(Although she didn't publish any books, Mary wrote several...)
Although she didn't publish any books, Mary wrote several poems while she was mourning her husband, Francis II
http://www.marie-stuart.co.uk/poetry.htm
Ethnicity:
She came from a long line of House of Stewart, who ruled Scotland for centuries
Mary Stuart was born into a royal Stuart family, which ruled Scotland for more than 150 years. Her father was King of Scots James V, while her mother was Mary of Guise, French native and James’ second wife. Her great-grandfather was King Henry VIII of England. She was the only surviving legitimate child of James V.
Ever since her birth, Mary’s life was full of excitement. Her father James V, the King of Scots, died only six days after she was born. She was soon made the Queen of Scots but the country was to be ruled by regents until she comes out of age. Earl of Arran was the first regent to rule Scotland, despite claims that the King’s will dictated that Cardinal Beaton should be the regent.
At the time, King Henry VIII ruled England. He wanted to make a union with Scotland and proposed a marriage of Prince Edward, his son, and Queen Mary. The proposal known as the Treaty of Greenwich was accepted but France didn’t look fondly on this arrangement. When Henry arrested and impounded goods of the Scottish merchants that were headed to France, Regent Arran was so angered that he became a Catholic and joined Cardinal Beaton, who was supported by the French.
When the Parliament of Scotland rejected the Treaty of Greenwich, Henry started a series of attacks on both French and Scottish territory. Fearful for her safety, they took Queen Mary to Dunkeld. When Beaton was killed and the Scots were defeated at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh in 1547, the Scots had to turn to France for help.
Earl of Arran agreed on the terms of the union between Scotland and France in 1548. Mary was betrothed to the French king’s son, who was three years old at the time (Mary was six), the French were supposed to send armed forces to help Scots in their fight and Arran was supposed to get his own dukedom. Scottish Parliament confirmed this agreement later that year, and Mary was sent to France, to grow up at the French court.
Entourage came with Mary, Lady Janet Fleming, who was appointed as her governess, and four little girls of the same age as Mary, all daughters of noble families. Mary was finally able to have a peaceful childhood, during which she demonstrated intelligence and talent for playing virginals and lute. She studied French, Greek, Latin, Italian, and Spanish, as well as poetry and prose. Mary enjoyed her time in France so much that in 1558 she even agreed to sign a secret treaty, where the French crown received all rights to Scotland in the case of her death. A couple of days later, she and Prince Dauphin got married.
Mary had the right to claim English throne as the senior descendant of Henry VIII’s elder sister, however, he excluded the House of Stewart from succession with his last will. Instead, Elizabeth I was pronounced the Queen of England in 1558. On the other hand, King Henry II of France proclaimed Mary and his son to be lawful King and Queen of England. This will lead to great problems in relations between Elizabeth I and Mary.
Mary became Queen consort of France in 1559 and two of her uncles became dominant figures in French politics. In Scotland, Mary of Guise, Queen Mary’s mother, managed to remove Earl of Arran and succeed him as a regent but the Protestants were an increasing threat. In 1560, the Treaty of Edinburgh was agreed. France and England agreed to withdraw their armies from Scotland if France recognizes that Elizabeth is the rightful Queen of England. Mary didn’t approve the Treaty.
When Mary’s husband King Francis II suddenly died in 1560 and her mother-in-law became Regent of France, Mary decided to return to Scotland. She arrived back to her home country in 1561, with little knowledge of the complex situation. Although she was a devoted Catholic, Mary tolerated the rising of Protestants and even decided that Lord Moray, her half-brother and Protestant leader, should be her advisor. Among 16 advisors, only four were Catholic and that was a clear sign that Mary didn’t have military power to stop the Protestants but also a sign that Mary wanted to strengthen links with England.
Mary sent an ambassador to make Elizabeth state her as heir to the English throne but Elizabeth was afraid of a potential conspiracy if she named a successor too early. However, Elizabeth sent a message through the ambassador that Mary is best suited for the successor, so arrangements were made for the meeting of two queens.
After her husband passed away, Mary was looking for an appropriate royal to marry. In 1565, she married her first cousin Lord Darnley Henry Stuart, who was also a grandchild of Henry VIII’s sister, Margaret Tudor. Queen Elizabeth I was afraid of this marriage as both were the rightful heir to the English throne and she was very mad because Lord Darnley was an English subject and he didn’t get her approval for the marriage.
The marriage caused a rebellion in Scotland but Mary now had enough force to suppress the rebellion and modify her privy council to include more Catholics. However, Lord Darnley soon requested the Crown Matrimonial, which meant that he is a co-sovereign of Scotland and has the right to the throne in case of Mary’s death. Mary refused, which lead to problems in the very first year of the marriage. He even organized a conspiracy to kill her alleged lover in front of her, which meant the marriage was near to an end.
Mary discussed a divorce with her advisors but was pursued to solve the problem by other means. Darnley fled in fear from his safety but soon fell ill and let Mary know his location near Edinburgh. She would visit him every day until the night of 9th February 1567, when Darnley was found murdered. James Hepburn or Lord of Bothwell, a close associate of Mary, was charged with the murder but was acquitted soon. Despite that, it is believed Bothwell killed Darnley so that he could marry Mary, which happened later that year.
Although Mary believed that she had the support for her marriage, it was very much different. Her marriage to a guy accused of killing her husband was not seen as a popular decision, and soon a rebellion started. Mary was captured and denounced as a murderer and adulteress. She was imprisoned and forced to abdicate while Bothwell was exiled. Considering that Mary’s son James was only one-year-old, new regent of Scotland was Earl of Moray. She soon managed to escape from prison and flee to England where she was taken into protective custody.
Elizabeth decided to hold a conference, or a commission of inquiry, on the topic of Mary’s participation in Darnley’s murder. The letters that Mary allegedly wrote to Bothwell showed up as crucial evidence during the conference. Mary claimed that they were a forgery but the majority accepted them as genuine. However, Elizabeth brought a verdict that nothing was proven but despite that kept Mary in custody.
The truth was that Elizabeth was scared of Mary’s intentions of taking over the English throne. She was confined in Shrewsbury and was held in a castle where she had everything but freedom to leave it. Mary spent years in this castle as her health gradually declined, in the meantime, Elizabeth discredited her by publishing her alleged letters to Lord Bothwell.
In 1586, the famous Babington Plot was organized to kill Elizabeth and place Mary as the Queen of England. Mary was implicated in the plot and when she made a mistake of giving up her letters to a wrong person, it was clear that the plot was organized with her approval. She was put on trial and convicted to death on 25th October 1586.
Although she hesitated at first, Elizabeth signed the death warrant in 1587. She was executed on February 8, 1587. She wanted to be buried in France but her wish was denied. King James VI and I, her son, later reinterred Mary in Westminster Abbey.
Was the Queen of Scotland and the Queen consort of France;
(Although she didn't publish any books, Mary wrote several...)
Mary was a devoted Catholic but she was known to cooperate witht he Protestants, too. Partly because she didn't have a strong enough army to restrain them and partly because she wanted to strengthen links with England, whose Queen Elizabeth I was a Protestant.
She came from a long line of the House of Stuart (Stewart) that ruled Scotland for centuries. She also believed that she is the rightful heir to the English throne.
Mary was a highly educated person. He spoke numerous languages, including Old Scot, French, Greek and Latin. She also enjoyed a healthy life and realized its importance. She loved various sports, including golf and horse riding. It is believed that she used to dress up as a stable boy and wandered around the streets of Edinburgh incognito.
Although she was smart and attractive, Mary showed certain political immaturity at some important points during her reign. She allowed herself to become involved in a murder of her second husband, and then she remarried to a person that was accused of killing him. She didn’t foresee that the decision would be a great hit to her reputation and popularity (or she didn’t care) and this cost her the Scottish throne later on.
She believed that she was a rightful heir to the English throne. Although she might have been right, she never had the luck of actually accessing the throne. She spent decades in pursuing this dream and in the end paid the biggest price, by giving her life. However, she was brave even during her last minutes and even made a joke that she never took her clothes off in front of such a company. Her last words were: “"Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit".
Quotations: "Never have I had such assistants to disrobe me, and never have I put off my clothes before such a company" - Mary's words before the exectuion
Mary was born into the reputable House of Stuart (Stewart) which ruled Scotland for centuries.
House of Stuart (Stewart) , Scotland
Mary had a fiery character. She was forgiving, generous and communicative person who loved animals. However, she was sometimes tactless and acted on impuls.
Physical Characteristics: Mary had an oval-shaped head, a graceful neck, auburn hair and eyes and pale skin. She was a very tall (5' 11" or 180 cm) and a very attractive woman.
Dancing
James V of Scotland, Francis II of France
William Dunbar
Pierre Quesnel
Horsemanship, golf
Ball music
Mary married three times. The first time it was to Francis II of France in 1558. When Francis died, Mary remarried in 1565 to her first cousin Lord Darnley, with who he had a son named James VI. After Lord Darnley died, Mary married for the third time in 1567 to James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell.
King of Scotland and Mary's father, who died just a couple of days after she was born
Mary firmly believed that she was the rightful heir to the English throne and not Elizabeth.
He was a confidant of Mary and her spy. He was also involved in the Babington Plot to kill Queen Elizabeth I.
Queen of Scotland
Queen consort of France
