Scottish Blog

(December 8, 1542 – February 8, 1587)

Mary Queen of Scots

This article on Mary Stuart is not intended as a standalone read. I strongly recommend that you read my previous article about Mary Queen of Scots to obtain a fuller comprehension of the subject.

In his efforts to capture the young Queen, Mary Stuart, Henry VIII laid waste to Scotland. Calling upon the “Auld Alliance”, both Mary Stuart and Scotland were saved by France. The first, by the agreement of Henri II, the new French King, wed Mary Stuart to his new born so, thus securing and uniting the futures of both Kingdoms. And the later by sending troops to aid in the conflict.

This seemed like a logical solution to the plight of Mary Stuart. On the 7th of August 1548, Mary Stuart sailed to France with the French fleet, where she would be raised and protected.

As per arrangement, Mary Stuart was married to dauphin Francois at Notre Dame de Paris on the 24th of April 1558. Upon the death of her savious, Henri II she became Queen consort to France.

This brief period of respite was soon broken and the troubles Mary Stuart began again. Mary Staurt was at the time, second in line for the English throne. Although, Elizabeth I, who held the throne at the time was considered an illegitamate child in the Catholic view. This put Mary Stuart as the rightful Crown holder. Unfortunatley for Mary Stuart, at the same time, a Huegonot uprising in France prevented French forces from helping Mary get the Crown. Furthermore, Mary Stuart’s representitives in England signed a treaty on her behalf which called for French troops to leave England and also it backed Elizabeth’s right to hold the Crown.

Understandably, Mary Stuart was not happy with this and at the age of eighteen left France for Scotland.

By the 19th of August 1561, when she had arrived in Scotland, Mary Stuart seemed to have doubts about confronting Elizabeth I. She attempted to repair the damage between themselves and invited Elizabeth to visit Scotland. Elizabeth rejected the offer. Various other attempts were made by both parties, including offers of husbands for Mary, although they were all refused.

In 1565, Mary Stuart married again, to Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. This marriage came as a shock to many. Elizabeth I was reputed to be furious with the arrangement and claimed that her permission should have been asked since Darnley was one of her subects. Also amongst the opposition was a large number of Scottish Protestant leaders, who opposed Mary’s choice because Darnley was a Catholic ( and so was she). Although, the military support that the Protestants were able to rally was quickly defeated.

The marriage of Mary Stuart and Lord Darnley soon took a downturn. He began to demand more power and grew jealous of freindships that Mary Stuart had outside their marriage. At one point he beat her in an attempt to cause a miscarriage. Along with this, Lord Darnley also made a pact with the Protestant rebels that Mary faced earlier, in wich they succeded to kill Mary Stuart’s private secretary (Lord Darnley felt the most jealousy for this friendship).

After the birth of her son Mary Stuart entered into a plot which would see the death of Lord Darnley. In february 1567, an explosion occored at the house where Lord Darnley was staying, although he was found in the garden strangled. These “suspicious” circumstances hindered Maru Stuarts reputation.

On the 15th of May 1567, Mary married James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bathwell. The nobels of Scotland soon turned against Mary Stuart and on the 15th June she was abducted by the Lords and taken to Edinburgh. Whilst in captivity she had a miscarriage and was also forced to give up her right of the Crown to her 3 year old son, James.

In 1568, Mary Staurt escaped and fled to england, where she was captured by the men of Elizabeth I. Mary Stuart spent the rest of her life under English captivty. She was charged with the murder of Lord Darnley, although it is believed that much of the evidence presented against her was either fake or forged. The trial was made even more difficult by the fact that Mary Stuart refused to acknowledge the authority of the court since she believed she should hold the Crown. Through the rest of her life, Mary was said to be involcvd in a number of plots to restore Catholisisnm to Englad and assasinate Elizabeth.

This came to be her final downfall. After agreeing to the failed Babington plot, which would see the assasination of Elizabeth I, Mary Stuart was excecuted. She was beheaded on the 8th of February 1587. It is said she wore red, maring herself as a Cathlic martyr.