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Elizabethan England

Mary, Queen of Scots, was a beautiful and controversial woman whose life was full of drama and intrigue. She experienced many troubles and obstacles. She triumphed over many of these obstacles, but in the end she was executed due to her unacceptable actions.

Mary Stuart was born at Linlithgow Palace in Scotland on December 8, 1542. She was the daughter of James V of Scotland and Mary of Guise. Six days after she was born, her father died, and Mary became the queen of Scotland. Her French mother was chosen as regent, however, and she sent Mary to France in 1548. Mary lived as part of the French royal family. In April 1558, she married Dauphin Francis; at this time she secretly agreed to bequeath Scotland to France if she should die without a son. In July of 1559, Francis succeeded his father, becoming King Francis II, and Mary became queen of France as well as Scotland.

In addition, many Roman Catholics recognized Mary Stuart as Queen of England after Mary Tudor died and the Protestant Elizabeth I succeeded her to the throne in November of 1558. Mary's claim to the English throne was based on the fact that she was the daughter of Mary Tudor, sister of Henry VIII and Elizabeth's father. To the Roman Catholics, Mary's claim appeared stronger than Elizabeth's because they viewed Henry's marriage to Anne Boylen as illegal.

Mary's young husband, Francis II, died in December 1560, after a reign of only 17 months. Mary, who was about to be 18 years of age, was left in a difficult position. Reluctant to stay in France and live under the domination of her mother-in-law, she decided to return to Scotland and take her chances with the Protestant reformers.

On August, 19,1561, Mary landed at Leith and immediately took the advice of the moderates, James Stuart (her half brother) and William Maitland of Lethington. She recognized the Reformed Church and allowed it a modest endowment but not full establishment. For the next few years, Mary tried to befriend Elizabeth, while at the same time negotiating a Catholic marriage with Don Carlos, the son of Philip II of Spain.

Many people did not approve of the Spanish marriage. Mary felt that a marriage of love was more important than a purely political match. She then married her first cousin, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, on July 29, 1565. This marriage was unacceptable to the Protestants. Mary therefore withdrew some of her support for the Reformed Church. Her marriage with Darnley soured, and she refused him the right to succeed if she died without issue. Alone and heartbroken, Mary turned to to her Italian secretary, David Riccio, for comfort and advice. Many of the Protestant lords disliked Riccio's influence because they suspected him of being a papal agent, and Darnley openly stated to everyone that the Italian was intimate with the Queen. On March 9, 1566, a group of Protestant lords, acting with the support of Darnley, murdered Riccio in Mary's presence at Holyrood Palace. At that time, Mary was six months pregnant, but she survived the whole ordeal. On June 19, 1566, Mary gave birth to a son, James (who became King James VI of Scotland and later, James I of England).

By the end of 1566, Mary had befriended James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, and was seeking a way to dissolve her marriage with Darnley. Various schemes were being concocted; it seems unlikely, however, that Mary was aware of the actual plot to eliminate her husband. On February 10, 1567, Darnley was murdered at Kirk o' Field; the circumstances of his death to this day remain a mystery. At the time Bothwell seemed the only suspect. It could not be proven that he was the murderer, so therefore he was acquitted after a very brief trial. In April, Mary disappeared with Bothwell. Some think she was abducted. Soon after, Bothwell obtained a divorce from his wife. On May 15, 1567, he and Mary were married according to the Protestant rite.

Due to Mary's marriage with Bothwell, some of her closest supporters alienated her. The many nobles who disliked Bothwell banded together to face Mary and her new husband at Carberry. The queen was forced to surrender, and Bothwell fled.

Mary was imprisoned at Lochleven Castle, and on July 24, 1567, she was forced to abdicate in favor of her son. Mary escaped from the castle and immediately rallied a large force behind her. They engaged in a battle on May 13, 1568, and were soundly beaten by the army led by the Protestant lords. After this ordeal, Mary decided to leave Scotland and go to England to beg support from her cousin, Elizabeth.

Mary crossed into England and was taken into captivity, where she spent nineteen years. She never returned to Scotland. While she was incarcerated in England, numerous plots by English Roman Catholic and foreign agents evolved around her. These plots were frustrated by English agents, but serious alarm was raised concerning the safety of Elizabeth. The Babington plot, which called for the assassination of Elizabeth, was formed to trap Mary. Mary was found guilty of complicity and sentenced to be beheaded. Although reluctant to execute her cousin, Elizabeth gave the order that was carried out at Fotheringhay Castle on February 8, 1587. Mary was buried first at Peterborough; in 1612, after he had ascended the English throne, her son, James, had her interred in Westminster Abbey.

Mary, Queen of Scots had a very eventful yet devastating life. Her father died at an early age, and she became Queen. She married three men, two of whom were killed because of her actions. She gave birth to a son, James, who later became James I of England. In the end she was executed by the orders of her first cousin, Elizabeth. Mary, Queen of Scots lived an intriguing life, but controversial, life. She will be remembered as a key person during the Elizabethan time period.

Boyd-Brent, John. " The plots and Mary Queen of Scots' Downfall." web site. http: // aboutscotland. co.uk/ mqshint. html. (20 Nov. 1997).

We did not use this article much for completing our report. It gives information on Mary's captivity and her imprisonment. This article gave us a background on who she married and why she divorced each one.

Fraser, Antonia. Mary Queen of Scots. New York: Weidenfeld and Nicolson,1969.

We used this book for beneficial information on Mary's time spent in prison. This book focused on her hard times in prison while giving a lot of information on her army. There was also information on her early life and her husbands, but mostly the book concentrated on her hardships.

Hibbert, Christopher. The Virgin Queen. London: Addison-Wesley Publishing, 1991.

Though this book mainly focused on Elizabeth, we found some information on Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary was Elizabeth's cousin. The little information that we found deals with Mary's many husbands and her relationships with them. It also gave great detail on her fathers death.

King, Marian. Young Mary Stuart. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1954.

This book gave a great overall summary of Mary's life. We used this book for details on her early life. It gave great particulars on her childhood and how her early life had a huge influence on her adulthood.

"Mary, Queen of Scots." Groliers Encyclopedia. CD-ROM. 1993.

This article highlighted the main parts of Mary Stuart's life. It is divided into early life, her return to Scotland, her plots and intrigues, and her English captivity.

* Woodward, G.W. Queen Elizabeth I. London: Pitkin Pictorials Limited, 1975.

We used this book only for our graphics.

*Source for visuals