Mary was born on December 8, 1542, at Linlithgow Palace, Scotland. She was the only legitimate surviving child of the King James V and his French second wife, Mary of Guise. James V died on 14 December 1542 when Mary was just a few days old. Thus she became the Queen of Scots as an infant. It was decided that Scotland would be ruled by regents until Mary became an adult.
Mary received a good upbringing in France and was trained in horsemanship, falconry and needlework. She also learned French, Italian, Latin, Spanish, and Greek, and was competent in prose and poetry.
She married Francis in 1558. Her father-in-law died in 1559 and her husband ascended to the throne as the King Francis II and Mary, at 16, became his queen consort. Francis II died of an infection leaving Mary a widow at 18. Francis’ younger brother Charles inherited the throne and Mary returned to Scotland nine months after her husband’s death.
She faced numerous challenges upon her return to Scotland in 1561. Having spent the major part of her early life in France, Mary was unaccustomed to life in Scotland.
At that time, Scotland was torn between Catholic and Protestant factions, and Mary’s illegitimate half-brother, the Earl of Moray, was a leader of the Protestants. Mary, as a devout Catholic, was regarded with suspicion by many of her Protestant subjects, and her tolerance towards Protestants disappointed the Catholics.
She fell in love with her English-born first cousin Henry Stuart and married him. This match was considered scandalous by both the Catholic and Protestant factions as Mary and Lord Darnley were first cousins. This marriage also turned her Protestant half-brother against her as Lord Darnley was also a Catholic.
The marriage ran into problems from the very beginning as Lord Darnley proved to be a mean and vicious man. In March 1566, Darnley, along with a group of Protestant nobles brutally murdered Mary's Italian secretary, David Rizzio, in front of Mary who was heavily pregnant at that time. Darnley suspected that his wife was having an affair with Rizzio.
Following this incidence, Mary’s marriage with Darnley broke down. When Darnley was found dead under mysterious circumstances in February 1567, murder was suspected, and Mary, along with James Hepburn, the Earl of Bothwell, Secretary Maitland, and the Earl of Morton came under suspicion.
Within three months of Darnley’s death, Mary married the main suspect in her husband's murder—James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell. This marriage was considered outrageous and the public turned against her. In July 1567, Mary was compelled to abdicate the throne in favor of her infant son.
Mary was imprisoned in Lochleven Castle but managed to escape in 1568. She fled to England, seeking protection from her cousin, Elizabeth I. However, Elizabeth was suspicious of Mary’s intentions and had her imprisoned.
After being imprisoned by Elizabeth I, Mary was kept under strict surveillance. Her imprisonment would last for 19 long years.
In 1586, Mary corresponded with Anthony Babington who was plotting to depose Elizabeth. The letters fell into the hands of Elizabeth’s spymaster Francis Walsingham, and Elizabeth began to see Mary as a threat. Thus Mary was brought to trial, found guilty of treason, and sentenced to death.
Mary was executed by beheading in Fotheringhay Castle, Northamptonshire, on February 8, 1587.
Quotations:
"To be kind to all, to like many and love a few, to be needed and wanted by those we love, is certainly the nearest we can come to happiness. "
"If I could be anything in the world I would want to be a teardrop because I would be born in your eyes, live on your cheeks, and die on your lips. "
"Look to your consciences and remember that the theatre of the world is wider than the realm of England. "
On April 24, 1558, Mary married Francis II of France. Francis II died very young, at the age of 16. A few years after the death of Francis II, Mary married Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, on July 29, 1565, at Holyrood Palace. This marriage was problematic from the very beginning though it produced one son, James VI and I. Darnley died under mysterious circumstances in 1567. A few months after the death of Darnley, she married the prime suspect in his alleged murder, James Hepburn, they did not have children.
James V was King of Scots from September 9, 1513 until his death.
Mary of Guise was Queen consort of Scotland by marriage from 1538 to 1542.
James VI and I was King of Scotland as James VI from July 24, 1567, and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on March 24, 1603, until his death in 1625.
James Stewart, Duke of Rothesay was a short-lived heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Scotland.
Francis II was a King of France of the House of Valois-Angoulême from 1559 to 1560.
James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, was a prominent Scottish nobleman.
Henry Stuart, Duke of Albany was king consort of Scotland from 1565 until his murder at Kirk o' Field in 1567.
