Then, news of another killing broke. [71], Modern historian Jenny Wormald found this remarkable and suggested that Mary's failure to appoint a council sympathetic to Catholic and French interests was an indication of her focus on the English throne, over the internal problems of Scotland. Chastelard was tried for treason and beheaded. [6] She was the great-granddaughter of King Henry VII of England through her paternal grandmother, Margaret Tudor. But in June of 1560, Marys mother died in Scotland at the age of 45. [34] Janet, Lady Fleming, who was Mary Fleming's mother and James V's half-sister, was appointed governess. [122] In the early hours of the morning, an explosion devastated Kirk o' Field. Marys second husband was Henry Stuart Lord Darnley, her cousin. In February of 1567 they had Darnleys house, Kirk o Field, blown up; Darnleys strangled body was found in the garden. [204] At Christmas, she was moved to a moated manor house at Chartley. Days after this final meeting, Mary fled Scotland to seek refuge in England, hoping for the protection of Elizabeth I of England. In her lifetime, Mary married three times her final husband causing her downfall. "[9] His House of Stuart had gained the throne of Scotland in the 14th century via the marriage of Marjorie Bruce, daughter of Robert the Bruce, to Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland. He was released nineteen months later, after Cecil and Walsingham interceded on his behalf. Beaton's claim was based on a version of the king's will that his opponents dismissed as a forgery. [153], As an anointed queen, Mary refused to acknowledge the power of any court to try her. Not content with his position as king consort, he demanded the Crown Matrimonial, which would have made him a co-sovereign of Scotland with the right to keep the Scottish throne for himself, if he outlived his wife. Catholics considered the marriage unlawful, since they did not recognise Bothwell's divorce or the validity of the Protestant service. [46] Twenty days later, she married the Dauphin at Notre Dame de Paris, and he became king consort of Scotland. The king consort had been murdered and many believed Mary had played a part in his death. [128] Lennox, Darnley's father, demanded that Bothwell be tried before the Estates of Parliament, to which Mary agreed, but Lennox's request for a delay to gather evidence was denied. She joined with Moray in the destruction of Scotland's leading Catholic magnate, Lord Huntly, in 1562, after he led a rebellion against her in the Highlands. [32], With her marriage agreement in place, five-year-old Mary was sent to France to spend the next thirteen years at the French court. [177], On 26 January 1569, Mary was moved to Tutbury Castle[180] and placed in the custody of the Earl of Shrewsbury and his formidable wife Bess of Hardwick. [201] Elizabeth also rejected the association because she did not trust Mary to cease plotting against her during the negotiations. Henry Stuart, styled as Lord Darnley until 1565, was the son of Matthew Stuart, 4th Earl of Lennox, and his wife, Margaret Douglas. Why Mary wed Darnley remains a mystery. How Mary dealt with this incident sealed her fate. She was known as Bloody Mary for her persecution of Protestants in a vain attempt to restore Roman Catholicism in England. But it is unlikely that, had he been successful, Darnley would have long survived his wife. [10], Mary was christened at the nearby Church of St Michael shortly after she was born. [196] To discredit Mary, the casket letters were published in London. In December 1566 James was baptized in the Chapel Royal of Stirling Castle. Margaret Tudor, (born November 29, 1489, Londondied October 18, 1541, Methven, Perth, Scotland), wife of King James IV of Scotland, mother of James V, and elder daughter of King Henry VII of England. All too frequently, representations of Mary and Elizabeth reduce the queens to oversimplified stereotypes. To avoid the bloodshed of battle, she turned herself over and the rebels took her to Edinburgh while Bothwell struggled to rally troops of his own. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scotland, Mary was six days old when her father died and she inherited the throne. Aged five Mary Queen of Scots was sent to France by her mother Marie of Guise because she was contracted to marry Francis (Francois), the eldest son of King Henri II of France and Catherine de Medici. [114], At Craigmillar Castle, near Edinburgh, at the end of November 1566, Mary and leading nobles held a meeting to discuss the "problem of Darnley". [88][89], English statesmen William Cecil and the Earl of Leicester had worked to obtain Darnley's licence to travel to Scotland from his home in England. Three months after Darnleys death, Mary wed the man whod been accused ofand acquitted of in a legally suspect trialhis murder. After Francis' death, she married Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. Mary Queen of Scots picks up in 1561 with the eponymous queen's return to her native country. [86] Mary fell in love with the "long lad", as Queen Elizabeth called him since he was over six feet tall. Mary's numbers were boosted by the release and restoration to favour of Lord Huntly's son and the return of James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, from exile in France. 1558 - 1603. [163], Mary's biographers, such as Antonia Fraser, Alison Weir, and John Guy, have come to the conclusion that either the documents were complete forgeries,[164] or incriminating passages were inserted into genuine letters,[165] or the letters were written to Bothwell by a different person or written by Mary to a different person. [133], Originally, Mary believed that many nobles supported her marriage, but relations quickly soured between the newly elevated Bothwell (created Duke of Orkney) and his former peers and the marriage proved to be deeply unpopular. As biographer. Whereas Mary aged in the relative isolation of house arrest, Elizabeths looks were under constant scrutiny. [135], Twenty-six Scottish peers, known as the confederate lords, turned against Mary and Bothwell and raised their own army. According to most contemporaries, they were close and affectionate with one another even as children. [169] Mary had been forced to abdicate and held captive for the better part of a year in Scotland. [220], At Fotheringhay, on the evening of 7 February 1587, Mary was told she was to be executed the next morning. This time, the victim was Darnley himself. As a Protestant, she faced threats from Englands Catholic faction, which favored a rival claim to the thronethat of Mary, the Catholic Queen of Scotsover hers. June; Mary of Guise passes away in Scotland December; Mary's husband, Francis, Mary's husband, passes away 1561 Mary returns to Scotland 1562 Northern campaign and visit to Inverness; aged 19 1563 Mary visits Inveraray,Dunure Castle, Dumfries, and Peebles; aged 20 1564 Mary hunts near Blair Atholl, Tayside; aged 21 7. [78] Elizabeth attempted to neutralise Mary by suggesting that she marry English Protestant Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester. [11] Rumours spread that she was weak and frail,[12] but an English diplomat, Ralph Sadler, saw the infant at Linlithgow Palace in March 1543, unwrapped by her nurse Jean Sinclair, and wrote, "it is as goodly a child as I have seen of her age, and as like to live. [159] The chair of the commission of inquiry, the Duke of Norfolk, described them as horrible letters and diverse fond ballads. A royal residence, a vital stronghold and an iconic structure, Edinburgh Castle is one of the most famous castles in the world. But by February 1567, tensions had thawed enough for Mary to name Elizabeth protector of her infant son, the future James VI of Scotland and I of England. (Francis younger brother, Charles IX, became king of France at just 10 years old with his mother, Catherine de Medici, acting as regent. [104] Over the next two days, a disillusioned Darnley switched sides and Mary received Moray at Holyrood. Privacy Statement [139] On 24 July, she was forced to abdicate in favour of her one-year-old son James. A Protestant husband for Mary seemed the best chance for stability. [52], When Henry II died on 10 July 1559, from injuries sustained in a joust, fifteen-year-old Francis and sixteen-year-old Mary became king and queen of France. | READ MORE. In May 1567 they wed at Holyrood and Mary wrote to the foreign courts that it was the right decision for her country. [166] Guy points out that the letters are disjointed and that the French language and grammar employed in the sonnets are too poor for a writer with Mary's education[167] but certain phrases in the letters, including verses in the style of Ronsard, and some characteristics of style are compatible with known writings by Mary. She later charged him with treason, but he was acquitted and released. Unfortunately, this choice turned out to be very poorly thought out; instead of safety, Mary became a prisoner of her cousin the queen. Also, Bothwell showed Mary an agreement the nobles had signed which indicated they were prepared to accept him as their overlord. [47][48], In November 1558, Henry VIII's elder daughter, Mary I of England, was succeeded by her only surviving sibling, Elizabeth I. [158] They are widely believed to be crucial as to whether Mary shared the guilt for Darnley's murder. [134] The marriage was tempestuous, and Mary became despondent. Published on December 6, 2018 11:00 AM. [3] On 14 December, six days after her birth, she became Queen of Scotland when her father died, perhaps from the effects of a nervous collapse following the Battle of Solway Moss[7] or from drinking contaminated water while on campaign. [150] Mary's clothes, sent from Loch Leven Castle, arrived on 20 July. [31] The English left a trail of devastation behind them once more and seized the strategic town of Haddington. The council was dominated by the Protestant leaders from the reformation crisis of 15591560: the Earls of Argyll, Glencairn, and Moray. [147], Mary apparently expected Elizabeth to help her regain her throne. Relations between Mary and Elizabeth had soured following the Scottish queens union with Darnley, which the English queen viewed as a threat to her throne. He had 600 men with him and asked to escort Mary to his castle at Dunbar; he told her she was in danger if she went to Edinburgh. BROWSETHE HISTORY SCOTLAND LIBRARY, Company Registered in England no. [20] The Earl of Lennox escorted Mary and her mother to Stirling on 27 July 1543 with 3,500 armed men. "[224] Her servants, Jane Kennedy and Elizabeth Curle, and the executioners helped Mary remove her outer garments, revealing a velvet petticoat and a pair of sleeves in crimson brown, the liturgical colour of martyrdom in the Catholic Church,[225] with a black satin bodice and black trimmings. Widowed, Mary returned to Scotland in August 1561. Francis was the eldest son of Henry II and Catherine de Medici, making him heir to the French throne at the time of their marriage. [68], To the surprise and dismay of the Catholic party, Mary tolerated the newly established Protestant ascendancy,[69] and kept her half-brother Moray as her chief advisor. [205], On 11 August 1586, after being implicated in the Babington Plot, Mary was arrested while out riding and taken to Tixall Hall in Staffordshire. Mary married Francois in 1558. She was also a claimant (someone who has a legal claim to be the lawful ruler) to the throne of England. The fact that she married her third husband, the Earl of Bothwell, shortly after the murder, did little to help her cause. Mary, byname Mary, Queen of Scots, original name Mary Stuart or Mary Stewart, (born December 8, 1542, Linlithgow Palace, West Lothian, Scotlanddied February 8, 1587, Fotheringhay Castle, Northamptonshire, England), queen of Scotland (1542-67) and queen consort of France (1559-60). Marys mother Marie de Guise had arranged the marriage when Mary and Francis were infants, and so Mary was brought up knowing she would one day be queen of France and Scotland. The untimely death of Francis in 5 December 1560 changed Marys future and meant she would return to Scotland to claim her throne, leaving Franciss ten-year-old brother Charles to inherit his brothers title of king. [42] At some point in her infancy or childhood, she caught smallpox, but it did not mark her features. According to Janet Dickinson of Oxford University, any in-person encounter between the Scottish and English queens wouldve raised the question of precedence, forcing Elizabeth to declare whether Mary was her heir or not. [8], A popular tale, first recorded by John Knox, states that James, upon hearing on his deathbed that his wife had given birth to a daughter, ruefully exclaimed, "It cam wi' a lass and it will gang wi' a lass! [231] Items supposedly worn or carried by Mary at her execution are of doubtful provenance;[232] contemporary accounts state that all her clothing, the block, and everything touched by her blood was burnt in the fireplace of the Great Hall to obstruct relic hunters. The marriage of Mary Queen of Scots: 24 April 1558. Bothwells noble friends had previously pressed her to marry him and he, too, had told her she needed a strong husband who could help unify the nobles behind her. [103] On 9 March, a group of the conspirators accompanied by Darnley murdered Rizzio in front of the pregnant Mary at a dinner party in Holyrood Palace. [23], Shortly before Mary's coronation, Henry arrested Scottish merchants headed for France and impounded their goods. On the promise of French military help and a French dukedom for himself, Arran agreed to the marriage. [221] She spent the last hours of her life in prayer, distributing her belongings to her household, and writing her will and a letter to the King of France. [170] In contrast, Weir thinks it demonstrates that the lords required time to fabricate them. [83] Maitland claimed that Chastelard's ardour was feigned and that he was part of a Huguenot plot to discredit Mary by tarnishing her reputation.[84]. [192] Norfolk continued to scheme for a marriage with Mary, and Elizabeth imprisoned him in the Tower of London between October 1569 and August 1570. , a Protestant reformer who objected to both queens rule, may have declared it more than a monster in nature that a Woman shall reign and have empire above Man, but the continued resonance of Mary and Elizabeths stories suggests otherwise. The diabolical death of Henry, Lord Darnley It's 450 years on 10 February 2017 that the second husband of Mary Queen of Scots, Henry, Lord Darnley, was murdered smack-bang (literally) in the middle of Edinburgh. Mary's father, James V, King of Scotland died on 14 December 1542 following the Battle of Solway Moss. [75] In late 1561 and early 1562, arrangements were made for the two queens to meet in England at York or Nottingham in August or September 1562. The frail infant, named Mary Stuart, was the. One of the most shocking scenes in the upcoming Mary Queen of Scots movie comes when Mary Stuart, played by Saoirse Ronan, walks in on her husband Henry . For myself, I beg you to believe that I would not harbour such a thought. The authenticity of the letters, now known only by copies, continues to be debated. But Mary had more agency than history gives her credit for: beneath the soft exterior lay a steely determination to rule, as was her God-given right. Many of her other descendants, including Elizabeth of Bohemia, Prince Rupert of the Rhine and the children of Anne, Queen of Great Britain, were interred in her vault. Francis and Mary knew each since before they married Mary grew up in the French royal court after her father, King James V of Scotland died when she was only 5 days old. However, the murder of Rizzio led to the breakdown of her marriage. Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart, Catholic Queen, Protestant Patriarchy: Mary, Queen of Scots, and the Politics of Gender and Religion, Five Places Where You Can Still Find Gold in the United States, Scientists Taught Pet Parrots to Video Call Each Otherand the Birds Loved It, The True Story of the Koh-i-Noor Diamondand Why the British Won't Give It Back. The daughter of King Henry VIII and the Spanish princess Catherine . Within two months of the wedding, she became pregnant with future King James I. [51] Mary's claim to the English throne was a perennial sticking point between herself and Elizabeth. The versions of Mary and Elizabeth created by Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie may reinforce some of the popular misconceptions surrounding the twin queensincluding the oversimplified notion that they either hated or loved each other, and followed a direct path from friendship to arch rivalrybut they promise to present a thoroughly contemporary twist on an all-too-familiar tale of women bombarded by men who believe they know better. He had a violent temper and, despite his differences from Darnley, shared the deceased kings proclivity for power. . She assumed the throne as queen of Scotland when she was just six days old, upon the death of her father. Mary, Queen of Scots' pampered childhood That same year, another ginger-haired princess was born on December 8 at Linlithgow Palace in Scotland. She fled to England and begged in letters for her cousin Elizabeth's support and help regaining her throne. Darnley was found dead in the garden, apparently smothered. Although each of these marriages was short-lived, every one of these unions made an impact on Scottish history. Moray had sent a messenger in September to Dunbar to get a copy of the proceedings from the town's registers. [53] Two of the Queen's uncles, the Duke of Guise and the Cardinal of Lorraine, were now dominant in French politics,[54] enjoying an ascendancy called by some historians la tyrannie Guisienne. 2572212 | VAT registration No. In the immediate aftermath of Darnleys murder, he met with Mary about six miles outside of Edinburgh. [100], Before long, Darnley grew arrogant. They were always attended to by a retinue of servants and, even then, Mary had developed a fondness for animals, especially dogs, which was to continue throughout her life. Mary's life and subsequent execution established her in popular culture as a romanticised historical character. Fact: Queen Mary's second husband tried to usurp the throne After Queen Mary was widowed by her first husband at 18, she married Lord Darnley (Jack Lowden), her third cousin. 'Deciphering Mary Stuarts lost letters from 1578-1584', "Stewart, Henry, duke of Albany [Lord Darnley] (1545/61567)", "Deciphering Mary Stuart's Lost Letters to Michel de Castelnau Mauvissire", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mary,_Queen_of_Scots&oldid=1152038397, People executed by Tudor England by decapitation, People executed under the Tudors for treason against England, Heads of government who were later imprisoned, Kingdom of Scotland expatriates in France, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using Sister project links with wikidata namespace mismatch, Pages using Sister project links with hidden wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 27 April 2023, at 19:51. In 1559, Henry II of France, died at the age of 40. [248] There is no concrete proof of her complicity in Darnley's murder or of a conspiracy with Bothwell. But he never seemed to care for Mary and sought far more power than she was willing to give him. [37] Mary learned to play lute and virginals, was competent in prose, poetry, horsemanship, falconry, and needlework, and was taught French, Italian, Latin, Spanish, and Greek, in addition to her native Scots. Mary married a total of three times. When Moray rushed into the room after hearing her cries for help, she shouted, "Thrust your dagger into the villain!" They next met on Saturday 17 February 1565 at Wemyss Castle in Scotland. The early years of her personal rule were marked by pragmatism, tolerance, and moderation. Margaret was Henry VIII's older sister so Mary was Henry VIII's great-niece. [160], The authenticity of the casket letters has been the source of much controversy among historians. Darnley shared a more recent Stewart lineage with the Hamilton family as a descendant of Mary Stewart, Countess of Arran, a daughter of James II of Scotland. [63] Having lived in France since the age of five, Mary had little direct experience of the dangerous and complex political situation in Scotland. He sent copies to Elizabeth, saying that if they were genuine, they might prove Mary's guilt.

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