Mary, Queen of Scots: A Biography

Mary, Queen of Scots lends her name to quite possibly the most famous monarch in Scottish history. Born in December 1542 to James V and Mary de Guise, from whom she takes her name, six day old Mary was made a Queen upon her father's untimely death.

Mary's coronation was that of legends! With miniature regal robes and a jeweled satin gown to cover the infant who could barely sit up at the time, she was carried by Lord Livingston to the throne where he had to remain in order to keep the tiny baby from rolling off! Lord Livingston answered the Coronation Oath for her and it is said that when they removed her heavy robes for the holy anointing the chilly air made the baby cry. The entire ceremony of coronation was done over the infant, including handing her the scepter and placing the crown on her little head.

Mary was entered into an agreement for an arranged marriage to Henry VIII's son, the future Edward VI; however these plans came to a screeching halt when Henry tried to have the infant taken into the care of England rather then wait for the actual marriage to commence when the children came of age. Fearing her daughter would be kidnapped by England, Mary de Guise appealed to the French ambassador for assistance.

At the age of 5 Mary entered into a marriage agreement with Henri II of France's eldest son and was sent to France to be raised in the French court as the Dauphine of France. Henri II provided his future daughter-in-law with an education befitting a Princess of France, where she mastered several languages, excelled in the arts and learned to play two instruments.

On April 24, 1558 when Mary was 15 years old, she and Francis were married. On July 10, 1559 Henri II died, making 15 year old Francis the newly anointed King Francis II, and Mary the Queen Consort of France. Tragically Mary found herself to be a young widow when Francis died in December of 1960. Mary was eventually forced to leave the place she called home since she was a young child and return to her homeland of Scotland.

Although she was given a wonderful education in France, she was never given the political education necessary to be a proper monarch. Smart as she was, she didn't possess the natural talents to be a Queen. Her own country of Scotland was being ruled by her uncles and she hadn't set foot there in almost 15 years. As such, when she returned to her native Scotland after her husband's death at the age of 19, she was still being very much governed by her mother's brothers.

While Mary was being raised in France, the English throne had passed from Henry VIII to his son Edward, then his daughter Mary and was now in the hands of Henry VIII's Protestant daughter, Queen Elizabeth I. Elizabeth had already gone through her own turmoil in securing her legitimacy, and if she was claimed a bastard then the rightful heir to the English thrown would be none other then Mary.

Mary and Elizabeth were now at a standoff.

Mary sent ambassadors to England to put forth the possibility of her being named as Elizabeth's heir to the English throne but the proposal was refused. In 1561 Elizabeth offered Mary the chance to claim herself the next heir to the English throne if, and only if, she married someone of Elizabeth's choosing. Elizabeth figured if she could have one of her own Protestant subjects wed her then a very Catholic Mary would be controllable. Mary refused. She instead chose to wed her cousin Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley, and at 23 she fulfilled a monarch's greatest duty - procure an heir for the throne. James VI of Scotland was baptized in the Chapel Royal at Stirling Castle in December 1566 but this was only a temporary calm.

Lord Darnley was murdered and Mary found herself in a perilous predicament. James Hepburn, the Earl of Bothwell convinced her that her only choice was to marry him. A month after they wed an army of nobles was set upon Mary and her new husband where they were captured, and Mary was made to abdicate her throne in favor of her one year old son. Mary tried to fight for her throne but lost and fled to England, to her cousin and her son's Godmother - Elizabeth I.

Elizabeth feared that as the only Catholic claimant to the English throne Mary would gain support and become the Queen of Scotland and England. Not knowing what to do with her, Elizabeth kept Mary under lock and key. Because Elizabeth continued to consider Mary a real threat to her throne she had her imprisoned for the next 18 years.

As time went on Mary became a bigger liability to Elizabeth. Mary was charged with treason in conspiring to kill the Queen and claim the throne for herself and her son, James, who was now the King of Scotland. Mary was tried, convicted and sentenced to beheading at Fotheringhay Castle on February 8, 1587.

After Elizabeth I's natural death in 1603, Mary's son James became James I of England, VI of Scotland. It is said that upon her death Mary told the executioner that he was about to put an end to her troubles. Spending nearly half of her 44 years imprisoned and treated as a traitor to the throne that she had legitimate claim to, this can not be far from the truth.