bed with this same benediction from his good minister has not been recorded.