Mary, Queen of Scots: Difference between revisions
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1542-1587. French, Scottish and - to some - legitimate English queen. | |||
The daughter of the Scottish king James V and Marie de Guise inherited the throne from her father December 14 1542, when she was only six days old. In 1548 she was sent to France to live at the court of Henry II of France and was betrothed to the Dauphin, Francis, whom she married in 1558. When Henry II died, Mary and Francis reigned over France and Scotland and Mary also claimed the thrones of England and Ireland. | |||
Francis died on December 5 1560, the couple was childless. Due to a contract made with Henry before her marriage, Mary could stay in France or go back to Scotland. She decided to go back to her home country Scotland in August, 1561. She married again, [[Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley]], who was a Catholic but later allied with the Protestants. Mary and Henry are the parents of James VI of Scotland, who later became [[James I]] of England. | |||
Mary led a close friendship with her secretary, [[David Riccio/Rizzio|David Riccio]], and there were rumours about a love affair. In 1566, a group of rebels forced their entry into the Palace of Holyroodhouse, threatened the Queen and stabbed Riccio to death. | |||
On February 10 1567, Darnley was murdered, and only a few months later Mary married James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, one of the conspirators against Darnley. That is one of the reasons why Mary was accused to be involved in the murder and was forced to abdicate on behalf of her son. The tension between Mary’s supporters and enemies rose. On May 2 1568, after Mary had been captured for about one year at Lochleven Castle, she could escape and joined forces with the Hamilton family in the West. She decided to appeal to [[Elizabeth I]], her cousin, and to flee to England. | |||
Since Elizabeth was childless, she considered Mary, being the closest Catholic claimant to the English throne, as danger to her own power. Elizabeth kept Mary as a prisoner although at this time the claim that Mary was one of the murderers of Darnley met some counter evidence. There could also be some evidence in the so-called Casket Letters, letters supposedly written by Mary and Bothwell, but it is unclear whether they really existed and if so, what was written in them because the originals are not existant and only some translated copies exist today. | |||
After many Catholic plots, in which she was implicated, Mary was finally accused of conspiring against Elizabeth and found guilty after the abortive [[Babington Plot]] of 1586. She was last kept at Fotheringhay Castle, where she was also executed in 1587. A grisly affair, if the sources and anecdotes are to be believed: the executioner was not able to cut her head off at the first blow, so he had to try it with a second, and a third one. When he wanted to show the head to the audience he was only carrying Mary’s wig, her head with grey hair still lying on the ground. | |||
== Sources == | |||
* Cannon, John Ashton. ''The Oxford Companion to British History''. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1997. | |||
* MacKay, James. ''In My End is My Beginning - A Life of Mary Queen of Scots''. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publ., 2000. | |||
* http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/scots_mary_queen_of.shtml | |||
* Wormald, Jenny. ''Mary, Queen of Scots. Politics, Passion and a Kingdom Lost''. London and New York: Tauris Parke Paperbacks, 2001. | |||
Latest revision as of 20:22, 10 July 2022
1542-1587. French, Scottish and - to some - legitimate English queen.
The daughter of the Scottish king James V and Marie de Guise inherited the throne from her father December 14 1542, when she was only six days old. In 1548 she was sent to France to live at the court of Henry II of France and was betrothed to the Dauphin, Francis, whom she married in 1558. When Henry II died, Mary and Francis reigned over France and Scotland and Mary also claimed the thrones of England and Ireland.
Francis died on December 5 1560, the couple was childless. Due to a contract made with Henry before her marriage, Mary could stay in France or go back to Scotland. She decided to go back to her home country Scotland in August, 1561. She married again, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, who was a Catholic but later allied with the Protestants. Mary and Henry are the parents of James VI of Scotland, who later became James I of England.
Mary led a close friendship with her secretary, David Riccio, and there were rumours about a love affair. In 1566, a group of rebels forced their entry into the Palace of Holyroodhouse, threatened the Queen and stabbed Riccio to death.
On February 10 1567, Darnley was murdered, and only a few months later Mary married James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, one of the conspirators against Darnley. That is one of the reasons why Mary was accused to be involved in the murder and was forced to abdicate on behalf of her son. The tension between Mary’s supporters and enemies rose. On May 2 1568, after Mary had been captured for about one year at Lochleven Castle, she could escape and joined forces with the Hamilton family in the West. She decided to appeal to Elizabeth I, her cousin, and to flee to England.
Since Elizabeth was childless, she considered Mary, being the closest Catholic claimant to the English throne, as danger to her own power. Elizabeth kept Mary as a prisoner although at this time the claim that Mary was one of the murderers of Darnley met some counter evidence. There could also be some evidence in the so-called Casket Letters, letters supposedly written by Mary and Bothwell, but it is unclear whether they really existed and if so, what was written in them because the originals are not existant and only some translated copies exist today.
After many Catholic plots, in which she was implicated, Mary was finally accused of conspiring against Elizabeth and found guilty after the abortive Babington Plot of 1586. She was last kept at Fotheringhay Castle, where she was also executed in 1587. A grisly affair, if the sources and anecdotes are to be believed: the executioner was not able to cut her head off at the first blow, so he had to try it with a second, and a third one. When he wanted to show the head to the audience he was only carrying Mary’s wig, her head with grey hair still lying on the ground.
Sources
- Cannon, John Ashton. The Oxford Companion to British History. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1997.
- MacKay, James. In My End is My Beginning - A Life of Mary Queen of Scots. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publ., 2000.
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/scots_mary_queen_of.shtml
- Wormald, Jenny. Mary, Queen of Scots. Politics, Passion and a Kingdom Lost. London and New York: Tauris Parke Paperbacks, 2001.