Scotland's Past -> Famous Persons -> Mary, Queen of Scots
Mary, Queen of Scots (1542 - 1587)
Mary became Queen of Scotland when she was only five days old. When she was five, she was sent to France. Mary returned to Scotland in 1561 but had to flee to England in 1568. She asked for protection from her cousin Elizabeth I, but was taken prisoner and executed in 1587.
Fact file:
Born 8th December 1542
Became Queen of Scotland on 14th December 1542
Sent to France in August 1548
Married to the Prince of France on 24th April 1558
Became Queen of France on 10th July 1559
Widowed on 20th November 1560
Returned to Scotland on 19th August 1561
Married to Lord Darnley on 29th July 1565
Murder of David Riccio on 9th March 1566
Murder of Lord Darnley on 9th February 1567
Married to the Earl of Bothwell on 15th May 1567
Imprisoned in Loch Leven Castle, June 1567
Escape from Loch Leven on 2nd May 1568
Battle of Longside on 13th May 1568
Flight to England, May 1568
Execution at Fotheringay Castle on 8th February 1587
When Mary was five days old her father James V died. She was the only heir to the throne and was crowned Queen of Scotland. The Earl of Arran was made Governor of Scotland, to look after the country until Mary grew up. Mary's mother wanted to keep her in Scotland; otherwise she was afraid Mary could not claim her kingdom. There were battles between the English and Scottish armies, and it was decided to send Mary to France, where her mother had a rich and large family.
When Mary was fifteen years old she married the Prince of France. A year later she became Queen of France, but her husband died less than two years after. She was eighteen and a widow.
Mary decided to return to Scotland. She was a Catholic, but many people in Scotland now followed the new Protestant religion. In 1565 she married Lord Darnley. They had a child, Prince James, but the marriage was a disaster. Mary had a secretary, David Riccio, whom she liked a lot. He was able to speak French, the language Mary preferred to use. One night Lord Darnley and his gang burst in, dragged David Riccio out and killed him. Mary was horrified. Not long afterwards Lord Darnley became ill with smallpox. He was recovering in a house near Edinburgh, but the house was blown up by gunpowder. They found the body in the garden, but Lord Darnley had been strangled before the house was blown up.
A few months later Mary married the Earl of Bothwell. He was
accused of the crime of murdering Lord Darnley. There was a trial, but
Lord Bothwell claimed his innocence and nothing happened.
But the Scottish people believed that he and Mary were in it together
and only a few weeks later Bothwell ran away and the Queen was
imprisoned in the island castle of Loch Leven.
(Lord Bothwell died years later as a prisoner in Dragsholm Castle in Denmark. He is buried in Fårevejle Kirke.)
Mary's son James was crowned King James VI of Scotland.
A year later Mary managed to escape. She raised a large army but so did Lord Moray, Governor of Scotland for James VI. The two armies met at the village of Langside near Glasgow. Mary's army did not even attack Lord Moray's army. She was totally defeated. Mary went to England to ask her cousin Elizabeth I for help. But there was no help to be had. Elizabeth I saw Mary as a threat and kept her a prisoner for twenty years. Throughout these years Mary conspired against Elizabeth and finally it was proved that Mary wanted Elisabeth murdered.
Mary, Queen of Scots, was beheaded at Fortheringay Castle on 8th
February 1587.
When Elisabeth I died childless James Stuart, Mary's son, became King James I of England, too. Then in 1707 the two countries became Great Britain.
UPh