Princess Mary Stuart was born at Linlithgow Place, Linlithgow, Scotland in December 1542 to King James V of Scotland and his French wife Mary of Guise. The week old Mary became Queen of Scotland when her father died at the age of 30. Things were moving rather swiftly for Mary, when just six months old, the Treaties of Greenwich promised Mary to be married to Edward , son of King Henry VIII in 1552 and for their heirs to inherit the Kingdoms of Scotland and England. However, the Treaties of Greenwich fell apart, the agreement did not sit well with the Scots, Henry embarked on what has become known as the ‘rough wooing’ designed to ensure the agreement was met. He began raiding Scottish territories, in May 1544, English forces arrived in the Firth of Forth intent on capturing Edinburgh and kidnapping Mary, however she was secretly hid at Stirling Castle. The French came to the aid of the Scots, the King of France, Henry II, proposed to unite France and Scotland by marrying Mary to his three year old son, the Dauphin Francis. With her marriage agreement settled, the five year old Mary moved to France in 1548 to the French court. In 1558 she married the Dauphin Francis with him assuming the title King consort of Scots. When Henry II died in 1559, Mary, Queen of Scots, became Queen consort of France, her husband becoming Francis II of France. Mary was next in line to the English throne after her father’s cousin Queen Elizabeth I who was childless.
When Mary’s husband, Francois died in 1560, France decided to withdraw their troops from Scotland and recognise Elizabeth as Queen of England, Mary refused to ratify this agreement. She returned to Scotland in 1561 but she tolerated the Protestant ascendancy. In 1565, Mary married Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. Elizabeth felt threatened by the match as both were claimants to the English throne, both being direct descendants of Margaret Tudor, the elder sister of Henry VIII. Following the birth of their son James in 1566, a plot was hatched to remove Darnley and he was duly assassinated in February 1567. In April, 1567, Mary was abducted and raped by James Hepburn, Fourth Earl of Bothwell, they were married the following month according to Protestant rites. The Scottish nobility turned against Mary, she was incarcerated and forced to abdicate the Scottish throne in favour of her one year old son James. Mary escaped in 1568 and raised a small army but she was defeated at the Battle of Langside and fled to England, where she was immediately imprisoned and remained so for the ensuing eighteen years. In 1586, Mary was tried for treason over her alleged involvement in the Babington Plot to kill Elizabeth. She was found guilty and beheaded . She is interred along with Elizabeth in Westminster Abbey. Mary’s son James married Anne of Denmark in 1589, they had many children but only three survived – Charles I of England; Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia and Frederick, Prince of Wales. Her grand-children included Charles II of England and James II of England.
Russell Shortt is a travel consultant with Exploring Ireland, the leading specialists in customised, private escorted tours, escorted coach tours and independent self drive tours of Ireland. Article source: http://www.exploringireland.net