In 1603, Queen Elizabeth I died and James Stuart was proclaimed King James I of England.  King James was more interested in theatricals than his predecessor and shortly after he arrived in London for the first time he instructed Lord Cecil, the Keeper of the Privy Seal, to give his patronage to The Lord Chamberlain's Men.  Under the royal patronage, Shakespeare's company became The King's Men.  The royal patronage was the highest form of accolade that somebody could bestow upon a company, and therefore when it was offered Shakespeare and his fellow actors would have been extremely pleased with their fortune*.

*Schoenbaum, Shakespeare's Lives, pp. 16-19.