Mary Queen of Scots is one of Scotland ’s most well known
monarchs, famed for her tragic life and falling foul of the
Machiavellian politics of the Elizabethan era in Britain.
Mary
Queen of Scots always seemed to be on the wrong side of the political
agenda in both Scotland and England . Her life is outlined in the many
places and visitor attractions in Scotland associated this tragic
heroine of Scottish history.
 Right from her infancy
Mary’s life was a turbulent one. Born at Linlithgow Palace on December
8, 1542, Mary became Queen of Scotland, when her father James V of
Scotland died shortly after her birth. Seeing an opportunity to seize
control of Scotland, Henry the VIII of England, immediately pressurised
the Scottish court to marry Mary off to his son, Edward, still himself
a young boy.
To press his claim Henry sent his army
to Scotland on a campaign known ironically as the ‘Rough Wooing’.
During this time the Scots suffered heavy defeats and Mary was placed
in hiding at Inchmahome Priory, on a lake isle in the Trossachs , before escaping to France.
Under
the protection of the King of France, Mary was educated at the French
court. At the age of 16 Mary was married to the French King’s son,
Francis, who shortly after succeed to the throne. Mary was now Queen
Consort of France as well as Queen of Scotland. Mary was also next in
line to the throne of England, as the childless Queen Elizabeth was her
first cousin.
However tragedy was to strike Mary’s
life when her husband died just two years into their marriage, a fate
that would repeat itself throughout Mary’s short life. A widow at 18,
Mary returned to Scotland, to find her royal court in turmoil. The
Scottish nobles were locked in bitter feuds with each other and
regarded Mary, a Catholic, suspiciously. At the same time Scotland was
undergoing a reformation, led by fanatical Protestant John Knox who
deeply detested the Catholic Queen.
The political
situation was to worsen, with Mary’s decision to marry Henry Stuart,
Lord Darnley, a descendant of King Henry VII of England and a leading
Catholic in both the Scottish and English courts. A group of protestant
nobles led by the Earl of Moray rebelled against the Queen but were
defeated. However this failed to increase Darnley’s popularity or
dispel the plotters.
An arrogant and ambitious man,
Darnley demanded the power that his marriage to the Queen would imply.
He was also jealous and possessive over Mary, and in a fit of jealous
rage, Darnley killed her private secretary David Rizzio in the Palace
of Holyroodhouse as Mary, who was pregnant with his child, looked on
horrified. The marriage broke down, shortly after Mary gave birth to
James VI of Scotland (who would later become James I of England). A
plot was hatched to murder Darnley, allegedly by Mary and her lover the
Earl of Bothwell, whom she married soon after Darnley was killed. The
nobles again turned against their Queen and this time successfully
deposed her in favour of her one-year-old son James.
Mary was imprisoned at Loch Leven Castle
for a year before managing to escape to England. But she was far from
welcomed by her cousin Queen Elizabeth, who first imprisoned her at Carlisle Castle,
that at Sheffield Castle, where her ghost is said to haunt the
building. As an heir to the English throne and a key figure for
Catholics, Mary was a threat to Elizabeth and was imprisoned for many
years before the English Queen finally had Mary Queen of Scots executed
on charges of treason in 1587. Mary Queen of Scots was beheaded at
Fotheringhay Castle, aged 44.
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