Who was Mary, Queen of Scots?
Born a Queen of Scotland, she was crowned Queen of France, and died Queen of Scotland. Mary, Queen of Scots, reigned in a turbulent era that takes its name from her illustrious cousin, Queen Elizabeth I. Both descendants of King Henry VII, their respective reigns were inextricably entwined. Mary was born 8 December 1542 to Mary of Guise and King James V of Scotland. She was granddaughter to Margaret Tudor, King Henry VIII’s sister, who married King James IV of Scotland. Elizabeth, of course, was Henry VIII’s daughter. However, Mary’s “legitimate” status and Catholic faith made her the only possible successor to Queen Mary I, to Catholic Europe. The English Parliament had a different take on the situation and named Elizabeth. James V died when Mary was only a week old, granting her the succession to the throne of Scotland. The regent lords had originally contracted Mary to marry King Edward VI of England, but Henry VIII effectively ended that arrangement when he was implicated in the mu
Mary, Queen of Scots, was a woman born into a privileged life. The only daughter of a king, she was raised in the French court, considered at the time to be the most sophisticated of all the Eurpoean kingdoms. She was the wife of a French king and the heir to the English throne, and was the Queen of Scotland in her own right. Mary’s journey was anything but regal. Forced into marriage, accused of murder, assaulted, abducted, imprisoned and eventually beheaded, the queen whose life began so royally ended in abject misery.
Mary, Queen of Scots (Mary Stuart; 1542–1587) was the only child of King James V (1512–1542) of Scotland and his wife Mary of Guise (1515–1560). Mary was six days old when her father died and she became queen. Her mother ruled the country as a regent (one who reigns in place of a young monarch) until 1561, when Mary officially assumed her duties. Raised as a Roman Catholic, Mary inherited her mother’s struggle with Protestants, members of a Christian faith that was formed during the Reformation (a revolution within the Catholic Church). A Christian religion based in Rome, Italy, and headed by a pope (the supreme leader), the Roman Catholic Church had dominated social and political life in Europe for many centuries. At the time Mary ascended the throne, Scottish Protestants led by John Knox (1513–1572), a former Catholic priest and a major figure in the Protestant Reformation, were trying to…
