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Mary
Queen of Scots is a unique figure in the history of
Scotland
She was
Queen of Scotland , she reigned briefly as Queen of France
and it was her strong claim to the English throne which
ultimately led to her death. Her family , the Stewarts ,
came to power in Scotland when Marjorie Bruce , daughter of
King Robert
the Bruce
, married Walter Stewart .
The story of the
house of Stewart
Mary was
born on 8 December , 1542 in Linlithgow
Palace
. She was a weak child and not expected to live . To make
matters worse , her father King James V lay dying in
Falkland Palace . He had collapsed after the defeat of his
army at Solway Moss. Six days later he died . However Mary
grew strong and healthy . She was crowned queen at
Stirling
Castle
before her first birthday .
Mary's
ascent to the throne raised the issue of to whom she should
be betrothed . Her great uncle , King Henry VIII of England
, suggested a union with his son Edward. Most of the
Scottish lords favoured a marriage to the newborn French
prince to continue the 'auld alliance' with France . Henry
was outraged and sent an army to invade Scotland and enforce
his will. Mary , who by this time was five years old , was
sent by her mother , Mary of Guise , to France for her own
safety .
Mary's
childhood in France was idyllic and surrounded by
Renaissance splendour . She was treated as the future queen
of France and Scotland and stayed in chateaux and palaces
such as Fontainebleau . Mary was beautiful , bright and
lively. Henry II , the king of France , said
' The little Queen of Scots is the most perfect child that I
have ever seen '. Mary quickly learned to speak French as
well as Italian , Spanish and Latin . Her tutors taught her
to sew tapestries , write poetry and play musical
instruments . The only thing missing in her life was her
mother , Mary of Guise who , as a regent of Scotland, had to
stay there . In 1550 Mary of Guise visited her daughter and
spent the next year with her in France .
Mary grew
up with Prince Francis , son of the French king . In April
1558 Mary and Francis were married in an extravagant
ceremony in the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris . The poet
Chatelard wrote ' the eyes of this Queen suffice to light up
the whole sea with their lovely fire '. Seven months later
the English queen Mary Tudor died , leading Henry II and
some English Catholics to push the claims of Mary to the
throne . From then on Mary and Francis carried the royal
arms of England as well as France and Scotland .
There are
nine
pictures of Linlithgow
Palace
on Photogold
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The
following year Henry II died and Mary became Queen of France
. However less than a year later her husband developed an
ear infection and died . Mary decided to return to Scotland
.
A group of
Protestant nobles , the Lords of the Congregation , took
over Mary of Guise's government . However , Mary's half
brother , the Earl of Moray , had prepared the way for her
return and it was agreed that she would accept the changes
made to the Parliament and Scottish church in return for
being allowed to practise her own religion . Before long the
Scottish people took Mary to their hearts .
Mary spent
most of her time at Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh and enjoyed
visits to Falkland Palace and her castles at Stirling and
Linlithgow . Mary was the Queen of Scotland and official
heir to the English throne and she started to receive
suitors from all over Europe . She decided to marry her
cousin , Henry Stuart , Lord Darnley . They were married at
Holyrood on 29 July 1565 . In 1566 Mary became pregnant .
She started to spend a lot of time with her secretary ,
David Rizzio , and Darnley became jealous of their
relationship. In March 1566 Darnley and his followers
murdered Rizzio in the Queen's apartments . This effectively
ended the marriage . In June Mary gave birth to a son James
VI at Edinburgh
Castle
.
Mary
looked to the Earl of Moray and the Earl of Bothwell for
support and she considered a divorce . In February 1567 the
house at Kirk o'Field in Edinburgh where Darnley was staying
was destroyed by an explosion . It became clear that
Bothwell was responsible for this but the trial was
disrupted by his supporters and he was set free .
Bothwell
now made it clear he wanted the throne of Scotland . He
tried and failed to persuade Mary that they should join
forces . In April 1567 Mary visited her son in Stirling . On
her way back Bothwell met her and he made her go with him to
Dunbar Castle. There he attacked her and forced her into
marriage . The people were scandalised at the marriage and
turned against Mary .
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Stewart shopping mall
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Palace
on Photogold
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On
15 June 1567 a group of nobles met Bothwell and his army at
Carberry Hill. Bothwell was defeated and Mary was taken to
Lochleven Castle. She was forced to abdicate in favour of
James and name Moray as regent .Bothwell fled to Denmark.
Mary was locked up in Lochleven for ten months. She managed
to escape and met her supporters at Langside . Once again
her army was defeated and she fled south .
If Mary
had travelled to France she would have been safe and well
looked after . Instead she naively believed Queen Elizabeth
of England would protect her . Elizabeth however did not
trust the woman who had once claimed her throne . Once again
Mary was imprisoned , this time in Carlisle Castle. Some
Scottish lords accused Mary of involvement in Darnley's
death and Elizabeth realised that Mary would be executed if
she returned to Scotland. Mary had three powerful allies -
the kings of France and Spain and the Pope. Elizabeth
decided to imprison Mary because she feared Mary would make
a claim on her throne if she was free. For 18 years Mary was
kept in prison. Elizabeth refused all of Mary's requests to
see her . Eventually Mary had to look for support from
another source to regain her freedom.
In May
1570 the Pope excommunicated Elizabeth and issued a papal
bull deposing her , increasing the pressure on Elizabeth .
Many Catholics believed that Mary should become queen of
England .
The
Babington Plot was uncovered in 1586 by Walsingham and
Mary's involvement was exposed . Elizabeth now had no choice
but to try Mary for treason and she was found guilty . Mary
was executed at Fotheringhay Castle on 8 February 1587 . In
1603 her son James achieved what many believed was Mary's
destiny and entitlement - he became ruler of England and
Scotland .
There
are nine
pictures of Linlithgow
Palace
on Photogold
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