Mary Queen Of Scots

 Mary Queen of Scots

Mary Queen of Scots or Mary Stewart was born on 8th December 1542 at Linlithgow palace Mary was the only daughter of King James V of Scotland and his french second wife Mary of Guise her father King James V died six days after her birth which lefts Mary the queen of Scotland, Mary's great uncle King Henry VIII of England  unsuccessful effort to secure control of her

Mary was sent to France at the age of five there she was brought up at the court of King Henry II and his wife Queen Catherine de Medicis with their own large family, assisted by relations on her mother's side the powerful Guises despite a charmed childhood, Mary's education was not neglected and she was taught Latin, Italian, Spanish and even some greek. Mary grew more into a Frenchwoman rather than Scot

Her remarkable beauty with her tall slender figure was around 5ft 11 inches her red-gold hair and amber-colored eyes  and her taste in music and poetry, Mary summed up the contemporary Ideal of the Renaissance princess at the time of her marriage to Francis eldest son of Henry and Catherine in April 1558. Although it was a political match aimed at the union of france and Scotland, Mary was sincerely fond of her husband though the marriage was probably never consummated 

The accession of Elizabeth Tudor to the throne of England in November 1558 meant that Mary was by virtue of her Tudor blood, next in to the English throne those Roman Catholic who considered Elizabeth illegitimate because they regarded Henry VIII divorce from Catherine of Aragon and his marriage to Anne Boleyn invalid even looked up upon Mary as the lawful Queen Mary's father in law Henry II of France thus claimed the English throne on her behalf the death of Henry in 1559 brought Francis to the French throne and made Mary a glittering queen consort of France until Francis's premature death in December 1560  made her a widow at the age of 18

Returning to Scotland in August 1561 Mary discovered that her sheltered franch upbringing had made her ill equipped to cope with the series of problems now facing her. Mary former pretensions to the English throne had incurred Elizabeth's hostility she refused to acknowledge Mary as heiress however much Mary nothing if not royal by temperament prizes her English rights while Mary herself was a Roman Catholic the official religion of Scotland had been reformed to Protestantism

Mary's second husband who she married in July 1565 to her cousin Henry Stewart earl of darnley son of Matthew Stewart 4th earl of Lennox that started the fatal train of events culminating in her destruction Mary married the handsome darnley recklessly for love it was disastrous choice because by her marriage she antagonized all the elements interested in the power structure of Scotland including Elizabeth who disapproved of Mary marrying another Tudor 

Mary died on February 8 1687, Mary Queen of Scots was beheaded for treason her son king James VI of Scotland calmly accepted his mother's execution and upon Queen Elizabeth 1 death in 1603 h became king of England Scotland and Ireland.